Deputy Director of Quantum

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Please apply for jobs via this site only if you are employed by UK Research and Innovation (employees with access to Innovate UK's Workday system may apply via the "Careers" application within the system).

If you are not a current UKRI employee you can view vacancies at the externally advertised stage at the links given in the "About Us information on the right". If you wish to apply for the position below, please ensure that you comply with the requirements of the recruitment process by submitting both a full CV and application letter. Ideally, you should also advise your manager of your application.

Applications must be submitted by

24-08-2026

Deputy Director of Quantum

The Deputy Director is a senior leadership role responsible for shaping strategy, driving delivery, and ensuring successful outcomes across a portfolio of programmes and activities.

*Please note this advert will close on the 23rd August 2026 at 23.59.

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Title:                 Deputy Director of Quantum

Band:                UKRI Band H (UKRI Ts & Cs)

Salary:              £86,731 gross per annum

Reports to:     Director Quantum

Location:        Swindon (Hybrid Working)

Contract:        Permanent

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

Context:

We are seeking to appoint a Deputy Director for the Quantum Technology Programme. The national quantum missions programme is one of the most significant programmes in DSIT’s accountability. It covers an initial £1bn programme of research and innovation leading into a £1bn government procurement. These are linked and the Innovate UK programmes form an integral part of the final procurement process requiring new approaches, systems and team arrangements to deliver. The programme has exceptional levels of political visibility within DSIT. The direct IUK programme is around £670m but the competitions in the compute element directly feed the subsequent procurement. The procurement processes and contracting bodies are not yet decided but Innovate UK will be central to this. The current team and management structure cannot deliver this scale and novelty of programme and IUK is under direct DSIT pressure to develop the team urgently. Specifically there is a need for an additional leadership role to drive the new ways of working across multiple agencies, support the development of new products/services in Innovate UK and lead the rainbow teams delivering beyond the bounds of the Quantum team itself.

This role will be accountable for translating Innovate UK’s Quantum strategy into a deliverable, high-performing portfolio of programmes including with novel products and services and new working arrangements within UKRI. The role operates at senior leadership level, balancing strategic influence with operational accountability for programme performance, capability development, and stakeholder alignment. They will critically also own the joint programme with other IUK departments to develop the novel approaches required to deliver the transition to the £1bn government Quantum procurement activity.

The post holder directly supports the Director of Quantum (Band H) in delivering national-scale priorities, while holding independent accountability for programme delivery, portfolio performance, and internal leadership.

The role holder will operate within the Digital and Technologies Directorate.

This role provides strategic leadership across a defined portfolio of activity, supporting organisational priorities and contributing to the delivery of wider corporate objectives.

The role holder is responsible for leading a team of approximately around 12 people via 2 band G Heads of

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

Job Purpose:

The Deputy Director is a senior leadership role responsible for shaping strategy, driving delivery, and ensuring successful outcomes across a portfolio of programmes and activities.

Working collaboratively across internal teams and with external stakeholders, the role holder will bring strategic insight, leadership, and operational oversight to influence and deliver impactful initiatives. The Deputy Director will support senior leadership, contribute to organisational direction, and act as a key interface with partners and stakeholders.

The role has significant responsibility for both budget and people, including accountability for a substantial programme budget and leadership of a high-performing team.

Key Responsibilities and Accountabilities:

Strategy and Leadership

• Develop and contribute to organisational and directorate-level strategies, ensuring alignment with corporate priorities.
• Provide strategic leadership in developing a portfolio of programmes using novel approaches to achieve the strategic direction defined by the Quantum Director.
• Own the development and delivery of long-term plans and transformation initiatives to deliver new services and approaches

Stakeholder Engagement and Influence

• Act as a senior Innovate UK representative for the Quantum programme and wider quantum ecosystem. In particular, be accountable for the operational delivery of the Innovate UK activity with DSIT seniors.
• Build and maintain effective relationships across government, industry, academia, and partner organisations (as relevant) in an environment where new, higher risk approaches are being jointly developed.
• Influence policy, strategy, and programme direction at senior levels with overall strategic ownership sitting with the quantum director.

Programme and Portfolio Delivery

• Oversee delivery of programmes to agreed cost, quality, and time requirements.
• Ensure robust governance, performance monitoring, and risk management.
• Enable the development and delivery of innovative and impactful initiatives.

Collaboration and Integration

• Work collaboratively across teams and functions to ensure alignment and effective delivery.
• Foster strong internal partnerships to maximise organisational impact.

People Leadership

• Build, lead, and develop a high-performing team in a politically visible environment where novel approaches are required
• Be responsible for delivering integrated/rainbow team activity between the quantum team, operations and other functional areas within IUK, IUK Business Connect and other UKRI councils
• Promote an inclusive, collaborative, and high-performance culture.
• Lead through change, supporting teams to adapt and succeed.

Financial Accountability

• Hold accountability for budget planning, management, and delivery.
• Ensure effective allocation of resources to achieve strategic objectives.

Governance and Representation

• Deputise for the Director / Executive Director as required.
• Contribute to senior leadership forums and decision-making bodies across the Quantum industry.

Additional Responsibilities

• Undertake other duties commensurate with the role and grade.

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:

Experience & Qualifications:

Essential –

• Be recognised as an influential leader across the government, industry and partners Quantum Technology ecosystem (S&I).
• Proven track record of developing and delivering strategy and complex innovation/business growth programmes (S).
• Experience of working with senior stakeholders across multiple organisations (S&I).
• Strong track record of delivering complex programmes to quality and time (S&I).
• Strong track record of leading and developing high-performing teams and working effectively across organisational boundaries (S&I).
• Experience operating at Board or Executive level (or equivalent) (S&I).
• Experience in developing or delivering new products/service approaches (S&I).
• Educated to degree level (or equivalent experience); postgraduate qualification desirable (S).

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.

Please note, if you will require sponsorship to work in the UK, as part of your sponsorship application, you and any dependants travelling with you, will be required to pay costs directly to The Home Office for the application before you start your role with us. UKRI is normally able to reimburse some, or all of these fees after you have become an employee and this can be discussed with the Hiring Manager. For more information, please visit https://www.gov.uk/skilled-worker-visa/how-much-it-costs or contact Recruitment@ukri.org.

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.

Artificial Intelligence:

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be rejected and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action.

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;

24-08-2026