Why work for us?

We give hope to people whose health conditions are overlooked, by supporting research in areas that are underfunded. We invest in the brightest and best researchers, ensuring the next generation of scientists can continue to solve the biggest challenges facing human health.

We believe that there is no more important job to do and we want to attract, support and develop the very best people to help us achieve it. We operate to the highest professional standards and we are good at what we do. We will provide you with the support you need to achieve your best and we will also play our part to help you maintain a good work-life balance. We have developed our employment offer to demonstrate our commitment to our people and to reflect our mission.

Our employment offer and staff benefits

Financial wellbeing

Our salaries are above the sector average and reviewed every two years to ensure they maintain their position against the market.

We double-match your workplace pension contributions up to a maximum employer contribution of 10% and we provide life insurance based on four times your annual salary. An interest-free loan scheme is available to help you manage your finances and we offer a cycle-to-work scheme and interest-free season ticket loans to help with your commute.

When you demonstrate an extraordinary example of a positive approach to your work, your colleagues can recognise your efforts by nominating you for a £50 voucher through our Excellence in Action scheme.

We recognise commitment to the organisation with our Long Service Awards that are first awarded at five years of service.

Annual leave

We offer a generous annual leave allowance of 30 days (pro rata) per year plus bank holidays. Some of our bank holiday allowance is flexible and can be transferred to another date that is more suitable for you.

In addition, if you give your time to support a registered charity we can offer you paid leave of up to four days (pro rata) a year to carry out duties as a trustee, and if you volunteer in another capacity we will match up to two days of your annual leave with paid volunteering leave.

Health and wellbeing

To support your wellbeing, we offer annual flu vaccinations through local pharmacies, an annual health assessment through an occupational health specialist, plus additional health benefits for you and your immediate family through our life assurance provider. Our Mental Health First Aiders are on hand to provide a confidential listening ear and signpost sources of support.

On those occasions where you experience ill health, we provide enhanced ill health leave and pay.

Flexible working hours

A full-time working week is 36 hours, with core working hours from 10:00 to 16:00 Monday to Friday. Hours may be worked flexibly around them to meet business needs and to achieve your own work-life balance.

Hybrid workplace

We value spending time working in-person to develop strong connections with each other and with our mission. We welcome those spontaneous conversations that help us solve a problem or develop a new idea and we have designed our light and spacious office to be a welcoming, productive place for collaborative working. We bring the whole Foundation team together to work in the office for two days per week (currently Monday and Tuesday) and we work additional office days according to the needs of our team and our job. Those of us who work full-time are expected to work with colleagues from the office at least three days each week. Other days of the week may be worked remotely at a UK address.

We are located in Farringdon with its wealth of eateries, street food markets and leafy squares. TFL and national rail services are easily accessed from Farringdon Station, a five-minute walk away. We provide free tea, coffee and fruit for you to enjoy in the office.

Connecting with each other

We provide regular team lunches and an end-of-year party to celebrate our successes throughout the year. Our Social Committee organises our out-of-work social calendar which includes optional lunchbreak excursions to local street food markets and cultural venues as well as monthly after-work gatherings at a local bar.

Parenting policies

We offer enhanced maternity, paternity and adoption pay to help you spend time with your new family.

Learning and development

All of our people receive a thorough induction to their new role and receive access to continued professional development through our in-house programmes. Managers work closely with their team members to identify other areas of development that will help them excel in their role. We strive to keep you connected to our mission through our science seminar series, visits to our funded scientists and regular updates on our funding calls. We share our skills with each other through regular in-house Skillbuilder sessions.

Environmental sustainability

We believe human health goes hand-in-hand with planetary health which is why our journey to reduce our environmental impact began with our ‘Going Green in 2019’ campaign. We have continued to incorporate environmental sustainability as a guiding principle in our decision-making ever since and we plan to go even further, with planetary health considered a to be a foundation-stone on which our five-year strategy will be built.

Equality, diversity and inclusion

Equality, diversity and inclusion is central to all aspects of our work. Two of our people are trained as EDI Advocates and our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Working Group reviews all of our work and makes recommendations for change. We are open to continued learning from all our people to help us identify and remove barriers to inclusion, and to encourage and embrace diversity of thought.

(Eligibility criteria apply for some of the benefits described above)