Science Board (Facilities and Laboratories): member vacancies

• Closing date: 27 April 2026
• Number of positions: Five
• Length of term: Appointments would begin in January 2027, with terms for up to four years.
• Time commitment: The board will normally meet four times a year, either in person at different STFC sites or by video conference. The meetings usually take place over two days. In-person meetings will always include a video conferencing option.

  There is a possibility of several shorter extraordinary meetings (virtual) over the course of the year.

  Each meeting requires approximately one day of preparation.

• Remuneration: £170 per full day
• Interview date: To be confirmed
• Outcomes communicated: August to September 2026

Science Board (Facilities and Laboratories) will provide advice and guidance to Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) related to STFC-supported national and international multidisciplinary facilities, the STFC National Laboratories, and related technologies, including accelerators and computing.

The board represents a broad cross-section of STFC’s facility user and technology-focused stakeholder communities which includes:

• members of the UK academic and business or industrial communities
• members from national and international facilities and laboratories

The board has five available vacancies.

Who we’re looking for

Applications are encouraged from prospective board members who bring a broad strategic view, providing advice and insight into STFC strategy development at a cross-cutting level.

We would particularly encourage applicants with expertise or interest in any of the following:

• accelerators
• chemistry with experience of using central facilities
• earth and atmospheric science (aerosols, air quality, climate change)
• users of lasers (instrumentation or applications)
• laser and electro-optical diagnostics
• industry or commerce relevant to STFC’s mission
• applications of artificial intelligence relevant to STFC’s mission

Applicants from either academia or industry with any of these areas of expertise should indicate this in their application.

We welcome applications from both UK and international institutions or organisations and those with experience with large-scale facilities, but not all institutions are eligible.

Science Board (Facilities and Laboratories) strives to maintain a balanced representation of UK institutes and seeks to avoid over representation from any single institute. We are not able to accept applications from members of the following institutions, due to existing Science Board membership:

• Bristol University
• University of Cambridge
• Cardiff University
• University College Dublin
• Lancaster University
• University of Liverpool
• The University of Manchester
• The Natural History Museum
• University of Oxford
• University of Rome Tor Vergata
• Queen Mary University of London

We are unable to accept applications from anyone employed to work in STFC managed national laboratories and large-scale facilities, or STFC supported national facilities.

A dynamic, diverse and inclusive board is critical to ensure STFC gets the best strategic advice. Therefore, we particularly encourage applications from women, people who identify as an ethnic minority, people with a disability, and other groups who are currently under-represented on STFCs boards and panels.

What you’ll be doing

The Board: Science Board – Facilities and Laboratories:

• reviews and considers long-term science, technology and accelerator strategies for STFC’s national laboratories and facilities. This includes identifying and prioritising scientific opportunities and understanding the underpinning technological development
• consults with the appropriate communities to ensure the science, technology and accelerator strategies for the facilities and STFC National Laboratory departments represents the needs of the UK multidisciplinary user community
• advises on the strategic importance of possible new areas of activity, new collaborations and partnerships
• advises on strategic priorities across STFC’s national laboratories and facilities
• advises on the overall scientific investment portfolio across the National Laboratories and facilities, including large-scale capital investments
• advises on the balance of capability and capacity across international and national large-scale multidisciplinary facilities
• provides strategic advice on the STFC 10-year plan for international and national large-scale multidisciplinary facilities in the context of the broader STFC strategy
• provides coordinated advice, alongside Science Board (Particle Physics, Astronomy and Nuclear), in cross-cutting areas such as technology, computing, accelerators and environmental sustainability needs through mechanisms including joint meetings and task and finish groups

Our handbook for members of STFC’s advisory bodies will help you to understand our expectations of a panel member. The handbook also includes useful information on other topics, such as:

• equality and diversity
• conflicts of interest
• confidentiality
• our policy on travel, subsistence, and remunerated meeting fees

How to apply

Check the specific details for the panel, committee and board vacancies before deciding which to apply for.

Read the application guidance documents, which include:

• a preview of the application form
• questions and answers from a webinar we held in 2021
• testimonies from members of STFC panels, boards and committees

Apply using the online form on the UKRI Engagement Hub.

How we’ll assess your application

Applications will be assessed by a panel usually made up of representatives from STFC council and executive board and the current Science Board (Facilities and Laboratories) Chair.

The following criteria will be used to assess applicants, but you do not need to address each criterion if you do not have the relevant experience:

• relevant scientific or technical expertise in either academia or industry within at least one of STFC’s underpinning technologies
• user, member or manager of national and international research facilities and laboratories, or has an understanding of facility science contexts
• experience in developing or implementing strategy or policy in an academic, business, government or other research-intensive environment
• strategic knowledge and understanding of the needs of the multidisciplinary facility user community
• an awareness of the role STFC National Laboratories play in underpinning and supporting the UK research community

The panel will also consider the balance of institutions represented on the board as part of their assessment.

All applications will be assessed based on STFC panel recruitment guidelines.

Further information

Find out more about the Science Board.

The benefits to both academic and industrial members of the board include:

• exposure to high-level strategy development within a board which directly reports to STFC Council
• abundant networking opportunities with key contacts within STFC, industry and academia
• the opportunity to directly influence strategy for STFC’s underpinning technologies and their exploitation and commercialisation

We are committed to the principles of fair and transparent decision-making, promoting equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI). In addition to UKRI principles on EDI, STFC continues to develop a range of measures and objectives around EDI. We have undertaken an equality, diversity and inclusion impact assessment for this opportunity, see application guidance documents.

Appointments to the advisory panel are made on merit. However, we are keen to maintain diversity in its membership. Applications from women, those with a disability or members of minority ethnic groups are therefore especially welcome.

For more information contact the Science Board (Facilities and Laboratories) secretariat, email: sbfacilitieslabs@stfc.ukri.org

Last updated: 13 April 2026