Horizon Scanning Manager – Nuffield Council on Bioethics

The Nuffield Council on Bioethics is hiring a Horizon Scanning Manager to develop and lead its horizon scanning programme. This is a new role created as part of our next 5-year strategy and a unique opportunity to combine futures expertise with the fascinating and challenging field of bioethics.

The role

The Nuffield Council has a strong track record of anticipating developments at the intersection of scientific development and societal challenge. This ensures our work is relevant, timely and influential. Building on what we have achieved so far, the Horizon Scanning Manager will develop an approach to horizon scanning that reaches an even broader range of stakeholders and fully embeds futures thinking across our organisation.

The Horizon Scanning Manager will facilitate the early identification of developments in biomedicine and health that might raise ethics issues, and help the Council prioritise topics for its projects and inquiries. They will advise our project teams so our policy advice on specific issues is forward looking. They will support the Council to be aware of and resilient to future trends to enable us to respond to societal challenges relating to biomedicine, health and social well-being.

Engagement will be central to the role. Connecting people and organisations from a variety of disciplines and sectors, in both the UK and internationally, will help us look ahead and be aware of external developments and potential risks. Our findings and outputs will both inform our own work and strategic priorities and help shape the thinking of others, such as professional bodies, research funders and policy makers.

The role is likely to include:

• Engaging with organisations that fund, research or influence developments in biomedicine, health and ethics in the UK and internationally.

• Convening diverse expert and non-expert audiences to gain insights on topics of public interest.
• Using horizon scanning or futures techniques to interrogate specific areas of interest.
• Carrying out and/or commissioning research.
• Supporting the future-looking elements of Council projects and initiatives.
• Organising events and writing publications to share and discuss the outcomes of our activities with the bioethics community and beyond.

• Evaluating the effectiveness and impact of our horizon scanning activities.

About you

You are looking for an opportunity to shape a new role and influence the work and direction of a highly reputable organisation. You are a mid-career researcher or professional who has demonstrable experience or knowledge of horizon scanning or futures projects, techniques or tools. You understand the importance of engagement and have excellent communications skills. You have excellent writing skills and think creatively about engaging and communicating with a range of audiences.

You enjoy small team environments and develop good working relationships. You have strong research and analysis skills, and experience of project management and meeting or event organisation. You have a good understanding of bioethics issues and significant experience of working in a science or health policy or industry environment. You may already have good relationships and be plugged into networks in those sectors.

You want to work for a dynamic, outward-looking organisation that enables you to make a real difference in the world. You have confidence in your abilities and are ready to challenge those around you, as well as learn from the experience of others. You are able to work collaboratively and always carry out your work to the highest standards.

For further information about the role, please click here to download the full job description.

About us

The Nuffield Council on Bioethics is a leading independent policy and research centre, and the foremost bioethics body in the UK. For over thirty years we have tackled some of the most complex and controversial bioethical issues facing society. We are funded jointly by the Nuffield Foundation, Wellcome and the Medical Research Council.

We aim to inform policy and public debate through timely consideration of the ethical questions raised by biological and medical research so that the benefits to society are realised in a way that is consistent with public values. Our work has led to shifts in public understanding and policy change on topics ranging from public health to assisted reproduction and genome editing.

Central to our reputation and standing is our independence – we do not represent any  particular group or view and we select our own topics, methodologies and outputs.

We select topics to examine through our horizon scanning programme and use a variety of approaches to identify, consider and resolve the ethical issues they raise. Our approach is multidisciplinary and deliberative. We draw on a wide range of expertise and experience and use the best available evidence. We collaborate where our expertise complements those of other organisations (e.g. see our current collaboration on Genomics and AI Futures with the Ada Lovelace Institute).

We engage with a wide range of different voices and views and are committed to increasing the diversity of the people we work with. As part of the Nuffield Foundation, we are a small team with the practical support of an established organisation that cares for its employees.

Find out more at: www.nuffieldbioethics.org

More information and how to apply

The closing date for applications is 09:30am (BST) on Monday 24th April 2023 with a first stage of interviews scheduled to take place on 3rd and 4th May 2023.

You will be required to complete some questions as part of this application process, and you are also required to upload an up-to-date copy of your CV. The Applied platform lets you save an application and resume it ahead of submitting before the application deadline.

We are committed to inclusive working practices and during the application process we commit to:

• paying for travel costs (and any childcare or care costs) for interviews where in-person attendance is required
• making any reasonable adjustments – for example providing documents in different formats, arranging for a sign language interpreter for interviews etc
• As a Disability Confident employer, we will offer a guaranteed first stage interview for disabled candidates who meet the essential criteria for the role.
• Should you need to make an application in a different format or require any adjustments as part of the application process, please get in touch with us: recruitment@nuffieldfoundation.org

Our benefits package includes:

• 28 days holiday per annum and all public holidays (with the option to buy or sell up to 5 days).
• A salary exchange pension scheme that offers employer contributions of up to 11%.
• Life assurance scheme.
• Family leave policies that provide an enhanced level of pay
• Cycle to work scheme and loans towards season tickets.
• Opportunities for learning and development
• Wellbeing support including an employee assistance provider.