We are recruiting a Head of Special Projects

We are looking for an outstanding analyst, operator, relationship-builder and emerging leader to work closely with our Deputy CEO to help steer Nesta through an exciting phase of its 2030 strategy. As the ‘right hand’ to the DCEO, similar to a Chief of Staff, the post-holder will play a key role in driving forward Nesta’s strategic priorities, with the potential to improve millions of people’s lives.

About Nesta

We are Nesta, the UK’s innovation agency for social good. We design, test and scale solutions to some of the UK’s biggest challenges. Our three missions are to reduce early childhood inequality, halve obesity, and reduce home carbon emissions by 30%.

We work as an ‘innovation partner’, collaborating with frontline organisations to design and test new solutions; as a ‘venture builder’, creating and supporting mission-driven startups; and as a ‘system shaper’, driving systemic change at national scale.

Since launching our strategy in 2021 we have lowered carbon emissions by 500k tonnes and saved consumers £300m/year through our Money Saving Boiler Challenge, shaped national government policy on retailer targets that could help millions of people reach a healthier weight, run over 260 projects with partners like Asda and the BBC, spun out 9 new startups and invested in 16 more, and supported our ‘family’ of organisations to thrive, including the Behavioural Insights Team. We are doing all we can to build on this early promise and drive towards impact at real scale. Find out more at nesta.org.uk.

Whatever it takes

Everyone works at Nesta because we are driven by a deep commitment to our missions. A guiding principle of our culture is that we do whatever it takes to achieve them, bringing our best to all our work.

The role

The Deputy CEO (DCEO) oversees Strategy & Delivery, Finance, and Ventures at Nesta, and deputises internally and externally for the CEO. The post-holder will work closely with the DCEO across this portfolio to help define where we want the organisation and individual functions to get to, deliver targeted actions to get there, monitor progress, and re-prioritise and correct course on an ongoing basis. They will be the right-hand-person to the DCEO. Very similar to a Chief of Staff role, they will act both as a thought partner, thinking through ambiguous, complex strategic and operational issues, and as a ‘doer’, helping turn intention into action efficiently, effectively and with skill and care.

Through this role, as well as working closely with the DCEO, they will have regular contact with the CEO and wider Executive team, and will be at the heart of senior leadership efforts to strengthen the organisation and achieve Nesta’s ambitious impact goals. They will work on interesting issues at the forefront of innovation for social good, including collaborating on the DCEO’s ‘thought leadership’ on relevant topics and, if desired, authoring their own external comms based on Nesta’s insights and work.

The post-holder will provide support to the DCEO to deliver effectively across their full portfolio and will proactively support all the functions they oversee to help them thrive. This portfolio currently includes:

• The Strategy & Delivery function, consisting of a Strategy Unit (helping define org-wide and mission/functional priorities, supporting delivery through internal consultancy projects, and helping measure impact) and a Programme Management Office (supporting programmes teams to deliver effectively and generating management information). Our goal is for this recently-created combined function to be at the heart of Nesta’s efforts to achieve our strategy and missions, bringing Nesta’s strategic intent to life across the organisation and helping refresh that strategic intent over time
• The Finance function, which oversees Nesta’s annual operating budget and works with leaders across the organisation to ensure we are on track to hit budgets, take corrective actions, and ensure appropriate financial controls. With this function recently coming under the DCEO’s remit we see opportunities to build a truly strategic Finance function that is an active partner to the DCEO, CEO and Executive team in ensuring good value for money, effective strategic allocation of resources, and high impact return on investments across Nesta’s work. The Finance function also engages with Trustees to ensure effective management of Nesta’s ~£450M endowment
• The Ventures function, which includes Nesta Impact Investments, which after 20 years of active investing in seed-to-series A tech startups is currently managing a portfolio of assets for follow-on investment and divestment, and Mission Studio, a venture studio building mission-driven tech startups from scratch (9 spinouts to date). Combined, the Ventures function has approximately £40M of assets under management. Startups Nesta has spun out include Furbnow, a ‘one stop shop’ for green home retrofits which is past £1M/year revenue, and Mealia, a healthy meal-planning app with >100k downloads and revenue growing at 30% month-on-month

The DCEO also provides internal leadership beyond their direct portfolio, presenting at all-staff meetings or chairing Executive Team meetings in the CEO’s absence, sitting on Board Committees and liaising with Trustees. They also provide external leadership, attending events, building relationships with leaders at other organisations, and developing their own public profile through publications and events. The post-holder will engage and provide support across all these dimensions.

