Who we are:

Our mission is to shape a fairer future through better work. Our goal is a good society in which everyone can flourish through this new technological revolution. Our belief is that creating and sustaining good work is the best way to achieve this goal and ensure that innovation and social good advance together.

Founded in 2018, the Institute for the Future of Work (‘IFOW’) is an independent research and development institute, born out of the Future of Work Commission (House of Commons, 2016-17). We are a registered Company Limited by Guarantee 11263261 and a registered Charity in England and Wales (1180718). Our core team of 8 full-time staff come from various disciplines and are supported by an engaged board of 8 trustees and a wider network of academic research fellows.

Through delivering and convening research which informs the development of practical, policy, and regulatory solutions, we seek to address three core challenges:

Changing Work: The risks and rewards of transition are not evenly spread meaning that structural inequalities are increasing.

Shifting Power: New technologies are driving big shifts in power and challenging traditional mechanisms of governance and accountability at work.

Prioritising People: People’s lived experience, values and agency are being neglected in shaping futures of work.

We believe good work can be an outcome of technological change, if and when: government prioritises and creates; regulators steer and intervene; industry develops and models; civil society is engaged and informs; academia researches; and industry prioritises and requires.

Role Overview:

As IFOW grows its network of partners, we have created a new role for someone who excels in relationship building and development. We are looking for a strategic thinker who can ideate, join the dots, and work through practical operationalisation of strategic partnership to ensure we achieve our mission.

As the UK’s leading multidisciplinary future of work hub, IFOW has strong relationships with policy makers, universities, and businesses. This role will be responsible for developing these networks and relationships to advance our mission to shape a fairer future through better work. This is a multi-purpose role, with primary objectives being: the consolidation and development of the UK’s future of work network; expansion of IFOW’s sphere of influence (in particular with building forums and memberships to help share research and ideas); the securing of partnerships which create pathways to income generation.

The role will be tasked with identifying, securing, and developing partnerships which serve our newly updated strategy. We have three newly developed infrastructures (OES), through which we will engage in partnership and structure development activity:

Observatory: the Observatory meets our strategic ways of working to reframe and build an evidence base. Here this role will build out our academic and industry networks and establish different partnership models with both cohorts responding to shared values, interests, and funding requirements. This includes driving membership of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on the Future of Work, for which IFOW is the Secretariat and Research Partner.

Exploratory: the Exploratory meets our strategic ways of working to build capacity and connecting people. Here this role will establish relationships with professional bodies representing workers who hold responsibility for AI and develop partnerships with local government relationships and partnership models to build capacity and connections to respond to knowledge generated in the Observatory. Work will involve establishing routes-to-market for IFOW ‘knowledge products’ to better achieve our public education objectives, while also developing a sustainable business model.

Sandbox: The Sandbox is an environment through which IFOW evaluates its framework for responsible adoption of AI at work, feeding insights back to UK regulators. Here this role will support recruitment of industry partners who share our mission and objectives, establish strong contractual relationships to govern action research processes, and support new academic research partnerships as appropriate.

Our small team is made up of determined individuals who are resolutely mission focused. We are looking for a colleague to have fun with and learn with. If you’re passionate about a fairer future of better work and want to engage in the practical work of making it happen, please get in touch.

Key Responsibilities:

Develop and refine the partnerships strategy for all infrastructures (OES) to ensure IFOW is able to grow in the service of mission

Proactively identify, prioritise, create, and approach new opportunities for collaboration, funding, academic research and/or exploratory offerings with a view to creating long-lasting partnerships that further establish IFOW’s role in the FoW ecosystem

Identifying complementary opportunities that help both IFOW and its partners achieve their strategic goals in mutually supportive ways

Create an engagement framework to ensure that all partners and networks are served purposively and in bespoke ways

Identify income opportunities from grants and foundations, and support with relevant applications

Work with the Comms team to ensure there is an engagement strategy for existing and potential partners via IFOW’s channels, content, and events

Establish an impact monitoring and reporting framework to showcase impact to all stakeholders

Assess the feasibility of future commercialisation options, bearing in mind the small size of the organisation and nature of our work to advance our charitable mission

Knowledge, Skills, and Attributes:

A strong commitment to the integrity, goals, and ethos of our organisation

Experience in networking and relationship building with senior executives, academics, politicians, and influencers, supported by a demonstrated understanding of stakeholder management

Ability to think critically about models and forms of partnership with different types of organisations, and the implications from a business development perspective

A track record bringing in, and engaging with, corporates and members, with experience of raising money through corporate engagement

Very comfortable in creating and executing an end-to-end partnership strategy

Experience of similar organisations: either think tanks, educational institutes, campaigning organisations, charities or other bodies involved in building and utilising networks

Experience working in the technology policy or social justice environment is a plus, though not a prerequisite

Experience of work in parliament, including some level of engagement in All Party Groups, is a plus, though not a prerequisite

Adept at quickly understanding organisational challenges and opportunities and mapping this to the landscape

A strategic mindset and the ability to offer and receive constructive feedback

The ability to work both collaboratively and independently, comfortable with making decisions at pace and sometimes in a changing and uncertain environment

Great organisational skills, a commitment to quality and attention to detail, able to manage a range of responsibilities with minimal supervision

Location: Our offices are in London, with the ability to work from home for part of the week

Salary: From £45,000 per annum.

Closing date: 19th January 23:59.

Contract: Full time but flexible requests will be considered.

Hours: Standard full-time hours are 37.5 per week, however we are currently trialling flexible ways of working

Start date: ASAP

Leave: 28 days + 3 days shutdown over the Christmas period

In order to apply, please send a CV and a cover letter via the button below, please ensure your cover letter is

Remote working/work at home options are available for this role.