Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA)

Non-Executive Directors

Job Reference QAPASC
Closing Date Monday 05 Sep 2022

Location: ARIA will initially be based in London

ARIA is seeking experienced candidates from a range of professional backgrounds who operate at senior levels to take up three Non-Executive roles on the Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA) Board. Modelled after the ARPAs in the United States, ARIA’s mission is to pursue high-risk, high-payoff research in breakthrough technologies that create a strategic advantage for the United Kingdom.

The agency will have a high degree of freedom and autonomy from central Government, minimal bureaucracy, and maximal financial flexibility. The Government is committed to providing at least £800m in funding for the agency till 2025/26.

ARIA’s Non-Executive Directors (NEDs) will be integral to shaping this new organisation and ensuring its success. Working closely with the newly appointed CEO and Chair, they will play a pivotal role in the agency’s embryonic years and help to build the organisation from the ground up.

We are looking for NEDs who have excelled in their own field and can bring their wealth of experience to anchor the new agency in the UK, and international R&D system. One of the NEDs will also be appointed as Chair of the Audit and Risk committee. Candidates will bring expertise in at least one of the following three areas:

– R&D/academia/science;
– High risk commercial portfolio management; and/or
– Senior financial management experience.

The successful candidates will bring sound judgment, strong communication and interpersonal skills, a strategic mindset with excellent listening and influencing ability, intellectual capability and inquisitiveness, and the ability to engage with a range of senior stakeholders.

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy is committed to the principle of public appointments on merit with independent assessment, openness, and fairness of process and to providing equal opportunities for all. Applications are welcome from all, but we particularly encourage applications from women, people from an ethnic minority, people with disabilities and other underrepresented groups.

Saxton Bampfylde Ltd is acting as an employment agency advisor to the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy on this appointment. For further information about the role, including details about how to apply, please visit www.saxbam.com/appointments using reference QAPASC. Alternatively telephone +44 (0)20 7227 0880 (during office hours). Applications should be received by noon on Monday 5 September 2022.

Modelled after the ARPAs in the United States, ARIA’s mission is to pursue high-risk, high-payoff research in breakthrough technologies that create a strategic advantage for the United Kingdom.