Senior Research Manager, Disease Tracking

Salary: £64,800

Closing date: Monday, 28 April 2025

Contract type: Permanent

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.

This is an exciting time to join Wellcome under the direction of our new CEO John-Arne Rottingen, who joined in 2024. The Infectious Disease Solutions Programme (IDSP) is a relatively new team and as such this is an opportune time to join and help us drive forward our strategy. The team focuses on two key drivers of infectious disease – environmental change and antimicrobial resistance. We take a holistic approach combining an interest in gaining a better understanding of these drivers to accelerate the development and use of interventions. Our current focus is on vector borne disease, cholera, TB, fungi, and AMR with a geographical focus on Africa and South/South-East Asia.

You will be joining a multidisciplinary, collaborative and enthusiastic team focused on supporting science to bring innovative solutions to combat infectious disease in the most affected communities.

We are looking for a Senior Research Manager who will contribute to the leadership, development and delivery of the Epidemics & Epidemiology team’s strategic objectives. The Senior Research Manager will support the team to select and advance the best research by convening, funding, and sharing learnings in line with the Infectious Disease strategy. You will also contribute towards Wellcome’s research funding response to future infectious disease outbreaks.

You will have a background in infectious disease research, with an emphasis on disease tracking, as well as a broad outlook and interdisciplinary vision for the future of the field. Experience working with international organisations such as WHO, knowledge of pathogen genomic sequencing, and experience and/or knowledge of conducting research in low-resource settings is desirable.

In this role you will:

1. Contribute to the effective delivery of funding decisions, providing critical scientific assessment of applications, participating in decision-making reviews and making clear recommendations to senior management.
2. Ensure a breadth and depth of knowledge of your area and the wider research and funding landscape and apply this to the review and development of activities within the Infectious Disease Strategic Programme, identifying suitable routes for the development and delivery of new activities and sharing knowledge and expertise to contribute to the work across Research Programmes and throughout Wellcome.
3. Identify and manage larger projects independently, acting as the main point of contact, liaising with external stakeholders or partners for the ongoing management and conclusion of major initiatives.
4. Effectively use knowledge and expertise to inform and influence internal and external networks to independently seek advice and input from experts as needed.
5. Clearly communicate the work and funding of the Infectious Disease Strategic Programme to internal and external audiences.
6. Contribute to a diverse and inclusive culture across the organisation, collaborating across departments.

To be successful in this role you will have:

1. An advanced degree in the life sciences (e.g., infectious disease epidemiology, public health, or other infectious disease relevant degree) or equivalent demonstrable experience.
2. Significant experience in infectious disease research related to surveillance and epidemiology, with either direct experience in outbreak response or an understanding of interdisciplinary areas that contribute to epidemic preparedness and response (e.g. clinical research, social sciences, fundamental research, modelling, research uptake). This experience has been gained through work in academia, public health, industry, funding agencies, clinical settings or non-government organisations.
3. Articulate with strong verbal and written communication skills. Adept at influencing internal and external stakeholders and delivering impactful presentations, reports, or articles.
4. Excellent organizational abilities with capacity to manage competing priorities with short notice.
5. Excellent relationship management skills with diverse stakeholders.
6. Experience in research project management and grant administration.

To apply please upload your current CV and complete our short application.

Interview dates: w/c 2 June

You can view the full job description on our website.

You can read more about the benefits we offer our employees on our website.

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. We are currently working 3 days per week (Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays) from our Euston Road offices (as part of our hybrid Ways of Working) 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. Please visit our website for more information on adjustments and accessibility, or contact us at jobs@wellcome.org.