Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA)

The Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy are looking for a visionary leader as the first Chief Executive of ARIA, the Advanced Research and Invention Agency. 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 over the course of this parliament, and we are currently legislating to gain explicit parliamentary consent for the body’s unique characteristics to be protected for the long term.

The Government’s commitment to ARIA’s autonomy makes this role one of significant responsibility. In shaping the research, culture, and setup of ARIA, the Chief Executive will have a profound effect on the technological and strategic capabilities of the UK. The Chief Executive will position ARIA as a distinctive part of the UK’s research funding landscape that complements and expands the UK’s funding capability.

The successful candidate will be a respected leader in a scientific or technical field with experience of the R&D process, and of starting something new. They will spot and empower extraordinary technical and leadership talent and know how to connect the scientific details of unproven technology to the strategic value it could provide, and how to drive it to the real-world. They will bring an uncompromising sense of urgency, mission, risk-taking, and trust; a confidence that many seemingly impossible challenges can in fact be overcome, even if it involves transforming our fundamental understanding of the world.

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 QAPASB. Alternatively telephone +44 (0)20 7227 0880 (during office hours). Applications should be received by noon on 5th July 2021.