Head of Campaigns & Marketing in Swindon

On behalf of UKRI, we are looking for a Head of Campaigns & Marketing (Inside IR35) for a 6 months contract based 2-3 days per week on site in Swindon with occasional ad-hoc UK travel (remainder WFH).

UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) is the national funding agency investing in science and research in the UK. UKRI invests £8 billion of taxpayers’ money each year into research and innovation and the people who make it happen. They work across a huge range of fields - from biodiversity conservation to quantum computing, and from space telescopes to innovative health care. They give everyone the opportunity to contribute and to benefit, bringing together people and organisations nationally and globally to create, develop and deploy new ideas and technologies.

As a Head of Campaigns & Marketing your main responsibilities will be:

• Lead the development and delivery of integrated marketing and strategic communications campaigns that support UKRI's strategic priorities and objectives, using UKRI's research, innovation and impact stories to build engagement, influence and reputation.
• Identify opportunities to showcase UKRI's research, innovation and impact through high-profile campaigns that build understanding, engagement and reputation.
• Develop integrated campaigns across paid, owned and earned channels, maximising both investment and low-cost/no-cost opportunities to achieve measurable outcomes.
• Lead and manage a team that provides strategic communications advice, the planning and coordination of campaigns and communications activity.
• Manage external agencies and suppliers to develop campaign concepts and delivery plans, working with insight, evaluation and communications colleagues to ensure campaigns are effective, impactful and deliver value for money.
• Act as the senior campaign lead, bringing together colleagues from communications, marketing, digital, media, stakeholder engagement and other specialist functions into virtual campaign teams, leading through influence to create shared ownership, alignment and accountability for campaign outcomes.
• Lead through influence in a matrix environment, creating shared ownership, alignment and accountability for campaign delivery and outcomes.
• Build strong partnerships across UKRI to identify campaign opportunities and ensure activity is audience-led, insight-driven and aligned with strategic priorities.
• Maximise opportunities to promote UKRI's research, innovation and impact through a coordinated approach across paid, owned and earned media.
• Establish effective campaign planning and governance processes, working with insight and evaluation colleagues to measure impact, demonstrate outcomes and drive continuous improvement.
• Champion a campaign-led approach across UKRI, embedding best practice and helping establish new ways of working to embed an integrated campaigning approach.

Essential:

• Significant experience working across large, complex organisations with multiple stakeholders and competing priorities.
• Significant experience leading integrated marketing and strategic communications campaigns from strategy through to delivery and evaluation.
• Significant experience developing and delivering campaigns across paid, owned and earned channels, including low-cost/no-cost.
• Proven ability to identify strategic opportunities and translate complex issues, programmes or organisational priorities into compelling stories and campaign activity.
• Experience managing external agencies and suppliers to deliver successful campaign outcomes.
• Experience leading and managing teams to deliver high-quality work in a fast-paced environment.
• Demonstrable experience leading virtual or matrix teams and influencing colleagues outside direct line management.
• Strong stakeholder management and relationship-building skills, including the ability to secure buy-in from senior leaders and specialist teams.
• Experience of behaviour change communications, using audience insight, data and evaluation to inform decision-making and demonstrate impact.
• Excellent communication and influencing skills, with the ability to align diverse stakeholders around shared objectives.
• Experience driving change, improving ways of working or establishing new approaches to campaign delivery.

Desirable:

• Experience delivering campaigns within a research, innovation, higher education, public sector or not-for-profit environment.
• Understanding of the UK's research and innovation landscape and the role of UKRI.
• Experience commissioning and evaluating market research, audience insight or campaign effectiveness studies.
• Experience building organisational capability and embedding campaign-led approaches across teams or functions.
• Experience of reputation management communications.

Please be aware that this role can only be worked within the UK and not Overseas.

Disability Confident: As a member of the Disability Confident Scheme, UKRI guarantees to interview all candidates who have a disability and who meet all the essential criteria for the vacancy. In cases where we have a high volume of candidates who have a disability who meet all the essential criteria, we will interview the best candidates from within that group. This scheme encourages candidates with a disability and/or neurodivergence to apply. In exceptional circumstances, we may also need to apply the desirable criteria in our shortlisting process which may include holding active security clearance.

In applying for this role, you acknowledge the following: this role falls in scope of the Off Payroll Working in the Public Sector legislation. Any rates of payment quoted will reflect the gross rate per day for the assignment and will be subject to appropriate taxes and statutory costs. As such the payment to the intermediary and your income resulting from this contract will be different.