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  • AKT Governance and Operations Manager (FTC March 2027)

Position Details

Location

Remote

Salary

£40,000 to £42,839 pa

Posted on

06/05/2026

Application Closes

26/05/2026

AKT Governance and Operations Manager (FTC March 2027)

As a key member of the Innovate UK Business Connect Knowledge Transfer (KT) team, this role will play a crucial role in the development and implementation of the strategic objectives of AKT. The Innovate UK Accelerated Knowledge Transfer (AKT) scheme has delivered four competition rounds and this role will review these and develop a case for mainstream AKT competition, including working with key stakeholders to explore and develop potential delivery models, subject to funding.

AKT is a national scheme with a £5m pa budget that supports universities in working with business partners to evaluate and advance new business-led innovations, where academic knowledge is key in evaluating or advancing the idea. The post holder will be responsible for developing operational and governance procedures around the management and delivery of the scheme, from competition launch through to close and impact capture. This will require close working with colleagues within Innovate UK, as well as stakeholders in the UK Knowledge Base Community.

You will work closely with the AKT Delivery Team to identify trends, make recommendations and map business needs, development of competition frameworks and operational procedures in response to the latest intelligence from key stakeholders.

You will liaise closely with Innovate UK Competitions, to ensure that the operations and governance of AKT are aligned with Innovate UK compliance requirements.

Key accountabilities for this role will include, but not be limited to, governance and operational management; process & procedure development; strategic partnership development; marketing; grant monitoring and business development.

This role will involve representing IUK BC with senior relevant stakeholders, and ensuring AKT activity is visible across IUK and the Knowledge Bases, including HE and FE sectors.

Roles & Responsibilities

  • Develop proposal, strategies and priorities for potential future AKT rounds (subject to funding), through evaluation of qualitative and quantitative data and latest intelligence.
  • Manage and develop the Governance and Operations processes of the AKT Programme, ensuring compliance with Innovate UK requirements.
  • Maintain strong relationships with relevant teams at Innovate UK and other key stakeholders, such as external funders and Knowledge Bases.
  • Facilitate opportunities for key stakeholders to contribute feedback and intelligence through the organisation of workshops and other meetings, etc
  • Display and maintain a high level of awareness in a broad range of topics of relevance to the UK capability and industry needs.
  • Work with the IUK BC Marketing and Communications team to plan for AKT to be positioned with the requisite profile both within and across sectors.
  • Support operationally across the wider KT Product portfolio, as required.

Experience & Skills

Essential Experience 
  • Significant experience developing competitions, frameworks, policies and processes
  • Experience of working within Government grant-funded programmes
  • Experience of leading and developing high-performing technical teams across more than one site
  • Tangible experience of working between universities and industry
  • Track record of delivering projects or programmes to challenging timeframes in a multi-party environment
  • A track record of building effective relationships with key stakeholders ideally including research and industry
  • Experience of accessing Innovation support mechanisms for businesses and helping develop funding and investment applications
  • Development and management of budgets
  • A track record of effective internal team working to ensure transfer of relevant opportunities
Skills
  • Ability to develop competition frameworks within the Innovate UK Governance Standard
  • Skilled in building relationships with internal and external stakeholders
  • Highly developed facilitation and stakeholder management skills
  • Highly developed interpersonal skills
  • Ambassadorial skills and ability to promote the benefits of AKT
  • Financial and commercial acumen
  • Advanced networking, workshop and meeting skills
  • A sound understanding of the research base
  • Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to communicate confidently and build effective relationships
  • Team player with good relationship building and influencing skills; enjoys working in a collaborative manner in an open, honest, and diverse environment
  • Ability to communicate complex ideas clearly and persuasively across multi disciplinary teams and stakeholders, explaining complicated matters simply
  • High level of IT literacy

Benefits & how to apply

  • This is a Grade 5 role with a salary of £40,000 to £42,839 pa (or, for internal candidates, a salary increase in line with our Pay Policy – https://teamsite.ktn-uk.org/Interact/Pages/Content/Document.aspx?id=6600&SearchId=391535)
  • 28 days annual leave plus 10.5 bank and public holidays
  • Enhanced Pension Plan
  • Life Assurance
  • Employee Assistance Programme
  • Cycle to Work Scheme
  • Wider Wallet employee benefits high street discounts scheme
  • Opportunities for continuous professional development as part of our Talent & Development Programme
This advert will close on Tuesday 26th May.
First stage interviews will be held w/c 1st June.

Second stage interviews will be held w/c 8th June.

Please apply by submitting a tailored cover letter outlining your suitability with specifics relating to the requirements of the role, and your CV outlining your experience.
Applicants must have the existing and ongoing right to work in the UK without restrictions as sponsorship for visas is not provided. Unfortunately, owing to the high number of applications received, we can only provide feedback to applicants selected for interview.
Should you wish to discuss this opportunity further, please contact the Recruitment Team by email at recruitment@iukbc.org.uk.
Innovate UK Business Connect strives to be a diverse and inclusive place where we can all be ourselves. We welcome everyone to apply, especially those individuals who are underrepresented in the industry: people of colour, LGBTQ+ community, women, disabled people, people of any age or family status. We know that diversity makes us stronger and we strive to create a working environment that is inclusive, and ensures everyone can be heard and valued for their contributions.
We do not discriminate on the basis of race, nationality, ethnic origin, religion or belief, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital or family status, disability, sex, gender identity or expression, or any other legally protected status. We are committed to removing barriers for individuals with conditions, illnesses or disabilities and we will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable adjustments to participate in the job application or interview process, and in their future role.
If you would like to request any reasonable adjustment, for any part of the recruitment process (including application), please let us know by emailing recruitment@iukbc.org.uk

Please submit applications by 26/05/2026

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