View Vacancy - Senior Science and Innovation Officer for Ukraine (LTU24.298)

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Science and Innovation

The British Embassy Vilnius is looking for a Senior Science and Innovation Officer for Ukraine on a fixed-term 18-month contract from mid-October 2024.  The role will lead on delivery of the UK Government’s Science, Technology and Innovation interests with Ukraine.  The role will deliver remotely from British Embassy Vilnius.

The UK is a global leader in science, technology and innovation. International collaboration is essential to maintaining the excellence of the UK’s research base.  These areas are also vital to Ukraine’s recovery and as such form an integral part of the UK’s foreign policy priorities.

The jobholder will be based in the British Embassy Vilnius but will work as part of the UK Government’s global network of Science and Innovation officers – a Network of over 100 officers in 40 countries worldwide. The Network sets the strategic direction for the role and the jobholder will be part of a regional team that covers Central and Eastern Europe, reporting to the Regional Manager based in Bratislava, Slovakia.

The work of the UK ST&I Network is guided by the following principles:

  • Projecting UK Excellence and Leadership Globally
  • Building and Facilitating S,T&I collaborations of value to the UK
  • Providing Insight and Intelligence to inform UK approaches.

Located in the British Embassy Vilnius, the jobholder will also work closely with, and as an integral part of, the British Embassy Kyiv’s political and programme teams ensuring delivery contributes directly to the Ukraine Country Business Plan owned by HM Ambassador in Kyiv.  The jobholder will work closely with the Economic Adviser position at the British Embassy Kyiv who leads on UK interests in the Ukrainian tech sector and innovations, including in AI and digitisation, identifying areas for UK-UA technical cooperation.  As such, this role will lead on scientific and academic connections that can both support growing cooperation in critical and emerging technology but also in the areas of science that can both support recovery and greater collaboration on issues such as climate change and global health. 

It is a role that will deliver remotely – the jobholder will need to coordinate closely with both the Science and Innovation network team and the British Embassy Kyiv to ensure coherent approaches, drawing on the benefits of being part of each team, to deliver effectively.  The jobholder will also be part of the local team in Vilnius, contributing to wider Ukraine objectives.

The jobholder will create a network of science and academic community stakeholders and work to build sustainable long-term partnerships and collaborations with UK science and innovation stakeholders. These stakeholders will also include those researchers who have relocated to other European countries.  The jobholder will also need to build relationships with UK ecosystem stakeholders, drawing on the support and access the Network provides to do so, to support delivery.

The job will include aspects of project delivery, requiring project management skills.

What will the jobholder be expected to achieve?

  • Monitor and report on key developments in Ukraine science, technology and innovation policies to inform UK international engagement.
  • Respond to requests from UK stakeholders for information on the local ecosystem.
  • Build and manage a network of contacts in government, research organisations and universities in the UK and Ukraine to support SIN and Embassy objectives.
  • Support British Embassy Kyiv teams to integrate science, technology and innovation considerations into policy and programme work.
  • Lead on a programme of projects, visits, events and other activities to facilitate scientific and innovation collaboration between the UK and Ukraine, enhancing visibility of UK’s science excellence and innovation capability and articulating how this can help support Ukraine’s recovery.
  • Support opportunities for the British Ambassador to Ukraine and wider Embassy representatives to engage on science and innovation with high-level Ukraine stakeholders. 
  • Lead work on designing and delivering projects that can support connections and lead to outcomes on how scientific cooperation can support recovery and contribute to mutual science interests in thematic areas defined by the UK Science and Innovation Network.

Despite not being present in Ukraine, the jobholder will play an active role both as part of the local Embassy political and programme teams –as well as the Regional Science and Innovation Team in Central and Eastern Europe. 

The jobholder will need to travel to the UK and potentially to Ukraine as travel advice allows.

Given this is a new role, a priority at the outset will be to deliver a strategy that sets and agrees a set of goals for advancing UK science, technology and innovation objectives in Ukraine.  This will require early scoping activity that will support relationship building and ensure a wide set of views are incorporated into decision-making both in Ukraine and in the UK.

Essential on arrival:      

  • Excellent level of written and spoken English (C level).
  • A minimum of a university degree in a relevant topic – from politics, economics and international relations to science, tech and innovation areas. 
  • Experience of working in embassies or other international or multilateral organisations.
  • A keen and demonstrated interest in scientific and technological issues.
  • Ability to work independently, as well as part of a team, and under remote line management
  • Willingness to travel to Ukraine, UK and locations in Europe.
  • Strong inter-personal and communication (oral and written) skills.
  • Proficiency in MS Office applications (Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook and PowerPoint).

Desirable:      

  • A network of relevant stakeholders in both the UK and Ukraine S&I landscapes.
  • Understanding of the UK’s and Ukraine’s research and innovation landscapes.
  • Knowledge of the UK’s international science, innovation and tech policy priorities.
  • Fluency in Ukrainian (language) would be desirable.
Changing and Improving, Communicating and Influencing, Delivering at Pace, Making Effective Decisions, Seeing the Big Picture, Working Together
15 September 2024
Higher Executive Officer (HEO)
Full-time, Fixed Term
35 net hours per week
18 months
Europe, Eastern Europe & Central Asia
Lithuania
Vilnius
British Embassy
1
EUR
3,664 monthly gross
monthly
15 October 2024

This is a full-time, 18-month fixed term contract of 35 net hours per week.

The start date for the position is as soon as possible, subject to the availability of the candidate and the length of the recruitment process. 

We offer:

  • A base salary EUR 3,664 (gross) and, in addition and sports allowance that is paid on top of the base salary.
  • Generous private medical insurance scheme (after successful probation period).
  • A strong focus on learning and development, including support for developing English language skills.
  • 35-hour working week with a focus on work-life balance. Please note that while we offer some homeworking, this is primarily an office-based job.
  • 22 annual leave + 14 public holidays.

All applicants should have the right to live and work in Lithuania. The British Embassy does not sponsor for work permits. Staff recruited locally by the British Embassy in Vilnius are subject to Terms and Conditions of Service according to local Lithuanian employment law.

Visa/work permit requirements: Candidates must currently hold the independent right to live and work in Lithuania and be prepared to ensure that right remains throughout the scope of the contract.

Please note that it is your responsibility to ensure you meet the legal requirements to live and work in this country.

For more information on Success Profiles, please click here.

Please note that the deadline for applications is 23:55 on the day mentioned in the above field “Application deadline”.

We advise you to allow enough time to complete and submit your full application, since only applications completed and submitted before the deadline will be considered.

Please be aware that the deadline for submitting applications is considered to be the time zone for the country where the vacancy has arisen.

FCDO does not pay for travel related expense incurred in interviews (including Security Check) or accept any financial risk, including cancelation or reschedule costs. The FCDO will not meet the costs connected with relocation if offered a position.

Please be aware that you will only be able to apply to vacancies for Country Based Staff roles with the British Government through this official tal.net site (operated by Oleeo). Jobs may be advertised on third party websites, however our adverts will always link back to the official tal.net site. If you complete and send an application through any other site, we will not receive it.

This opportunity is closed to applications.