Chief Operating Officer

Academy of Medical Sciences; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 120,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

The Academy of Medical Sciences in the UK is seeking a Chief Operating Officer to lead the newly created Operations Directorate, uniting strategy, finance, people and culture, fundraising, impact and grant assurance, and operations into one engine for change alongside the CEO and Executive team.

The role focuses on shaping the organisation's future, broadening funding partnerships with charities, foundations and industry, and guiding the trading company as it grows as a key funding channel.

Job description

The Academy of Medical Sciences improves lives through health research and ensures the UK remains at the forefront of medical science globally. They bring together researchers, healthcare leaders, policymakers, industry and patients to help turn discovery into better health for people and communities across the UK and beyond.

They are a charity as well as a National Academy, with about a hundred staff and 1,600 Fellows working at the interface of science, policy and practice. They fund researchers and build careers, and last year put more than £20m into delivering their ambitions for medical sciences. They advise government and Parliament on the decisions that shape health and work on public trust in medical science at a point when misinformation is doing it real damage. They connect a community that runs from university labs through the NHS to industry, and are building the pathway from UK discovery to patient benefit.

Their mission is to unlock the potential of medical sciences to improve people's health and grow the economy.

They created the Operations Directorate in 2026 to bring strategy and planning, finance, people and culture, fundraising, impact and grant assurance, and operations and infrastructure into one place. They are not seeking someone who is a functional expert in all these areas; rather, they seek someone who can see the bigger picture, connect the functions more effectively whilst being the engine of change in the organisation alongside the CEO and wider Executive team, know when and where to deploy influence to achieve change, and where to keep powder dry.

Historically the Academy has relied on a small number of large funders. They have an opportunity with the new direction to broaden that out and bring in new partners, including a wider range of charities and foundations, corporate partnerships, philanthropy and our trading company. The trading company’s board has recently been renewed with a wider set of perspectives, and they would like it to become an important part of how we fund our mission. The Chief Operating Officer will lead that work.

They want the Academy, and the wider medical sciences community, to reflect the society they serve. That shapes whom they fund, how they run their programmes, how they recruit, and how they treat each other at work. They would particularly welcome applications from people whose backgrounds and experience are different from those already represented in their senior team, and they will make any adjustments you need during the process or on appointment.

Hybrid with 50% of week in London office (Oxford Circus area)