Partner, UK Partnerships & Programmes - Convergent Research in Oxford

We are looking for a seasoned executive who can build and scale Convergent's UK presence while navigating the intersection of breakthrough science, institutional design, and UK science policy. As our Partner for UK Operations & Programs, you will lead our ARIA partnership, run our UK Residency program, build our on-the-ground team and infrastructure, sit on FRO boards, and represent Convergent across the UK science and policy ecosystem.

You will interface with ARIA, UKRI, Innovate UK, and government leadership while maintaining our standards for ambitious, high-integrity science. If you have built teams and organizations from the ground up, understand both startup velocity and UK public sector dynamics, and believe British science policy can actually enable moonshots rather than just talk about them, you will fit in great here.

Convergent Research exists to bring entirely new scientific institutions into the world: Focused Research Organizations (FROs). These are purpose-built, mission-driven organisations designed to solve technological bottlenecks, unlock whole new fields, and lead to scaled revolutions.

We have launched more than 10 FROs globally and proven that the model works. We have raised over $350 million and catalyzed $300+ million in follow-on investment. Now we are scaling intentionally into the UK, and this is a critical inflection point for that expansion.

This role is critical because UK expansion represents both massive opportunity and serious operational complexity. The person who joins in this role will be setting a lot of where our UK (and broader European) strategy goes.

In addition to a strong strategic leader, we need someone who can work hand in hand with our US-based team to help manage UK-specific infrastructure around hiring, systems, governance, and partnerships while also growing a portfolio of world-class FROs that maintain the speed, ambition, and scientific rigor Convergent is known for.

You are joining at a moment that is neither all risk nor all rote—we have early traction and strong partnerships, but plenty of room for experimentation. You will be joining a team that is ambitious, irreverent, and deeply committed to enabling breakthrough science.

If you are excited about building institutions from scratch, UK science policy and innovation ecosystems, and helping founders build lasting organizations without drowning in bureaucracy, this is your role.

The Role

As our Partner for UK Operations & Programs, you will be part strategic operator, part ecosystem builder, part founder boss, part diplomatic envoy, part chief of staff for UK activities. You will:

• Lead UK Residency & FRO pipeline: Own the execution of our UK Residency program. Identify and source breakthrough research concepts from across British universities and institutes, recruit stellar founding teams, shepherd them through the Residency, and launch new FROs in partnership with ARIA and other funders.
• Manage UK Office and Hiring: Help our team continue to build the operational foundations Convergent needs in the UK, supporting recruitment of new team members and ensuring our UK entity can support a growing FRO portfolio.
• Grow UK government and funding relationships: Deepen our partnership with ARIA while building relationships with UKRI, Innovate UK, DSIT, and other agencies funding high-risk research. Position Convergent as the trusted operating partner for ambitious public-good science across the UK funding landscape.
• Represent Convergent in UK policy and science circles: Be Convergent's face in London, Cambridge, and beyond. Speak at conferences, engage with policymakers, build relationships with university leadership and research directors, and ensure the FRO model is understood and valued by the UK science establishment.
• Provide board governance: Serve as voting board member on multiple UK-based FROs, bringing strategic oversight, removing blockers, ensuring milestones align with both scientific ambition and funder requirements, and helping founders navigate the unique challenges of the UK research landscape.
• Shape Convergent's UK/Europe strategy: Work with Convergent leadership to refine our UK expansion roadmap, identify which partnerships and programs align with our mission, and ensure we scale our UK/Europe presence without losing what makes us effective.

A Day in Your Life

• UK Residency Leadership: Own strategy and execution for Version 2 (and beyond) of the UK Residency program. This means sourcing candidates from across UK research institutions, designing programming that converts ideas into fundable FROs, managing relationships with ARIA and other potential funders, running selection processes, and ensuring residents have everything they need to succeed. Report on program outcomes and iterate the model based on what we learn.
• ARIA Partnership Management: Serve as Convergent's primary point of contact for ARIA. Manage the relationship strategically, understanding ARIA's evolving priorities, positioning Convergent FROs for success within ARIA's portfolio, ensuring compliance with partnership agreements, and identifying opportunities to deepen collaboration.
• UK Funding Ecosystem Development: Build relationships with UKRI program directors, Innovate UK leads, DSIT officials, and other funders in the UK landscape. Identify funding opportunities for existing and prospective FROs. Help FROs craft compelling proposals that speak to UK funding priorities whilst maintaining scientific ambition. Translate FRO impact into the stories and metrics that unlock sustained UK public and private support.
• Board & FRO Governance: Represent Convergent on the boards of UK-based FROs. Bring strategic oversight, ensure compliance with UK-specific requirements (charity law, employment law, etc.), call hard truths when needed, and help founders navigate operating in the UK research ecosystem whilst maintaining FRO velocity.
• Ecosystem Building & External Representation: Attend the right conferences and convenings. Build relationships with university technology.