Head of Enterprise

Summary and Purpose

Despite abundant scientific progress, many discoveries fail to reach patients due to coordination challenges and funding gaps during proof-of-concept stages. The Academy of Medical Sciences is establishing a new Research Translation and Enterprise function to address these barriers, converting groundbreaking science into companies and products that impact patients.

As Head of Enterprise, reporting to the Director of Translation and Enterprise, you will develop and lead the Academy's commercial activities. This includes enabling top scientific breakthroughs from the Fellowship to secure investment and scale, shaping enterprise offerings, and exploring equity potential in supported ventures. While the Director manages the broader program and external relations, your main responsibility is to ensure the enterprise function operates efficiently and aligned with the Academy’s charitable mission and broader objectives.

This is a unique chance to both create and lead an innovative function without a prior template. The role requires hands-on execution balanced with strategic leadership, focusing on fostering company formation around Academy science and supporting researchers with entrepreneurial aims. You will collaborate closely with internal teams, including Grants and Programmes, Policy, Communications and Engagement, and Operations, ensuring sustainable integration of enterprise initiatives.

Key Responsibilities

• Establish and direct the enterprise function, ensuring alignment with strategic goals, clear governance, appropriate resourcing, and effective planning.
• Manage a growing team by setting clear objectives, providing guidance and support, and cultivating a culture of ownership, accountability, and high performance.
• Efficiently allocate personnel, budget, and expertise; identify and escalate significant risks or decisions to the Director as needed, while retaining judgment over daily operations.
• Design and initiate new Enterprise fellowship programs that leverage the strengths of the Academy's Fellowship community.
• Collaborate with Grants and Programmes and other colleagues to ensure smooth implementation, proper handover, and rigorous oversight of initiatives.
• Partner credibly with venture and industry stakeholders to identify promising scientific developments internally and shape propositions that might otherwise struggle to reach markets.
• Assist scientists in assembling multidisciplinary expertise necessary for translational ventures, including scientific, clinical, and business domains, via offerings such as Demonstration Days.
• Develop and evaluate equity models based on legal and commercial advice to inform decisions on potential Academy equity stakes in emerging businesses.
• Safeguard the Academy's independence throughout enterprise growth by controlling processes, utilizing Fellows as expert resources rather than investors, maintaining non-exclusive partnerships, and clearly separating commercial activities from charitable work.
• Build and oversee partnerships that attract external funding and capabilities from public funders, industry, health charities, and venture partners, coordinating closely with senior leadership to align with income strategies.
• Negotiate partnerships efficiently to secure favorable terms that uphold the Academy's independence and charitable objectives.
• Provide clear reporting on funding, performance, delivery, and risk to leadership, ensuring responsible and sustainable growth of the enterprise function.

Candidate Profile and Requirements

• Extensive senior management experience in UK life sciences enterprise, ideally situated at the intersection of academic and commercial development with demonstrated delivery of complex, multi-partner projects.
• Established credibility with venture capitalists, investors, and industry partners, supported by direct experience in life sciences translation, investment, or commercial collaborations.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving skills, and prudent business judgment to assess opportunities and maintain the Academy's independence while scaling commercial activities.
• Proven success in building strategic partnerships, influencing senior stakeholders, and negotiating cross-organisational agreements that drive momentum and shared ownership.
• Inclusive and confident leadership style with experience managing teams, setting priorities effectively, deploying resources efficiently, and fostering a culture of high-quality deliverables and professional growth.
• Comfortable exercising significant autonomy within executive direction, skilled at complex decision-making and escalation processes, with an understanding of collaborative cross-departmental success.

Application Process and Timeline

Applications must be submitted by 2 August 2026 at 12:00. Interviews are expected to occur between 10 and 21 August 2026.

Compensation and Benefits

• Competitive salary along with pension contributions.
• 26 days of annual leave plus bank holidays.
• Option to purchase or sell annual leave.
• Additional paid closure during the Christmas to New Year period.
• Hybrid and flexible working arrangements.
• Access to health, wellbeing, and employee support programs.
• Cycle-to-work scheme and various everyday benefits.
• Structured opportunities for learning and development.
• Enhanced maternity, adoption, and paternity leave.
• Improved occupational sick pay.
• Additional enhanced benefits available after successful completion of probationary period.