Innovation Lead - Agriculture & Food

Innovate UK Business Connect; United Kingdom; On-site; GBP 57,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading innovation organization is seeking an Innovation Lead in Agriculture & Food to develop interventions supporting agri-food businesses. Responsibilities include managing funding competitions and fostering collaborations. The ideal candidate holds a relevant degree and has extensive experience in the agricultural sector. This fixed-term role offers a salary of £56,745 gross per annum, flexible working arrangements, and a commitment to work-life balance.

Benefits

30 days annual leave

Flexible working hours

Defined benefit pension scheme

Qualifications

• In-depth technical knowledge of the agricultural sector.
• Experience in product development within agriculture.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills.

Responsibilities

• Develop and implement strategies for Agri-Food innovation.
• Deliver funding competitions and business support interventions.
• Maintain oversight of project portfolios.

Skills

Commercial awareness

Stakeholder management

Communication skills

Strategic awareness

Education

Degree level in a science engineering or technical field relevant to agriculture

Job description

Innovate UK has the following secondment opportunity available for employees of Innovate UK Business Connect:

Applications must be submitted by
18-08-2025

Innovation Lead - Agriculture & Food

As an Innovation Lead you will be responsible for developing and delivering a vital range of interventions to support agri-food businesses to innovate and to help grow the UK economy, response to industrial challenges and commercial opportunities.

*Please note this advert will close on the 17th of August 2025 at 23.59pm.

Watch our video "Why Join Innovate UK?" here

Title: Innovation Lead - Agriculture & Food

Band: UKRI Band F (UKRI Ts & Cs)

Salary: £56,745 gross per annum

Reports to: Interim Director - Agri-Food

Location: Field based

Contract: Fixed Term Until (31/03/2029)

Employees applying for any opportunity which may mean being away from your substantive role for a temporary period of time, please refer to the Recruitment Policy for further information in the first instance. If you are made an offer, please ensure you liaise with your Line Manager and the designated HR Team as soon as possible in order that implications of any move are clear and understood, prior to a move taking place.

Innovate UK recognises the importance of work-life balance and we will be happy to discuss any requests for flexible working arrangements.

Context:

The UK Agriculture sector is a broad and highly dispersed industry, spanning horticulture, aquaculture, livestock, food and crops. Agriculture is the bedrock of the UK's largest manufacturing sector, food and drink, which contributes over £120 billion to the country's economy. Collaboration and strong relationships across the breadth of the UK's agricultural industries, research, UKRI and government are critical to driving the much-needed innovations to ensure this industry continues to thrive.

The Agri-food team is responsible for significant innovation funding that includes a substantial managed programme in partnership with DEFRA. Regardless of the funding origin, the Agrifood programmes are focused on driving economic performance and the environmental sustainability of the sector. Developing new funding programmes as well as delivering impact from our current portfolio are key outcomes.

We particularly welcome female applicants as women are under-represented within Innovate UK in this type of role.

Job Purpose:

As an Innovation Lead you will be responsible for developing and delivering a vital range of interventions to support agri-food businesses to innovate and to help grow the UK economy, response to industrial challenges and commercial opportunities.

Key Responsibilities and Accountabilities:

• Collaborating in the development and promotion of our strategy in Agri-Food based on a good understanding of relevant industries and technologies and wider innovation infrastructure
• Designing, developing, and delivering funding competitions and other business support interventions for the agriculture sector, working effectively with the internal and external stakeholders to achieve a successful outcome, with specific focus on the continuous delivery of the Defra Farming Innovation Programme ADOPT competition pipeline
• Maintaining technical oversight for a portfolio of projects, tracking progress to ensure desired outcomes are achieved and ensuring that project challenges and successes are understood, captured and escalated as necessary
• Supporting funded projects to maximise the impact of our investment
• Developing relationships with business and innovators to create a deep understanding of opportunities from, and barriers to innovation in the sector
• Ensuring that UK activity is set in an international context and recognises regional strengths across the UK
• Working with Innovate UK and UKRI colleagues and networks on decisions made in your specialist area, to ensure they make sense in the context of the broader organisation, strategically and operationally
• Representing Innovate UK at leading industry events, raising awareness of innovation opportunities and successes

This is not an exhaustive list and you might be encouraged to undertake any other duties across the wider directorate, commensurate with the Band and level of responsibility of this post, for which the post holder has the key experience and/or training.

