STFC Multidisciplinary Facility User Advisory Panel: member vacancies

• Closing date: 27 April 2026
• Number of positions: Approximately seven
• Length of term: Three years, with the possibility of extending for up to another three years
• Time commitment: One full-day in-person meeting annually with the option of online attendance, and occasional short, online meetings. The scheduling of these will depend on the panel’s workload.
• Remuneration: £170 per day for members; £230 per day for chair
• Outcomes communicated date: August 2026

The Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) Multidisciplinary Facility User (MFU) Advisory Panel will provide advice and guidance related to STFC-supported national and international multidisciplinary facilities.

The panel will provide a key link between:

• facility users
• STFC Science Board (Facilities and Laboratories)
• STFC Facility Directors
• STFC Programmes Directorate
• STFC’s national facility-specific advisory boards

The panel will represent the academic and industrial facility user community across the range of discipline areas, including engineering and biological, physical, life and environmental sciences.

 

Who we're looking for

The STFC MFU Advisory Panel is looking for representatives from across the multidisciplinary facility user base with a balance of perspectives to fully reflect the community with an emphasis on UK users, but which may include users working outside the UK.

The STFC-supported multidisciplinary facilities are:

• the Central Laser Facility
• ISIS
• Diamond Light Source
• European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF)
• European Spallation Source (ESS)
• European X-ray Free-Electron Laser (XFEL)
• Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL)

Applications are welcome from those at all career stages who can demonstrate they meet the required criteria. We would particularly welcome applications from facility users from industry, to provide panel membership in all relevant areas.

What you’ll be doing

The STFC MFU Advisory Panel will provide advice and guidance, to these STFC-supported facilities:

• National Facilities: ISIS, Diamond Light Source, Central Laser Facility
• International facilities: ESRF, ESS, European XFEL, and ILL

The panel with act independently from any specific facility.

The STFC MFU Advisory Panel provides a holistic overview of activities across the disciplinary areas, relating to STFC-supported multidisciplinary facilities provision at the above-named facilities. Its tasks are to:

• consult, engage, and interact with the user community to ensure its views are canvassed using existing mechanisms the facilities have in place where appropriate, and report on outcomes of consultations
• look across the national and international facilities to address areas such as Infrastructure Fund activities and longer-term strategy
• provide expertise or links to each community across all the discipline areas to answer questions from and provide feedback to Science Board (Facilities and Laboratories) on wider user needs
• discuss cross-facility topics and issues, providing expert independent and unbiased assessments on the UK’s strategic priorities, which are impartial to any one facility

The STFC MFU Advisory Panel will report directly to Science Board (Facilities and Laboratories).

The panel chair or deputy chair will attend at least one Science Board (Facilities and Laboratories) meeting annually to present on the panel’s activities. They may attend additional meetings depending on item scheduling.

The panel will also maintain links with:

• the national facility-specific advisory boards
• STFC Programmes Directorate
• the Facility Directors
• the UKRI Facilities Strategic Advisory Group

Our handbook for members of STFC 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

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

The selection criteria for panel membership are:

• familiarity with STFC’s national and international facilities: CLF, Diamond Light Source, ESRF, ESS, ILL, ISIS Neutron Source, European XFEL (Essential)
• skills in communication, team working and strategic thinking (Essential)
• a user of more than one neutron, synchrotron, laser or FEL facility (Desirable)
• knowledge of facility strategy, for example through membership of peer review panels or strategic advisory panels (Desirable)
• demonstrated engagement with the community (Desirable)

All applications will be assessed based on STFC panel recruitment guidelines and in consultation with the panel chair.

Further information

If you have any questions, contact either of the following:

• Rachel Reynolds, Panel Secretary Rachel.Reynolds@stfc.ukri.org
• Professor Katharina Edkins, Panel Chair katharina.edkins@strath.ac.uk

Last updated: 11 March 2026