EPSRC Science, Engineering and Technology Board vacancies

• Closing date: 7 November 2025 4:00pm UK time
• Number of positions: Seven
• Length of term: Two years
• Time commitment: Up to 10 days a year
• Remuneration: Travel and subsistence will be paid, along with an attendance fee per meeting

  Applicable for both in-person and virtual meetings

• Outcomes communicated: March 2026

The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) welcomes applicants for vacancies on our Science, Engineering and Technology Board (SETB).

We are seeking applications from individuals with experience of industry, academia, users of research, and in the third sector and government organisations.

Who we’re looking for

We welcome applications from those who are:

• in full-time or part-time work across all career stages
• on sabbatical or a career break
• based in academia (including research technical professionals and research software engineers), industry, the third sector or government organisation

You will not be required to act as representative of your own organisation, research area or sector, but rather as someone who is able to contribute on a non-affiliated basis, and will be expected to adhere to the seven principles of public life.

Person specification

The specific requirements sought for SETB members are:

• an excellent record for your career stage in conducting, leading or directing internationally respected research
• experience of working with EPSRC (or other similar organisations) to provide strategic advice, beyond the scope of your own domain expertise, for the development of long-term priorities for science, engineering or technology
• experience of representing the views of the research, innovation and business community, and facilitating two-way communication between the community and EPSRC, other research councils or similar organisations
• willingness to dedicate sufficient time to the role and backing or support from your organisation. For further information, refer to the SETB terms of reference

Vacancies

Vacancies are specified as open to:

• academic: those employed by a higher education institution, meaning a university
• industry or users of research, for example those employed by business (large corporation through to small and medium-sized enterprises), research and technology organisation, NHS body and independent consultant

This is to ensure a balance of representation across our advisory bodies. If applying to be a member of an EPSRC strategic advisory team (SAT), you may only apply for one SAT vacancy and one vacancy on SETB.

Full list of available vacancies can be found in the ‘Further information’ section.

What you’ll be doing

Members of EPSRC advisory bodies are paid a daily fee and reimbursed for appropriate travel and subsistence for attendance at meetings. We may host meetings physically, virtually or facilitate a mixed attendance meeting (physical and virtual attendance).

Initial appointments will usually be for two years, with extensions at the discretion of the EPSRC. Appointments will start from 1 April 2026.

Role of SETB members

SETB provides advice to EPSRC Council and the EPSRC Executive. SETB uses scientific and technological insight to identify and champion bold new research challenges at the cutting edge of engineering and physical sciences for future investments across the breadth of EPSRC’s portfolio and where appropriate reaching out into other research areas.

SETB also provides advice on the balance on specifics aspects of the EPSRC portfolio of investments as requested by the EPSRC Council or EPSRC Executive. Recent examples include EPSRC investments in research institutes and in Centres for Doctoral Training.

We are looking for new members with a broad view of research and innovation to join our SETB advisory board to provide advice and scientific guidance and act as ‘generous generalists’.

The board meet at least three times a year, typically in February, May and September. Find out more about SETB.

Members of all advisory teams are expected to bring a broad strategic view to bear and to act as ‘generous generalists’, advising across the breadth of EPSRC’s portfolio and the portfolios of other Councils where appropriate.

How to apply

Submission of applications for the vacancies opens on 8 September 2025 and closes on 7 November 2025 at 4:00pm UK time. Late applications will not be accepted.

Applications should be made through the Engagement hub form.

Applications are sought from individuals who feel they can meet the requirements set out in the ‘Who we’re looking for’ section. You must apply individually as nominations from colleagues or organisations will not be possible.

Universities, businesses, learned societies and other key stakeholder groups should continue to encourage and support suitable colleagues to apply.

Assessment of your suitability for the vacancy is made solely on the information provided in the application form. No other information will be used so you should take care to address all criteria.

Tips for your application:

• think about how you address each of the selection criteria; don’t just copy and paste from your website or refer us to your published work. While there is no minimum word count, you must provide adequate evidence to justify your suitability
• treat all questions as important
• do not just provide a list of previous positions. We want to know what skills you have used and gained in your current and previous positions or roles.
• consider using the STAR (situation, task, approach and result) approach when formulating your answers. Describe the situation, what your task was, how you approached it and what the result was
• have a look at the current SETB members to see the range of people we have recruited in the past.

In accordance with our strict General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) guidelines, the personal information provided as part of your application will specifically be used for the purpose of administering this process. Also, aggregated anonymised data will be used for the purposes of monitoring our advisory and decision-making bodies.

Analysis of the information will be viewed by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) staff and external members that are specifically involved in the recruitment process only. Personal information will not be used for any other purpose without your specific consent.