Shortlisting criteria

(S) - Assessed at shortlisting

(I) - Assessed at interview

(S&I) - Assessed at both shortlisting and interview

Person Specification:

We are looking for someone with commercial awareness who can manage contending priorities and a sophisticated partner environment. You will be able to make sense of multiple data sources, to establish underlying patterns and articulate a clear and compelling vision of what needs to be done. A great teammate, a 'can do' attitude, willing to share knowledge and to learn from others.

Experience & Qualifications:

Essential -

• Degree level in a science engineering or technical field relevant to agriculture or equivalent experience (S)
• In depth technical and/or business knowledge of the agricultural sector, both here in the UK and internationally and up-to-date understanding of developments (S&I)
• First-hand experience of innovation and/or product development in agricultural sectors from working either in or closely with businesses (S&I)
• Breadth of knowledge of the challenges and opportunities for innovations that can positively impact agricultural production and for their widespread adoption (I)
• Excellent stakeholder management experience, including building links while working with senior-level individuals with conflicting demands and priorities (I)
• Ability to strategically assess business and innovation gaps and opportunities - both at the domestic and international level (I)
• Experience of communicating and presenting, conveying clear messages to a range of audiences (S)
• Up-to-date and broad-based knowledge of innovation in a commercial environment (S&I)

Desirable -

• Relevant postgraduate qualification (S)
• Understanding on how the UK farming sector operates and how innovation could benefit farmers, growers and foresters (S&I)
• Familiarity of running innovation support programmes and management of R&D project portfolios (S&I)
• Knowledge of UK government, devolved nation and other stakeholder policies relevant to agriculture (S)
• Familiarity with the collaborative research environment, such as through collaboration between companies and universities, along with experience of engaging with government departments (S&I)
• Experience of tracking impacts from a portfolio of activities (I)

Competencies:

All team members demonstrate compatibility with and capability against our Core Competencies such as:

Thinking and Problem Solving - Stakeholder management - Communication skills - Influencing - Self-awareness/self-management - Strategic awareness - Working with others- Project management

Some of the above competencies will be assessed at interview stage, in addition to the criteria's listed in the person specification.

Travel Requirements:

Field-based: There will a requirement to travel, mostly national, and there is some flexibility in this. Innovate UK staff make extensive use of telepresence tools for meetings to minimise unnecessary travel.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion:

Innovate UK is a diverse workforce of people. We believe that encouraging these differences and drawing the best from them will build a productive environment in which everyone feels valued, where talents are fully utilised and in which organisational goals are met. Underpinning this is a belief that it is a fundamental right for everyone to be treated equally, with fairness, respect and dignity. We will act directly and use our influence to ensure that this right is promoted and upheld; we encourage applications from all those who meet the criteria set-out in our role profiles.

Equal Opportunities:

We are an equal opportunities employer, committed to employing any person who meets the criteria for our roles. When undertaking recruitment we may require applicants to undertake certain tests or assessments, some of which will be online and others may be in-person. If you have a disability, heath condition or specific learning difficulty such as dyslexia then you may be entitled to support with undertaking this type of assessment exercise. Where you feel that reasonable adjustments are required to support you, we ask that you advise your recruitment point of contact in a timely fashion, providing further information. In confidence, Innovate UK will then review your application for adjustments and provide support as required.

UK Research and Innovation:

Innovate UK is partner organisation within UK Research and Innovation. If successful in securing the position, your employer will be UK Research and Innovation. More information can be found online http://www.ukri.org/.

Employee Benefits:

We offer a benefits package crafted to provide an excellent work/life balance. This includes 30 days' annual leave, 10.5 public and privilege days, flexible working hours, an exceptional defined benefit pension scheme, and access to a variety of support networks and discount schemes.

Benefits of working at UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)

Flexible Working:

We understand the importance of work-life balance, and are happy to discuss the possibility of flexible working with applicants.

Pre-employment Screening:

To enable us to hire the very best people we will conduct a comprehensive pre-employment check on successful applicants as part of the recruitment process.

The role holder will be required to have the appropriate level of security screening/vetting required for the role. UKRI reserves the right to run or re-run security clearance as required during the course of employment.

UKRI supports research in areas that include animal health, agriculture and food security, and bioscience for health which includes research on animals, genetic modification and stem cell research. Whilst you may not have direct involvement in this type of research, you should consider how this aligns with your personal values or beliefs. To enable us to hire the very best people we will conduct a full and comprehensive pre-employment check as a crucial part of the recruitment process on all individuals that are offered a position with UKRI. This will include a security check and an extreme organisations affiliation check.

Applications must be submitted by;
18-08-2025