The British Neuroscience Association (BNA) is a professional society which brings together over 2,000 scientists, students and clinicians devoted to understanding the brain and nervous system. We support neuroscience and neuroscientists through activities such as meetings, publications, providing careers advice, promoting the latest neuroscience research, and being an advocate for the neuroscience community.
It’s an exciting time for the BNA following the recent launch of our ambitious campaign to promote and support credibility in neuroscience - see www.bnacredibility.org.uk - which is all about reproducibility, replicability and reliability of research. This project is central to the BNA’s message, “We are your voice”, and our strategic aims to maximize the reach and impact of the BNA’s activities, increase the membership, and to support an exciting and sustainable future for neuroscience.
Critical to delivering both our credibility campaign and being neuroscientists’ voice is the ability of the BNA to engage with and influence policy-makers and stakeholders which shape the environment in which neuroscience research takes place. These include research funders such as Wellcome, BBSRC and MRC; journal publishers; professional societies; politicians; universities; industry partners; and bodies such as the Research Excellence Framework - and neuroscientists themselves. Our aim is that all of these stakeholders recognize the importance of supporting neuroscience (particularly credibility in neuroscience), how they each play a role in achieving this, and that they commit to actions which support it.
We are therefore seeking to appoint a professional to shape, lead and deliver the BNA’s policy and campaigns work. The successful candidate will have a unique opportunity to shape the role and have a transformative impact on neuroscience research.
The role of Head of Policy and Campaigns is to take the lead in delivering the BNA’s ambition to be a true advocate for neuroscientists and have an active role in shaping policies which affect neuroscience.
The immediate focus of the role will be delivering our current campaign, credibility in neuroscience. Having now been running for nearly a year, you will continue to plan, lead and deliver on this project, engaging with all stakeholders - including neuroscientists - to ensure that credibility in neuroscience remains high on the agenda, with activities to make sure this happens. Your work will, in part, be directed by the BNA Credibility Advisory Group (CAB), for which you will need to arrange meetings and facilitate meeting actions. You will help plan and organize activities such as consultations, workshops and other meetings, provide content for the BNA credibility in neuroscience website, and take the initiative to identify other ways the BNA can support credibility such as providing bursaries and training for neuroscientists.
However, the BNA wishes to expand its policy activities. For instance, the BNA has recently become a member of the Parliamentary and Scientific Committee in order to engage with politicians more directly. We expect the post-holder to help the BNA identify which policy areas would be of most importance to members, and enable the BNA to diversify into other policy areas as well as credibility.
The role will therefore entail:
You will possess sound understanding of the UK life sciences research environment, and be familiar with the key organizations and processes which control it; government, publishers, funders, universities, individual scientists, industry and the wider public. It is essential that you can research, understand and articulate reasons for wishing to support credibility in research. You will have the skills to build close links and partnerships with individuals and organizations across the life sciences sector, and the confidence and clarity to influence them and bring about change.
It is vital that you can operate flexibly in a small, charitable organization. We are a small team, and you will be expected to both work at all levels and pitch in as a team member when required, whether that means handing out name badges, updating a website, giving a presentation to senior academics or being interviewed by New Scientist.
As well as being a team member, you will need to be comfortable working independently and on your own initiative. We are looking for someone who, when faced with a new task, project or problem, will have the ability to identify ways to achieve or solve it.
You need to be able to plan well but respond quickly, and show the commitment and initiative to make a real difference to neuroscience research.
The ideal candidate will have:
You will be working as a member of the BNA Executive team. You will work particularly closely with the Chief Executive and the Head of Communications and Marketing; however, you will be expected to interact with all members of the team across all activities.
The BNA is overseen by the Board of Trustees, headed by the President; this is the decision-making body of the organization. The post-holder for this role will need to liaise, in particular, with the Trustee for Research Policy. The BNA President and CE work together closely to deliver the BNA’s work. Both the Trustees and Executive team also have input from BNA Advisory Committees.
You will also work with external organisations which will help you to perform your role. These are chiefly the Academy of Medical Sciences, the new UK Reproducibility Network (based in Bristol), and the University of Bristol Research and Enterprise Development (RED) office.
The deadline for applications is 17:00 GMT Monday 16th March.
Interviews will be held on Monday 30th and Tuesday 31st March 2020 at the University of Bristol.
We welcome applications from all members of our community and are particularly encouraging those from diverse groups, such as members of the LGBT+ and BAME communities, to join us.
To apply, please send your CV and a cover letter demonstrating how you meet our person specification and would fulfil the requirements of the job description to: office@bna.org.uk or The BNA, Dorothy Hodgkin Building, Whitson Street, Bristol BS1 3NY.
Please do not be discouraged from applying if your current CV is not a ‘perfect fit’. This job could suit someone from a range of different career backgrounds, and there is great scope for the right applicant to develop the role and make it their own. If you think that this is the role for you, please write and tell us why.
If you wish to discuss any aspect of this role, please feel free to contact the BNA Chief Executive: anne.cooke@bna.org.uk, 0117 331 3159 / 0777 178 1582.
