Senior Partner Translation at The Wellcome Trust

Closing date:  Tuesday, 31 October 2023  

The Wellcome Trust is a global charitable foundation. We improve health for everyone by funding science, leading policy, and advocacy campaigns, and building partnerships. 

We plan to spend £16bn over the next ten years, funding new discoveries in life, health, and wellbeing, and taking on three global health challenges: mental health, infectious disease and climate and health. 

We are looking to recruit a Senior Partner to join the Translation team as part of TPI (Translation & Portfolio Integration team). TPI are a cross-cutting team underpinning our Research Programmes where its’ purpose is to coordinate and lead on translation support across three strategic priority areas: mental health, infectious diseases and climate and health and to develop translation of research from discovery. The Translation team ensure that development of translation opportunities from the four strategic programme areas is aligned with achieving Wellcome’s objectives, vision and ambitions. The remit of the Translation team is to progress projects focussed on development of novel tools, interventions, and platforms working with key partners as appropriate to ensure reach and sustainability within complex systems including in low resource settings.

This is an exciting opportunity to be part of a great team at Wellcome working across a diverse portfolio and tasked with translating research into health impact. The Senior Partner in Translation will provide specialist expertise and support to the Head of Translation in developing TPI as a centre of excellence and expertise for the translation of research at Wellcome. We are looking to recruit an individual with expertise and experience of developing interventions tools or technologies ideally gained from working across sectors (biotech, pharma, academia, private, non-for-profit).

In this role you will:

• Work with the Head of Translation to develop TPI as a centre of excellence and expertise for delivering translation of research at Wellcome and to support Research Programmes to further Wellcome’s strategic objectives and mission.
• Provide translational consultancy to strategic programme areas working collaboratively in supporting development of translation opportunities for Mental Health (MH), Infectious Diseases (ID), Climate & Health (C&H), Discovery Research (DR) and with Data for Science and Health (DSH) to enable innovation, intervention/product development plus adoption of innovative technologies to further Wellcome’s mission.
• Build upon effective existing relationships with Discovery Research and strategic programmes’ teams (MH, ID, C&H, DSH) to enable and drive delivery of translation opportunities aligned with Wellcome’s strategic objectives and ensure Wellcome’s internal translational best practice and due diligence is embedded in decision making.
• Identify and manage opportunities as they arise from Discovery Research with translation potential as a translational “pipeline” aligned to delivery of Wellcome’s mission and objectives.
• Ensure that team’s activities contribute to and support Wellcome’s strategic objectives and encourage collaborative cross-Wellcome matrix working.
• Support the Head of Translation in building, managing, leading, motivating, and retaining an integrated, inclusive and agile Translation team of Translational experts with a multidisciplinary range of skills, experience and expertise to maximise supporting development of translational opportunities across the Wellcome portolio.
• Contribute to a diverse and inclusive culture across the organisation, collaborating across departments. 

To be successful in this role you will have:

• Biomedical knowledge, technical understanding and practical experience of developing and translating research into biomedical innovations, interventions or tools and technologies.
• Broad knowledge of life science and its application to improving human health.
• Experience of working across different sectors in a research institution, biotech or medtech/pharma research environment ideally tasked with developing innovations for health impact.
• Good understanding and experience of IP related to developing research from discovery, IP management and commercialisation process, business development, product or intervention development including navigating regulatory requirements and processes.
• Experience of technology development, evaluation and due diligence process required to progress technologies or innovations.
• Advanced degree or equivalent experience in a life science, medical, technology, or engineering subject, or translation technology/innovation development

We are looking for an excellent communicator who is highly collaborative can motivate and influence. Ideally, we would like a candidate with the above expertise in relation to Translation of Research with proven experience of leading the development of innovations or technologies.

To apply please upload your current CV and complete our short application via the ‘Apply’ button above.

Interview dates: Mid November

You can view the full job description on our website

You can read more about the benefits we offer our employees on our website  

Our Hybrid Way of Working 

We understand that our colleagues have commitments and personal interests outside of work and we strive to build a flexible working environment, in which people can perform at their best. We are currently working 2 days per week (Tuesdays and Wednesdays) from our Euston Road offices (as part of our hybrid Ways of Working) with the remaining 3 days from home. 

Diversity and Inclusion is at the heart of everything we do 

Diversity and Inclusion is a priority at Wellcome. We are committed to cultivating a fair and inclusive environment, where everyone can be themselves and thrive. We are happy to discuss flexible working options for all roles. We work to ensure that our r! ecruitment processes are as inclusive as possible to everyone. This includes making adjustments for people who have a disability or long-term condition. Please visit our website for more information on adjustments and accessibility, or contact us at  jobs@wellcome.org