Responsibilities
- Lead UK Residency & FRO pipeline: Own the execution of our UK Residency program. Identify and source breakthrough research concepts from across British universities and institutes, recruit stellar founding teams, shepherd them through the Residency, and launch new FROs in partnership with ARIA and other funders
- Manage UK Office and Hiring: Help our team continue to build the operational foundations Convergent needs in the UK, supporting recruitment of new team members and ensuring our UK entity can support a growing FRO portfolio
- Grow UK government and funding relationships: Deepen our partnership with ARIA while building relationships with UKRI, Innovate UK, DSIT, and other agencies funding high-risk research. Position Convergent as the trusted operating partner for ambitious public-good science across the UK funding landscape
- Represent Convergent in UK policy and science circles: Be Convergent's face in London, Cambridge, and beyond. Speak at conferences, engage with policymakers, build relationships with university leadership and research directors, and ensure the FRO model is understood and valued by the UK science establishment
- Provide board governance: Serve as voting board member on multiple UK-based FROs, bringing strategic oversight, removing blockers, ensuring milestones align with both scientific ambition and funder requirements, and helping founders navigate the unique challenges of the UK research landscape
- Shape Convergent's UK/Europe strategy: Work with Convergent leadership to refine our UK expansion roadmap, identify which partnerships and programs align with our mission, and ensure we scale our UK/Europe presence without losing what makes us effective
Requirements
- UK science ecosystem fluency: Deep understanding of British research funding (UKRI, ARIA, Innovate UK), university structures, charity/nonprofit regulations, and how to navigate UK science policy without drowning in process
- Program management: Experience designing, running, and iterating cohort-based programs, accelerators, residencies, or similar. You know how to create transformative experiences for participants
- Strategic + ops chops: Can build five-year roadmaps and also fix the thing that's broken today
- Board experience: Comfort with governance, fiduciary responsibility, and making tough calls. Bonus if you understand UK charity governance specifically
- Relationship builder: Extensive network across UK research institutions, funding bodies, or policy circles. People return your emails and actually want to help you
- Excellent judgment under uncertainty: Can pressure-test strategy, identify red flags, and make calls with incomplete information
- Strong written and verbal communication: Can write for Nature, UKRI grant applications, board memos, and Twitter without changing who you are
- Empathy for scientists + healthy disrespect for academic incentives: You want to help brilliant researchers succeed, but you're not precious about 'how things are traditionally done'
Nice to Have
- Experience at ARIA, UKRI, Innovate UK, or similar as program director/manager/technical specialist
- Track record of securing large UK government grants or running programs for unconventional research models
- Deep relationships at Cambridge, Oxford, Imperial, UCL, Edinburgh, or other top research universities
- Experience with technology transfer or spinning out companies from UK universities
- Previous startup experience in the UK
Additional Information
- You're joining at a moment that is neither all risk nor all rote—we have early traction and strong partnerships, but plenty of room for experimentation.
- You'll be joining a team that is ambitious, irreverent, and deeply committed to enabling breakthrough science.
