Associate Director, Equitable Research Practice

The Wellcome Trust is a global charitable foundation. We improve health for everyone by funding science, leading policy and advocacy campaigns, and building partnerships. We plan to spend £16bn over the next ten years, funding new discoveries in life, health, and wellbeing, and taking on three global health challenges: mental health, infectious disease and climate and health. Wellcome's vision is a healthier future for everyone and we work towards it by supporting science to solve urgent health challenges.

To achieve the most impact from our mission, we focus on how we can best benefit the people and communities who are most affected by the health challenges we take on. The Equity Department ensures that we engage thoughtfully with the right people at the right time, enabling and investing in the most impactful research, and influencing changes in policy and practice, so that:

• the people whose health has most to gain from new advances can access them with trust and be confident that they meet their needs.
• partners and communities are engaged in an equitable way, so their voices and experiences help to shape the work we support.
• research can draw on the broadest range of talent and expertise to unlock more impactful discoveries and solutions.
• our own organisation is an inclusive place to work.

We are now recruiting for an Associate Director to lead the Equitable Research Practice team and provide strategic leadership to embed equity across Wellcome's strategy, funding, and research activities. This work spans all of Wellcome's global geographies and requires partnering with other teams.

Reporting into the Executive Director of Equity, the Associate Director will oversee the following functions:

• Partnering, strategic guidance and policy advice to the Discovery and Solution Areas and the Wellcome Collection.
• Developing, promoting and embedding equitable funding practices.
• Ensuring Wellcome's funding & activities benefit those most affected by health challenges.
• Ensuring research design embeds and accounts for a diversity of participants and supports cultures that enable a broader range of researchers to thrive.
• Ensuring the practice of Wellcome Collection and its research and engagement with society advances health equity.

They will also oversee coordination across all of Wellcome in relation to embedding equity across our strategy, funding, and research activities to deliver against Wellcome's Equity Framework.

The minimum requirements of the role are:

• A credible expert, with a deep and sophisticated understanding of inclusion in research / funding contexts, experience with promoting a positive research culture, and a demonstrated ability to practically deliver excellent research and drive systemic change via embedding equity across the research and funding value chain.
• Proven track record of leading large matrix teams, managing resourcing, and fostering thematic expertise, ideally in an academic, funding or charity setting, to deliver against organisational goals at a strategic level.
• Exceptional, demonstrated ability to manage complex partnering, build effective and productive relationships and influence senior stakeholders to deliver strategic impact.
• Proven track record and significant experience in a leadership role working in research / science - as a researcher / funder based in the Global South or a funder delivering a programme of scientific research conducted in the Global South - with a strong understanding of research and funding in these contexts.
• Demonstrated history of delivering excellent and equitable funding and research, ensuring an enabling research culture and the ability to practically embed equity across the research and funding value chain to drive systemic change.

Our Hybrid Way of Working: We understand that our colleagues have commitments and personal interests outside of work and we strive to build a flexible working environment, in which people can perform at their best. At Wellcome we have a hybrid way of working which is 3 days in our Euston Road offices (Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday) with the remaining 2 days working either remotely or in the office.

Diversity and Inclusion is at the heart of everything we do. Diversity and Inclusion is a priority at Wellcome. We are committed to cultivating a fair and inclusive environment, where everyone can be themselves and thrive. We are happy to discuss flexible working options for all roles. We work to ensure that our recruitment processes are as inclusive as possible to everyone. This includes making adjustments for people who have a disability or long-term condition.