Head of Collaborative Research and Development

Closed: 29 July 2016
Fundraising Business Development Corporate

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  • Salary Competitive salary and benefits
  • Location City of London, London, Greater London (On-site)
  • Job Type Permanent
  • Sectors Environment
  • Job Reference :

So what's it about?

The Head of CR&D will play a key role in identifying, developing and securing funding for the Future Cities Catapult by developing key funding network and programme relationships and project opportunities. 
 
This will relate to a broad range of funding channels, including the European Commission and EU programmes; Innovate UK and other UK funding sources; International funding such as Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Newton and Prosperity funds; and relevant UK, European and International Trusts and Foundations that are germane to our Mission.
 
This role will be working in the Business Development, Stakeholder Relations and Communications team, and will involve collaboration with colleagues in all areas of the Catapult from where input to bid submissions is required (provision of content from Heads of Projects, technical experts, finance and corporate services team etc.)
 
This role is supported by three Funding Managers – one each for UK, European an International sources – with a supporting team of around 4 funding coordinators, analysts and researchers.

What will you be doing?

These will be your main responsibilities:

  • Directly contribute to £2.5m of CR&D project income in 17/18 and £3.2m in 18/19, reporting to the Chief Business Officer
  • Oversee and continue to evolve the Future Cities Catapult’s strategy for engagement in CR&D projects and with the funding structures, including providing recommendations to management team on our approach to CR&D work
  • Oversee and optimise the processes to identify potential funding streams from UK, European and International sources
  • Coordinate the development and submission of agreed Future Cities Catapult bid contributions. Some of these bids will have Future Cities Catapult in a coordinating role
  • Work with the C&D team and key content and market experts to:
    • Identify and maintain a pipeline of bid opportunities, review and assess their strategic fit and make the case for organisational resources to be allocated in order to grasp opportunities
    • Analyse and explain bid concepts, aid interpretation of bid requirements, and prepare points of clarification with funders to ensure each bid is structured in conformity with the bid requirements
    • Help identify and build consortia to best respond to specific priority bids and ensure partners’ active contribution to the bid-writing process
    • Oversee and coordinate the development and submission of specific bids on behalf of Future Cities Catapult including developing outline of work (including identifying bid team and establishing key role responsibilities),
    • Tracking and managing risks, identifying and compiling all relevant documentation, arranging external review, and completing administrative aspects of bid submission, engaging colleagues as appropriate, and coordinating all technical inputs to bid submissions
  • Work with the Head of Commercial Business Development, the International Strategy and Stakeholders team on ways to better align CR&D and Commercial strategies to improve conversion rate of CR&D projects’ outputs and outcomes into new commercial opportunities
  • Update relevant Future Cities Catapult staff on bid process including risks and opportunities
  • Identify appropriate external agencies where additional support is required for specific bids, secure necessary resource, engage and manage their input
  • Oversee Future Cities Catapult response during the negotiation period following successful bid submission, and effectively manage the transition process from bid to project delivery
  • To ensure colleagues across the Catapult are engaged in funding opportunities related to their specific work programmes, and are aware of the Catapult’s capacity for bid writing and consortia development, in order to carefully manage the flow of bid writing deadlines across the Catapult throughout the year.
  • To represent Future Cities Catapult in senior funding meetings, and to engage with relevant stakeholders in funding networks. The aim is to build Future Cities Catapult visibility within the these, and to build our brand as a trusted partner to deliver projects
  • In conjunction with colleagues and bid partners, to capture learnings from the process and feed back to future bid submission processes.
  • To actively contribute to the Future Cities Catapult strategy and operational model by ensuring correct processes for CR&D bidding and project management are in place and used (e.g. rates and budget development, templates, etc.)

What will be the first year outcomes?

Outcomes are what you need to accomplish in your role.  We think it is always useful to know these before you start. These are not all the outcomes you will be expected to achieve, but are some of the primary ones:

Grow our income with a focus on impact and visibility:

  • To secure £2.5m in 16/17 and £3.2 in 18/19
  • Build a strong impact-oriented pipeline of CR&D projects firmly aligned with Catapult strategy
  • Develop and evolve Catapult’s CR&D strategy including exploring new funding sources from UK, EU and beyond (‘international’), eg from trusts and foundations
  • 30 CR&D bids submitted by wider team (incl. + international)

Build and lead a highly effective CR&D team:

  • Develop, build and manage team to ensure strength in delivery appropriate to resources available, and balancing risk and return

Effectively run and steer non-commercial international work:

  • Working with Head of Strategy, engage with UKTI, BIS, FCO, SIN, Innovate UK and other Govt depts. to tap into wider UK Govt objectives for international outreach
  • Work with International Events and Stakeholders Manager role to ensure strong visibility and reputation abroad (working closely with Comms team)

Internal CR&D skills developed and mobilised:

  • Work with team to engage colleagues in CR&D’s team work and support Catapult-wide implementation of Salesforce and Priority Stakeholder system
  • Ensure CR&D team develops relevant and effective processes to manage bid development and submission process
  • Close collaboration with a) Head of Finance to ensure effective finance team support to bid submission, and robust financial processes in place to meet funders’ requirements in project delivery, b) Head of Project Management to ensure smooth transition from successful bids to projects, adapting the process as Catapult delivers and learns, c) Heads of Projects and Head of Strategy to ensure CR&D process is understood, and that bids are aligned to wider Catapult project strategy 

Lead and develop successful initiatives in BD that raise staff satisfaction and retention:

  • Ensure CR&D team knows of Learning & Development opportunities funded / part-funded by the Catapult
  • Embed a culture of learning across the team including after all bids developed and key pieces of work delivered
  • Positive (brand-informed) behaviour recognised by peers, & wider team
  • Represent the Catapult and BD team externally and internally
  • Collaborate with, challenge and support other Heads across the Catapult

What kind of person are we looking for?

Essential requirements:

  • Proven ability to lead and motivate a team
  • Credibility in building networks with funders at a decision-maker level
  • A track record in having coordinated, written, and assessed major CR&D bids related to urban development / low carbon transition/ energy / mobility / ICT / citizens and strong success rate with these submissions
  • A successful conversion rate in submissions
  • Proven ability to help build international and multi-stakeholder consortia and ensure their engagement in complex bid submissions
  • Excellent writing and presentation skills
  • Capabilities to synthesise data and technical information from varied sources and present in appropriate formats for UK, European and International CR&D bid submissions
  • The ability to plan, prioritise and manage a busy workload delivering proposals and management information to a high standard with measurable outputs and meeting deadlines, for yourself and your teams
  • Understanding of key themes in urbanisation and/or innovation, grounded in experience working in one or more sectors directly relevant to the work of the Future Cities Catapult
  • Excellent networking and relationship-building skills
  • Demonstrable commitment to innovation in the context of international urbanisation processes
  • Ability to excel in a rapidly growing, fast-paced organisational setting

Desirable:

  • Familiarity with the UN and other trans-national bodies and their major policy agendas
  • An established international network, particularly among stakeholders in: the UK; Europe; FCO and International; and /or Trusts and Foundations, as directly relevant to Future Cities Catapult’s mission and work

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