Competitions Delivery Executive

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

Applications must be submitted by

27-11-2025

Competitions Delivery Executive

The Competitions Delivery Executive will play a vital role in the seamless execution of administrative tasks related to the efficient delivery of the assessment of applications and assessor invoice processing, project set-up, bank account information approvals and Grant offer letter creation and completion.

*Please note this advert will close on the 26th November 2025 at 23.59pm.

Watch our video “Why Join Innovate UK?” here.

Title:                  Competitions Delivery Executive

Band:                UKRI Band C (UKRI Ts & Cs)

Salary:              £30,895- gross per annum

Reports to:     Competition Lead Digital & Technologies

Location:        Swindon (Hybrid Working)

Contract:        Fixed Term Until (20/03/2026)

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 Competitions Delivery Executive with work as a cross functional team to support the needs of the business in line with the domains.  The role holder is responsible for proactively managing their workload to successfully support demand of the following activities: managing the assessment of applications and processing of assessor invoices, verification of bank account information, the creation and issuing of grant award letters and the support of successful applicants in understanding what they need to provide to complete project setup and begin their project within the specified timeframes. You will work closely with other operational teams and domains to provide support and knowledge to successful applicants, ensuring the end-to-end processes are completed efficiently.

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

Job Purpose:

The Competitions Delivery Executive will play a vital role in the seamless execution of administrative tasks related to the efficient delivery of the assessment of applications and assessor invoice processing, project set-up, bank account information approvals and Grant offer letter creation and completion. Collaborating closely with team members, they will actively monitor all project setup activities for grant recipients, aiming to facilitate the earliest possible project commencement, while adhering to necessary checks by Innovate UK. This may involve contacting grant recipients in order to collect outstanding information and recording the status of activities for review by other teams across Operations and the wider organisation. The role will include approval of bank account information and creation of grant offer letters and procurement contracts, using the details collected as part of project setup.

Key Responsibilities and Accountabilities:

• Administrative Efficiency: Take the lead in executing administrative tasks associated with the assessment of applications and invoice processing, ensuring a streamlined and efficient process.
• Assessor management: First line support for Internal and External stakeholders in understanding the Competition assessment process. Management of competition assessment and interview panels, including identifying issues that may arise in the allocation stages and problem-solving situation with the successful reallocation of applications to assessors to avoid potential deadline breaches. Additional KTP responsibilities will need to be encompassed in the role to support First line support to CSS for all assessor or competition related queries that come through via email, Salesforce query management system or dedicated Microsoft Teams chat.
• Project Setup Monitoring: Work closely with the team to proactively monitor all activities related to the setup of Awards projects for grant recipients. Identify any outstanding information required and proactively engage with grant recipients to collect the necessary data.
• Collaboration and Coordination: Foster strong collaboration with other teams across Operations and the wider organisation. Maintain accurate records of activities, ensuring easy access and visibility for relevant teams on processes
• Grant Offer Letters: Work with the Innovation Leads and utilise the information gathered during project setup to create grant offer letter templates with bespoke information and provide any ad hoc support with their competitions where necessary.
•  Bank account information approvals: Exercise due diligence in reviewing and approving bank account information for each grant funded participant, in line with Innovate UK defined processes. This involves liaising with Project Finance where relevant and escalating any non-standard bank accounts to their team for additional review.
•  Process Improvement: Continuously seek opportunities to enhance existing processes and workflows, contributing to the overall efficiency and effectiveness of project delivery.
• Strong organisational and administrative skills with meticulous attention to detail.
•  Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal, to effectively engage with grant recipients and cross-functional teams.
• Investigate and action the weekly held on payment run report, this involves liaising with the accounts, claims and project finance team to ensure the issue is rectified and payment is made to the participant promptly.
• Proactive mindset with the ability to identify and resolve issues promptly.
•  Ability to work collaboratively in a customer-centric environment.
• Proficiency in utilizing technology and software for efficient data management and reporting.
• Support and mentor team members in your area of expertise to enable a cross functional team to flourish and develop
• Ensure high quality internal and external customer service is maintained at all times, including high quality customer engagement to ensure that competition processes are understood, fair and Join our dynamic team as a Competitions Delivery Executive and contribute to the successful execution of our grant programs, enabling innovation and driving impactful projects.

This is not an exhaustive list and you might be required 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:

The post-holder should have proven experience in working in a fast paced and customer service-orientated environment. They must be passionate about customer service and in delivering the competition efficiently.

Experience & Qualifications:

Essential –

• Secondary level academic qualifications or equivalent S
• Further education or vocational training qualification desirable S
• Interest/background/experience in innovation or research, business competitiveness and technology policy or delivery S&I
• General administration experience working with bespoke and Microsoft systems and databases S
• Demonstrable experience of working as part of effective teams, preferably in an operational environment to deliver results I
• Proven hands-on ability to work within a change and process-led environment I
• Experience of working with multiple, senior-level stakeholders, providing proactive customer/stakeholder support managing multiple deadlines concurrently S&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:

Swindon-based: There may be the occasional requirement for national 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;

27-11-2025