Work with us

"A warm welcome to Research, Partnerships and Innovation (RPI).  Thank you for your interest in RPI and a particular welcome if you are considering applying to a vacancy we are currently advertising.

We are a diverse team, with colleagues from across Sheffield, Yorkshire, the UK and the world. We have a very wide range of previous career experience and welcome all perspectives.

Our work is rewarding, as we support both discovery research and its translation to real-world applications, such as drugs and therapies in health, technological advances which contribute to net zero goals, insights which impact on our care for our ageing population, use of artificial intelligence - the list is a long one! 

You’ll be wondering what it’s like to work here and we’ve tried to give you a flavour, so watch the video above and read some of the 'days in the life' of our colleagues below. The University of Sheffield is a great place to start or continue your career, so don’t hesitate to be in touch if you are interested in a vacancy."

Deborah Lodge 

Director of Research, Partnerships and Innovation.

A day in the life of our team 

Emma Suret, Researcher Development Manager

No day is ever the same in the Researcher Development team! My role involves lots of different activities, from designing development programmes and delivering workshops to shaping policies and procedures and contributing to strategic decision making. I work with students, academic staff, and professional services staff across the institution, which is a great way to build networks and maximise the impact of my work through effective collaboration. I enjoy being involved in lots of different things and making a real difference to students and colleagues.

John Dale , Industry Account Manager

Colleagues in the new service are really passionate about KE and supporting you on your KE journey, including Industry Account Manager, John Dale, who supports our relationship with Siemens as well as a wide variety of projects and activities across all faculties.  The variety of activities that industrial partners can support and provide expertise on is tremendous and it’s great to see mutual benefits arising from these activities.  Having worked at developing commercial partnerships in a variety of roles before coming to the University, the genuine win-win outcomes that can be delivered from great KE projects is truly exciting – what we do benefits companies, academics, students, the region and the country as a whole. I’m always happy to meet in person (preferably over a coffee!) to explore opportunities for strategic partnership development.

Evy De Leenheer & Sabi Roman Regueros Translational Research Project Managers

We can't get bored in our job as we get to work with new academics, industrial partners, consultants, etc. within various different research disciplines all the time. Some of the interactions can be quite short and intense (6-9 months) when we support research teams getting a translational project application over the deadline. If the application is successful we get to continue working with the research team (3-5 years) and on a daily basis we each support 4-5 projects ranging from drug, medical device and software development all the way to testing these new inventions in humans in clinical trials.

Peter Caven, Research Growth Officer

Working across all faculties in the Challenge Driven team, my role is diverse with many varied tasks which help keep my work interesting. On a typical day I might be sending out targeted research funding opportunities and answering related queries from academics, reviewing and organising peer review and mock interviews for interdisciplinary or international proposals, running internal competitions and overseeing the distribution of funding allocations or helping out with delivering events and workshops. I really enjoy being able to engage with such a wide range of activities and research areas whilst offering support to colleagues.

Sarah Beedham, Tanporn Trakantalerngsak and Andrew Isaac - Due Diligence

No two research or knowledge exchange partnerships are ever quite the same, which means that we need to think carefully but pragmatically about the risks involved.  Also, our checks look at the specifics of the individual project as well as the partner we will be working with, which means we get to see the breadth of research at the University. It's impressive and keeps our work feeling fresh!  The landscape never stays the same for long and new initiatives such as the National Security and Investment Act and a heightened emphasis on export control keep us on our toes; it is satisfying to know we have a strong contribution to make in these security-related areas.

Rob Langley, Communications Officer

I'm not sure that a typical day exists, given the varied nature of the work in RPI. It's certainly never dull! The scope of communications and marketing means we gain insights into all areas of work in the department, highlighting how fundamental a role RPI plays in the wider institutional and regional landscape. On a given day, you might find me doing anything from running around with a gimbal (a fancy selfie stick, for the uninitiated) at an Innovation Network event to interviewing an academic for a piece about a knowledge exchange project. This diversity allows us to engage with colleagues from across the institution, from departments/ schools to Corporate Communications and everyone in between. Through our 'Made Together' campaign and partnership work, we also work closely with regional partners, including Sheffield City Council, the local Chambers of Commerce, and many others. It's a brilliant way to meet fascinating people, build your network, and learn new things.