Innovation Facilitator

Government Recruitment Service; Borough of Runnymede; On-site; GBP 35,000 - 50,000; Full time

Job summary

A government agency in the UK seeks to fill an exciting role focused on supporting the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) with the advancement of veterinary novel therapies and technologies. The successful candidate will network with stakeholders, identify guidance updates for innovation, and enhance organizational knowledge. This role offers an opportunity to work within an impactful regulatory environment committed to animal health and welfare.

Responsibilities

• Expand awareness of emerging veterinary novel therapies.
• Build stakeholder networks for effective horizon scanning.
• Identify need for updated guidance to accommodate innovation.
• Conduct reviews into products not covered by regulations.
• Support innovation in vaccines and vaccine technologies.
• Liaise with Government on innovation priorities.
• Convene innovators and academia with regulators.
• Create and maintain stakeholder networks.
• Lead communication activities and media content dissemination.
• Comply with quality management and GDPR standards.

Job description

About the VMD

You may not have heard of the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD), but have you ever:

• eaten meat, eggs, fish or honey
• drunk milk
• owned a pet or animal
• taken antibiotics

If you said yes to any of the above, you are directly affected by what the VMD does.

The VMD is the regulatory and policy lead responsible for issues concerning the authorisation, use, and manufacture of veterinary medicines in the UK.

Our aim is to protect public health, animal health, and the environment, and promote animal welfare by assuring the safety, quality and effectiveness of veterinary medicines.

Find out more at: About us - Veterinary Medicines Directorate - GOV.UK

Animal diseases and health challenges are constantly evolving, due to factors such as global movement of animals and their products, climate driven shifts in disease vectors, and changing expectations on the role and treatment of animals. In particular, the rise in antimicrobial resistance demands new ways to manage infection to protect both animal and human health.

Regulators need to be proactive to keep pace with the evolving innovation landscape. This involves spotting new trends and technologies early, so we can create clear guidance to help bring safe, effective novel products to market.

This exciting new role will aid VMD to transition to a more proactive approach to innovation, ensuring that our regulatory frameworks and guidance evolve to enable new technologies, and that this guidance is accessible to innovators.

The role will support delivery of the VMD Science Strategy and help ensure that our scientists have the knowledge and skills to deal with current and future challenges and innovations. It will facilitate knowledge exchange with the wider scientific and research communities, other regulatory bodies (national and international) and government departments, and the wider animal health sector.

Reporting to the Principal Veterinary Advisor, the successful applicant will:

• Expand and enhance organisational awareness and understanding of emerging veterinary novel therapies and technologies.
• Build internal and external stakeholder networks and processes to implement effective horizon scanning and response. Embed these novel processes into existing organisational structures, working with and through technical experts
• Identify where updated or new guidance is required to accommodate innovation. Coordinate across relevant scientific and policy teams to develop this guidance, bringing in additional external expertise where required.
• Conduct task and finish deep dive reviews into categories of products that currently do not come within the scope of Veterinary Medicines Regulations 2013 as amended. Identify the benefits and risks associated with these types of products and work with legislation and policy colleagues to inform future organisational strategy and approach to regulation of these products.
• Work with the vaccine availability team to identify and implement activities that support innovation in vaccines and vaccine technologies. Contribute to delivery of the Statement of Intent on veterinary vaccine availability.
• Liaise across Government to include innovation priorities in relevant strategies and funding streams.
• Convene innovators and academia with regulators and end users to shape innovation in alignment with therapeutic gaps.
• Create and maintain national and international stakeholder networks and host stakeholder events.
• Lead associated communication activities e.g. creating media content and working with VMD communications team to disseminate via social and other media outlets.
• Comply with ISO 9001 (quality management) and ISO 27001 (information security) standards, and GDPR and record management requirements.
• Act corporately – meeting, role-modelling, embedding, and championing the corporate objectives set by the VMD.