UK Food Valley Innovation Coordinator

Lincolnshire County Council; Lincoln; Hybrid; GBP 30,000 - 40,000; Full time

Job summary

A public sector organization in Lincoln is seeking a UK Food Valley Innovation Coordinator to manage and support agri-food innovation initiatives. The ideal candidate will coordinate activities with external stakeholders, require strong IT and organizational skills, and will have experience in the innovation sector. A flexible and resilient attitude is essential, along with the ability to travel across multiple counties. This role offers a hybrid working environment.

Qualifications

• Empathy, drive, enthusiasm, flexibility, and commitment.
• Resilient, confident, and capable of building relationships.

Responsibilities

• Be the main contact for the cluster management in Eastern England.
• Support the development of the innovation cluster.
• Coordinate activity, meetings, and work programmes.

Skills

IT skills across the entire Microsoft package

Confidence working with external stakeholders

Organizational skills

Understanding of the agri-food sector or innovation programmes (desirable)

Job description

Overview

UK Food Valley Innovation Coordinator – UK Food Valley is an initiative (run by Lincolnshire County Council) aiming to promote Greater Lincolnshire’s agri-food sector to become a top 10 global food cluster.

You will be the main day to day contact for the cluster management of the Innovate UK agri-tech and food-tech launchpad in Eastern England – an Innovation programme that provides £7.5 million of locked off innovation funding, accelerating and strengthening innovation across the agri-food sector within the cluster. You will support the development of this innovation cluster, working with external project partners of Norfolk County Council, Suffolk County Council, and the Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority. Tasks will include Innovate UK Project Administration (such as claims and reporting) as well as coordinating activity, meetings and work programmes across the Eastern England region. You will also work with other regional partners to develop content, briefings and organise both virtual and in person events, and to engage with regional stakeholders working in the innovation landscape.

You will be required to travel between four counties; access to your own transport is essential.

About the Team

UKFV supports growth and encourages inward investment through promoting the scale, diversity and importance of the food sector to the area, and by ensuring that existing food sector companies and new investors are supported.

About You

We are seeking to appoint someone with the right skills and experience who has empathy, drive, enthusiasm, flexibility and commitment. You will need to be a resilient, confident and capable person who is able to establish and build excellent working relationships internally and externally across other businesses. In addition you will need:

• IT skills across the entire Microsoft package
• Be well organised
• Be confident working with external stakeholders
• An understanding of the agri-food sector or innovation programmes (desirable)

Role Details

This role can be undertaken as a secondment. If you are an internal candidate, please ensure your line manager is aware if you are applying for this role as a secondment opportunity.

Please contact Vanessa Strange on email [e-mail] for more information.

Closing date: 28 September 2025.

Due to immigration law changes in the UK we are unable to offer skilled worker visa sponsorship for this role as it does not meet the requirements of RFQ Level 6.

All candidates are advised to read the attached job information pack prior to making an application.

We reserve the right to bring forward the closing date of the advertisement if we receive significantly more applications than expected. We encourage you to apply promptly.

We operate a talent pool scheme whereby candidates who are not successful on this occasion may be considered for a period of up to 3 months for equal positions.

Lincolnshire County Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

A Smarter Working Employer

Hybrid working will be a feature of this role. You will have a nominated contractual work base and will be required to commute to this work base when necessary. Working arrangements regarding hybrid working will be discussed as part of the appointment process. Our technology platform enables you to connect and collaborate remotely. We require that you have good connectivity, and we will discuss during the recruitment process if support is needed.

Fluency Duty

In accordance with Part 7 of the Immigration Act 2016 (Fluency Duty), the ability to converse at ease with customers and provide advice in accurate spoken English is essential for the post.