Director - Marine Autonomy Centre Lead

University of Plymouth; Plymouth; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Generous annual leave

Generous pension scheme

Cycle to Work & Electric Car Scheme

Employee Assistance Programme

Development opportunities

Enhanced family leave

Flexible working

Retailer discounts

On-site nursery

Job summary

University of Plymouth seeks a senior leader to establish the National Centre for Marine Autonomy (NCMA) in Plymouth. You will drive a team-of-teams approach across Defence, industry, academia and regulators to accelerate autonomous maritime capabilities.

You will establish a nationally significant programme of trials and innovations, ensuring safe, scalable deployment and strong governance across partners. On-site presence is required two days per week.

Qualifications

• Senior-level strategic leadership in a complex, multi-partner environment.
• Proven ability to set direction, build trust and align organisations behind outcomes.
• Track record delivering time-critical programmes with risk and dependency management.
• Experience building senior partnerships across public, private, academic or operational bodies.
• Experience in Defence-aligned, national security, or regulated environments.

Responsibilities

• Lead the establishment and ongoing development of the NCMA as a safe, agile ecosystem across Defence, industry, academia and government.
• Design and deliver a nationally significant programme of trials, testing and experimentation for autonomous maritime systems.
• Create a visible, investable national ecosystem by connecting Plymouth's research base, facilities and partners.
• Establish governance, accountability and delivery mechanisms with clear roles and transparent decision-making.

Skills

Senior leadership

Strategic planning

Stakeholder management

Risk management

Governance

Job description

University of Plymouth seeks a senior leader to establish the National Centre for Marine Autonomy (NCMA) in Plymouth. You will drive a team-of-teams approach across Defence, industry, academia and regulators to accelerate autonomous maritime capabilities.

You will establish a nationally significant programme of trials and innovations, ensuring safe, scalable deployment and strong governance across partners. On-site presence is required two days per week.