Responsibilities

The primary responsibilities of the role will be:

Directly support the DCEO:

• Act as a thought partner and advisor; provide candid advice based on an accurate, cross-cutting view of the organisation and external events, and problem-solve on sensitive and strategic challenges
• Help define, improve and communicate the DCEO’s priorities and vision for the organisation and for each of the functions they oversee
• Identify ways in which the DCEO’s priorities can be taken on by the post-holder. Adopt a ‘Whatever it Takes’ mindset to driving forward those priorities across the organisation
• Work with the DCEO and their EA to prioritise work on an ongoing basis, based on an accurate understanding of the organisation’s needs and priorities
• Join meetings on behalf of the DCEO, and conduct review of materials (presentations, documents) on their behalf
• Draft or refine external/internal communications, including presentations, Board papers and external articles and social media posts
• Build effective working relationships with the leaders of the Strategy, Finance and Ventures functions and support the DCEO to deliver consistent ‘high expectations and high support’ leadership

Help drive Nesta’s strategic agenda:

• Lead on select strategic projects – helping define priorities and shape new initiatives. These will be highly varied, including operational and programmatic initiatives
• Build coalitions to drive strategic agendas, and generate buy-in for organisational priorities; work end-to-end with others to ensure change efforts are a success
• Work closely with leaders across the organisation, including Executives, Heads and Directors, and contribute to building a strong, aligned and collaborative Senior Leaders Group to further Nesta’s priorities. Work closely with the Chief of Staff to the CEO and Director/Head of Strategy to this end, and to promote a complementary, coherent strategic agenda
• Monitor progress and hold others accountable for strategic priorities, drawing on a range of influencing approaches and working closely with the Head of Delivery and others where appropriate
• Play an active role in exploring the potential of generative AI (and potentially other technologies) to further Nesta’s strategic agenda - both in terms of operational efficiency and strategic priorities - both through personal exploration and experimentation and through exploring with the DCEO’s teams. Collaborate with and support others who are furthering this agenda across Nesta, in particular the Discovery team and Data Science team
• Help connect staff to Nesta’s leadership and build collaborative, trusted relationships at all levels of the organisation, from junior staff through to Executives
• Maintain a pulse on the priorities, progress and challenges of the DCEO’s teams, seeing more than they see, and spotting/acting on opportunities or challenges early

The person

The person in this role must act with low ego and high ambition and initiative, and be eager to build others up and work behind the scenes to Nesta’s benefit. This role is best suited for a strategic problem-solver who thrives in the face of complexity or uncertainty.

Essential experience:

• Fluency in analytic problem-solving methods, likely gained through working at a leading management consultancy, though other routes to gaining this experience will be considered (e.g. an in-house strategy function that uses the same methods)
• Experience directly supporting senior leaders, working on Executive level issues and using a range of skills to ‘manage up’ effectively in time-constrained situations
• Experience managing a highly varied and complex workload, prioritising and delivering effectively and consistently
• Demonstrated ability to ‘get stuff done’, using personal initiative to push through ambiguity and draw things to a positive conclusion
• Experience actively managing senior stakeholder groups to ensure a positive outcome

Essential skills:

• Strategic thinking: Exceptional problem-solving and judgement; able to effectively analyze problems, weigh options, and recommend clear plans
• Strong organisation: Excellent and efficient project management, from ideation through to execution; able to handle a significant number of deliverables in a short period of time
• Interpersonal acumen: Exceptional interpersonal skills; builds trust-based relationships at all levels, anticipates motivations, and supports others
• Adaptability and self-reliance: Handles demanding, varied workloads with multiple stakeholders; pivots quickly as priorities change; a natural inclination to act.
• Pragmatism: Creative and pragmatic; able to forge a path forward, embrace imperfection, and make good judgements with limited information
• Clear communications: Excellent written and verbal communication skills, in formal and informal settings
• Leadership: An inclusive leadership style; track record of leading or helping build engaged, high-performing teams
• Impact-focused mindset: An approach that prioritises impact, and reflects Nesta’s ‘whatever it takes’ culture
• High professional standards: Embodies excellence, consistency, and proactive follow-through; models organizational values and upholds confidentiality

What we offer

Salary: £77,500 - £87,700 plus array of benefits, including private medical insurance, dental insurance, the ability to buy and sell annual leave, eyecare vouchers and more

Location: This role is based in Blackfriars, London, hybrid working arrangement with a minimum of two days in the office.

Term: Permanent

Hours: This is a full-time role but we offer a range of flexible working arrangements and encourage our people to take advantage of them. Many do.

Reports to: Deputy CEO

Making an application

To apply for this role, please submit your CV and cover letter before 8:00am on the 26th of November.

Interviews will take place w/c the 24th of November and w/c the 1st of December

At Nesta, we believe that a diverse workforce leads to an organisation that is more innovative, more creative and gets better results.

We want our workforce to represent the diversity of the people and communities we serve. We also want our workplace to be one where different experiences, expertise and perspectives are valued, and where everyone is encouraged to grow and develop.

This means that when we are recruiting, we actively seek to reach a diverse pool of candidates. It also means that we are happy to consider any reasonable adjustments that potential employees may need to in order to be successful.

We recognise the importance of a good balance between work and home life, so we do everything we can to accommodate flexible working, including working from home, compressed or part-time hours, job shares and other arrangements.

Please just let us know in your application or at any stage throughout the process (and beyond) if these are options you’d like to explore.