Company Description

We are health innovation specialists. We work with others to transform healthcare through innovation. We help generate new ideas and innovations or adapt existing ones. We test, evaluate, and scale the best approaches, working with NHS colleagues to implement these solutions in hospitals, communities, GP practices and beyond. We draw on diverse expertise from healthcare, universities, industry and communities, breaking down silos and creating connections as we build healthcare fit for the future.

Please visit  our website  to find out more about us, our values and how we work.

Role Description

The Director of Innovation Development is a senior leadership role responsible for shaping how innovation need is identified, prioritised, developed and assured across UCLPartners.

Operating horizontally across invention and other directorates , the postholder will lead a set of core cross capabilities that ensure UCLPartners’ work is strategically aligned to system need, underpinned by robust processes, measurable in its impact, and supported by sustainable grant funding.

The role will oversee four core areas, each delivered through the delivery teams. The Director will set direction, define methods, establish cadence and provide assurance enabling delivery teams to operate at pace while maintaining consistency, quality and strategic coherence across the organisation.

This role requires strong leadership, strategic clarity and operational discipline, with credibility across NHS providers, academia, funders and regional stakeholders.

Key responsibilities

Demand Signalling and Innovation Strategy

• Own and evolve UCLPartners demand-signalling approach, defining how innovation needs are identified, articulated and prioritised across invention and other directorates. This will require collaborative working with existing leadership, teams and capabilities within the organisation.
• Design and deliver a clear, repeatable demand-signalling method and cadence, supporting consistent application across delivery teams.
• Design and run frameworks for demand signaling, prioritisation and selection, ensuring focus on the highest-value opportunities.
• Lead an annual cross-UCLPartners demand-signalling event, engaging NHS partner leadership teams and senior system leaders, producing a clear written output to inform organisational priorities.
• Support delivery teams to apply demand-signalling approaches for individual programmes and initiatives, ensuring alignment with system need and organisational strategy.

Cross-Pipeline Capabilities and Processes

• Support the development and continuous improvement of cross-pipeline capabilities and processes (e.g. ideation assessment/ prioritisation, prototyping, testing, solution sourcing, market-readiness assessment, progression criteria).
• Ensure these processes are robust, class-leading and kept up to date, drawing on best practice and system learning.
• Work with teams across UCLPartners’ to establish close partnership working with NHS partners. Supporting UCLPartners’ teams in collecting data from NHS partners around core capabilities and processes, and to develop innovation teams within NHS partners with standardised, streamlined processes to support innovators.
• Work closely with leadership across delivery capabilities to embed consistent approaches while allowing appropriate local flexibility.
• Partner with the Director of Education to ensure these capabilities are embedded into staff development, training and organisational learning.

Performance Measurement, Reporting and Assurance

• Own the development of cross-delivery team performance frameworks, ensuring clear KPIs and outcome measures are defined and consistently applied.
• Oversee portfolio tracking, performance reporting and corrective action where progress is off track.
• Oversee the production of performance reporting for the CEO and Board, providing insight into progress, impact and areas of risk.
• Ensure appropriate national commissioner reporting and regional assurance requirements are met across invention and other directorates.
• Use performance insight to support organisational learning, improvement and strategic decision-making.

Grant Fundraising and Funding Alignment

• Lead grant fundraising strategy across directorates with a focus on:
• invention and commercialisation grants (e.g. UKRI), and
• adoption and evaluation grants (e.g. SBRI).
• Coordinate bids and submissions with delivery teams, providing strategic oversight, prioritisation and quality assurance.
• Work with colleagues to align grant funding with pipeline priorities and delivery capacity.
• Ensure clarity of distinction between grant-funded activity and competitive commissioned work, which will typically be led by delivery teams.

Stakeholder Engagement & External Representation

• Build and maintain strong relationships with NHS Trust innovation leads, academic partners, industry and investors.
• Enable effective collaboration, joint working and knowledge exchange across the innovation ecosystem.

Leadership and Ways of Working

• Provide clear, visible leadership for cross-cutting innovation development functions.
• Build, lead and develop a high-performing multidisciplinary team
• Lead and support a team delivering the four core areas, setting expectations and enabling high performance.
• Work collaboratively with delivery function directors to support coherence without duplication or overreach.
• Promote inclusive, collaborative and values-led ways of working across UCLPartners.
• Promote high standards, accountability and continuous professional development.
• Exercise judgement in complex, ambiguous situations involving multiple stakeholders and competing priorities.