Deputy Director – A Healthy Life

We are Nesta, the UK’s innovation agency for social good. We design, test and scale solutions to society’s biggest problems. Our three missions are to help people live healthy lives, give every child a fair start, and create a sustainable future. For over 20 years, we have worked to support, encourage and inspire innovation.

About this mission: A Healthy Life

We want to increase the number of years lived in good health for all and our focus is on tackling one of the biggest drivers of lost years of healthy life: obesity. Our priority is improving our food environments i.e. making healthy food more available, accessible, affordable, appealing and convenient for all. We also do some work around weight loss treatments. We work across sectors - with businesses, national policymakers, local government, academics and other charities - in order to drive the changes we need to see to improve health.

Your role

This is a senior leadership role at Nesta, wholly dedicated to reducing obesity and thereby improving health. You will oversee and create projects that make a real-world impact on our mission. They will generate new ideas and evidence for how to ensure the food environment is healthier. You will work alongside the Mission Director and other Deputy Directors to shape the portfolio and enable the team to deliver results. You will lead and work with a highly motivated and capable team including a range of specialists including data scientists, researchers, policy experts and behavioural scientists. You will be pivotal in enabling a step change in our impact, particularly through overseeing research, evidence and data-related projects. You will play a key role in upholding the robust research and analytical standards that Nesta prides itself on. You will build Nesta and the mission profile in the sector as a leader on research or evidence in the field of health and/or obesity.

Your responsibilities

• Support in shaping the strategic direction for the mission, how we deliver against this effectively, and ensuring team alignment.
• Oversee a portfolio of projects (likely with a greater focus on evidence and data) that meets our strategic goals, delivers real-world impact, leverages our methods, appropriately considers and builds the evidence, and delivers at pace.
• Create the conditions to scale solutions that work - by building our networks and influence, forming strategic partnerships, and planning for scale or impact from the start.
• Co-lead a team (total mission team of ~35) including staff with specialist skills such as researchers, data scientists, designers and behavioural scientists.
• Create the conditions for the team and others to succeed, fostering a high support, high challenge culture that reflects Nesta’s ‘whatever it takes’ mentality, and proactively supporting L&D across the team.
• Drive your teams to deliver results, ensuring they have the best chance of making a meaningful impact to our mission.
• Build the Mission’s profile externally as a leader in robust, impactful research and enhance our credibility in the domain area of obesity. This will include representing Nesta externally at events and in the media.
• Manage senior stakeholder relationships with existing partners and build new relationships and partners (e.g. with academics, funders and industry players).
• Contribute to the wider leadership team and work with cross-Nesta departments to enable mission success (e.g. with the project management office, people team and strategy unit).
• Engage with Nesta’s executive team and Board of Trustees on a regular basis or as required.

Essential attributes

• At least five years’ experience in two of: Working on obesity or health policy or research; Applying methods, such as behavioural science, data science, experimental design, or quantitative analysis; and/or Managing a complex programme of work and leading a team from problem diagnosis to impactful solutions.

Preferred attributes

• Excellent leadership skills with experience in creating and leading high-performing, happy teams.
• Experience of portfolio management and complex project-based working with the ability to think strategically on how best to deliver impact.
• Excellent stakeholder management, the ability to create new relationships, and to enhance an organisation’s external reputation.
• Experience critically appraising evidence and conducting research, and using it to make effective decisions.
• The ability to influence senior decision-makers (such as senior policymakers, execs of philanthropic and sector organisations or industry execs) and to present to large audiences or the media.
• A drive to continuously improve oneself, others and the wider organisation, and take a proactive role in one’s own development.

What we offer

• Salary: £88,800 plus array of benefits, including private medical insurance, dental insurance, the ability to buy and sell annual leave, eyecare vouchers and more.
• Location: this role is based in London - with at least 2 days per week working from our Blackfriars office.
• Term: Permanent.
• Hours: This is a full-time role but we offer a range of flexible working arrangements and encourage our people to take advantage of them.
• Reports to: Mission Director.

Making an application

To apply for this role, please submit your CV and a short cover letter with max 300 words before 8:00am on 24 November 2025. Interviews will take place w/c 1 December 2025.

At Nesta, we believe that a diverse workforce leads to an organisation that is more innovative, more creative, and gets better results. We want our workforce to represent the diversity of the people and communities we serve. We also want our workplace to be one where different experiences, expertise and perspectives are valued, and where everyone is encouraged to grow and develop.

This means that when we are recruiting, we actively seek to reach a diverse pool of candidates. It also means that we are happy to consider any reasonable adjustments that potential employees may need to in order to be successful.

We recognise the importance of a good balance between work and home life, so we do everything we can to accommodate flexible working, including working from home, compressed or part-time hours, job shares, and other arrangements. Please just let us know in your application, or at any stage throughout the process (and beyond), if these are options you’d like to explore.