Chief Operating Officer

Build operational excellence that powers health and research impact

Are you an exceptional operational leader who can turn strategic ambition into lasting impact? We're looking for a Chief Operating Officer to build the operational foundation that will enable us to deliver transformative work in health and research at a pivotal moment for medical sciences.

Why this role matters

The Academy of Medical Sciences is the UK's independent voice for biomedical and health research. We're at a turning point: we're putting prevention front and centre, accelerating innovation in the NHS, and shaping global standards for AI in healthcare. This newly created role sits at the heart of making it all happen-ensuring we have the operational excellence, systems and culture to deliver on our ambitions at scale.

What you'll do

• Lead our new Operations Directorate, developing and delivering a clear organisational strategy that meets the ambitions of our Council and Fellowship.
• Drive operational excellence across finance, fundraising, people and culture, governance, information management and property-bringing them together seamlessly.
• Own our income strategy, securing diverse funding from government, trusts, corporate partnerships and philanthropy to support our strategic priorities.
• Champion the use of technology and AI to optimise how we work, from data management to business support systems.
• Lead on governance, ensuring our Council, committees and processes run smoothly and support delivery.
• Create a culture where colleagues thrive, making the Academy a brilliant place to work as part of our senior leadership team.
• Oversee organisation-wide risk, compliance and business continuity, protecting our reputation and financial stability.

What you'll bring to the role

A strategic leader with proven experience overseeing integrated operations across multiple functions, you'll be someone who combines commercial acumen with a passion for mission-driven work, and who can balance financial sustainability with impact. You'll have deep knowledge of governance and risk management, a track record of successful fundraising across diverse sources, and the ability to build inclusive, high-performing cultures. Above all, you'll be someone who thrives on making organisations work better and who can engage with people at all levels.

Benefits

We provide our staff with a comprehensive benefits package outlined as follows:

• Generous pension scheme with flexible contributions - we contribute between 8% and 13% of your gross salary (with employee contributions of 3%-8%)
• Life assurance at 3 times your annual salary
• Hybrid and agile working 26 days' annual leave, plus Christmas closure days and bank holidays
• Family-friendly policies including enhanced maternity and paternity leave (subject to a qualifying period) and coaching support for parents returning to work
• Wellbeing and development
• Support through tailored learning and development
• Additional benefits

A range of enhanced benefits become available once you've completed your probation period.

Please apply online with your CV and a supporting statement (no more than 1,200 words) detailing your motivation for applying, how you meet the person specification, and how your values align with ours.

Closing date: Midday on Monday, 19 January 2026.

First interviews: w/c 26 January 2026.

Second interviews: 2 February 2026.

We're committed to building a team that reflects the diversity of the society we serve and actively encourage applications from candidates of all backgrounds and identities.