For further information on how your information will be used, how we maintain the security of your information, and your rights to access information we hold on you, refer to UKRI’s privacy notice or contact the UKRI Information Rights Team at dataprotection@ukri.org

Ask about the vacancies or the recruitment process

Email

setb@epsrc.ukri.org or epsrcsatnominations@epsrc.ukri.org

How we’ll assess your application

Selection process

Step one

Applications will be assessed internally in January 2026 against the criteria outlined under the person specification, dependent on the role you apply for.

A shortlist of candidates will be made, determined by how well the candidate meets the essential criteria in the person specification.

Assessment is based on the evidence provided in the application for this step.

Step two

Vacancies will be filled from the shortlists with consideration to the following:

• provision of an appropriate balance of expertise across all SETB appointments
• ensuring a biological sex balance in line with our ambition of achieving at least 40% participation of the underrepresented sex on SETB, and an ethnicity balance in line with our ambition of achieving at least 20% minority ethnic representation across all advisory bodies
• diversity of organisational affiliation and across the UK’s regions and nations.

This step of the recruitment process will consider the balance across the emerging membership. It may, where candidates are as qualified as each other, take positive action to prioritise candidates based on sex and minority ethnic underrepresentation.

Individual diversity data on sex and ethnicity requested during the application will be used solely in this step. All other diversity data collected will be used for monitoring purposes only.

The UK Supreme Court has recently ruled that the word ‘sex’ means biological sex for the purposes of the Equality Act 2010, providing clarity on the interpretation of the Act. As the Supreme Court set out, all protections against discrimination and harassment in employment remain in place for trans colleagues under the protected characteristic of gender reassignment. The ruling is relevant across the UK and we await the statutory guidance from the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), which they will develop after a public consultation. At EPSRC we value the full diversity of people who work for and with UKRI, and we are committed to creating an inclusive culture where all colleagues are respected and valued. Everyone in the community remains very welcome to work with us and apply for these advisory opportunities, your views are encouraged and welcome.

Targets are set considering the demographics of the engineering and physical sciences research and innovation academic population, as well as the size of the advisory group and relevant population that can be drawn from.

Step three

In February 2026, a sub-committee of Council, the Appointments Assurance Committee, will be asked to ratify that the appropriate processes have been followed by the executive prior to appointment of SETB members.

Step four

Once ratification has taken place, communications will be sent to both unsuccessful and successful applicants. This is expected to be between the end of February and start of March 2026.

Further information

SETB vacancies

There are a maximum of seven vacancies available (academic, industry or user).

Equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI)

Diverse representation within our advisory bodies is important to ensure we include a range of opinions, experiences and viewpoints in our advice streams.

Appointments to the advisory teams are made primarily on merit and we are keen to obtain greater diversity across the membership. We particularly encourage applications from women, from people who identify as minority ethnic, people with a disability, and other groups who are currently under-represented. We welcome applications from people based in all regions and nations of the UK.

At EPSRC we value the full diversity of people who work for and with UKRI, and we are committed to creating an inclusive culture where all colleagues are respected and valued. Everyone in the community remains very welcome to work with us and apply for these advisory opportunities, your views are encouraged and welcome.

As part of our commitment within our EDI action plan, from those applications that meet the essential criteria, we will ensure a diversity of membership from across organisations including academia, industry and other stakeholders, incorporating:

• a balance of expertise and institutional representation
• a biological sex balance in line with our ambition of achieving at least 40% participation of women on SETB
• an ethnicity balance in line with our ambition of achieving at least 20% minority ethnic participation across SETB

The recruitment process will consider the balance across the emerging SETB members and may, where candidates are as qualified as each other, prioritise candidates based on sex or minority ethnic underrepresentation. EPSRC will also seek to achieve an appropriate distribution across career stages.

As part of the application process, we will require candidates to submit their diversity data to help us assess and subsequently monitor the diversity of membership. This data will be collected, stored, and used in line with our strict General Data Protection Regulations guidelines. The use of an individual’s diversity data in the selection process will be clearly outlined. All diversity data that is used for monitoring purposes will be appropriately anonymised and aggregated according to Office for National Statistics rounding and suppression methodology.

Where participation in a SETB meeting or associated activity would involve additional care requirements, we have developed guidelines to highlight the support available to researchers with caring responsibilities.

We are committed to ensuring all meetings and events are as inclusive and accessible as possible.

We will:

• select venues that are accessible and where possible accommodate any specific requirement in our planning and organisation of an initiative to support wider participation.
• ensure attendees have an opportunity to raise any specific requirements or adjustments in advance.
• handle personal sensitive information in compliance with UK GDPR

Last updated: 16 September 2025