BioFAIR Research and Technical Advisory Group: early-career researcher / research technical professional vacancy

21 September 2026

The BioFAIR project’s Research and Technical Advisory Group (RTAG) is seeking to appoint a new member. 

RTAG plays a key role in supporting the delivery of BioFAIR’s mission to assemble and operate a federated, world-class digital research infrastructure for the UK life sciences research community.

This round is open to early career researchers and research technical professionals. We are recruiting specifically to strengthen the group’s coverage of the perspectives of those working hands-on with life sciences data day to day. See “Who we’re looking for” below for how we define this, and if you are unsure whether you are eligible, please get in touch at opportunities@biofair.uk

Apply here

Closing date

  • Wed 7 Oct,  2026 23:59 BST

Number of positions

  • One

Length of term

  • Initial appointment will be for one year, renewable for an additional two years. All appointments and renewals will be subject to approval by the BioFAIR Project Board. 

Remuneration

  • The role is unremunerated
  • Reasonable travel and subsistence costs for attendance at  in-person events will be reimbursed against receipts. At times, we may ask you if you are able to attend public events to represent BioFAIR. In these situations, BioFAIR will book and pay for travel and accommodation in advance so that the appointee is not left out of pocket.

Time commitment

  • Four virtual meetings per year. Including preparation, this is likely to be a commitment of approximately four days per year. Meetings are scheduled with as much notice as possible and can be worked around teaching, shift patterns, part-time hours and caring responsibilities where possible.

Interview date

  • No interviews are required. Selection will be through an expression of interest application form. 

Outcomes communicated

  • On or around 9 October 2026

Anticipated start

  • We expect the selected candidate to be available for the next Research and Technical Advisory Group meeting on 15 October 2026, from 10:00 – 12:00 BST

The objectives of the BioFAIR project are:

Culture change: To drive adoption of FAIR principles and open data across the UK life sciences to provide high quality FAIR datasets ready for uptake and reuse.

Defragmentation: To increase the coordination, collaboration and cohesiveness of the UK’s life science related data landscape, enhancing its effectiveness and efficiency.

Access: To enable democratised access to data and data methods within UK life sciences via a national capability.

Skills: To attract, develop and retain excellent research data management skills and capacity for UK life sciences.

Data reuse: To improve the efficiency of research and enabling new research by increased re-use of data in the life sciences.

The RTAG provides expert input and advice that will:

  • help to shape and develop our strategy, policies and ideas
  • provide assurance, monitoring and benchmarking on our architectural and delivery decisions
  • ensure that our strategy and delivery are supported by expert knowledge and insight from members with broad experience across the community

Who we’re looking for

Eligibility for this round

We use “early career researcher” and “research technical professional” broadly. You may be a PhD student, a postdoc, a research software engineer, a data steward, a bioinformatician, a research data manager, core facility or platform staff, or in a similar role — typically within around eight years of starting your research or technical career. Career breaks, part-time working, moves between sectors and other non-linear career paths do not count against this, and we do not apply the eight years rigidly. You do not need a PhD. 

What the role involves

As a member of the RTAG, you will play a key role in delivering our mission by:

  • providing independent strategic, scientific and technical advice to the Director and the Delivery Team, and when requested to the Project Board
  • supporting the project to meet its requirements to serve research communities across the life sciences
  • providing assurance to the Director that the project represents best technical practice and is meeting technical requirements across research communities across the life sciences
  • providing independent advice and feedback to the Director and Delivery team on monitoring and evaluation activities
  • being active in representing BioFAIR aims and activity in community and stakeholder engagement, to include external community guidance and messages in the advice provided to the Project Board
  • supporting horizon scanning of both project and external landscape; providing active recommendations to the Delivery Team to ensure the engagement, access and membership of the advisory board maintains optimal coverage of prospective stakeholders

We encourage you to apply if you have expertise or hands-on experience in any of the following areas. We do not expect any one person to cover all of them:

  • life sciences research
  • data stewardship
  • development and/or operations of digital research infrastructure or research computing services, especially involving federated approaches
  • delivery of tools and services to support research data management
  • delivery of complementary projects in other disciplines or internationally
  • researcher and research technical professional development

We seek to ensure a diversity of membership including:

  • coverage across the UK
  • a range of disciplinary perspectives
  • members from both within and beyond academia
  • members from complementary international initiatives
  • a range of career stages

We particularly welcome applications from groups that are under-represented in the academic and research technical community.

The group is made up of eight to ten members, supplemented as appropriate with additional invited experts according to need. This round is to fill one vacancy.

Support for the appointed member

The appointed member will receive an induction to BioFAIR, the RTAG and a buddy from the existing membership. Papers are circulated in advance and we are happy to talk them through before meetings. 

If you would find it helpful, we can provide your PI, Group Leader or Line Manager with a short letter detailing why we feel this opportunity would be beneficial to both BioFAIR and your own professional development. Please contact us at opportunities@biofair.uk if you would like to request this. 

What you’ll be doing and how to apply

The group plays a key role in delivering BioFAIR’s objectives and ensuring that there is sustainable impact on the delivery of UK life science research.

Apply here

The application form contains the following sections:

  • personal information (name, organisation and contact details)
  • skills, knowledge and experience
  • diversity information

The skills, knowledge and experience section includes free text sections for:

  • personal statement: why you wish to join RTAG, what you think you can bring to the role, and what you would hope to gain from it (maximum 200 words)
  • shaping decisions and practice: any experience you have of shaping decisions, standards or practice beyond your own immediate work (maximum 300 words). 
  • experience: describe what your current work and career path so far would bring to RTAG, and how you meet the essential and desirable criteria (maximum 300 words)

If you have any queries, would like to arrange an informal discussion before applying, or have additional needs to enable you to complete the application form, please email opportunities@biofair.uk. We are happy to have an informal conversation with anyone considering applying, and doing so has no bearing on the assessment of your application.

If you would find it helpful, we can provide your PI, Group Leader or Line Manager with a short letter detailing why we feel this opportunity would be beneficial to both BioFAIR and your own professional development. Please contact us at opportunities@biofair.uk if you would like to request this. 

How we’ll assess your application

We will make appointments based on individual knowledge and experience in line with the criteria listed.

We will also be considering the need for expertise in particular research and technical areas, along with the coverage of panel membership overall in relation to the expertise requirements of RTAG.

The types of evidence that you may provide will depend on your background, and we recognise that at an earlier career stage this will often look different from a long list of formal appointments. Evidence may include:

  • experience as a life science researcher or as a research technical professional/data steward
  • hands-on experience of generating, managing, analysing, curating or sharing life sciences data
  • experience of developing, delivering and operating services and tools for the life science community
  • contributions to community standards, open-source projects, protocols, workflows or training materials
  • organising or leading networks, seminar series, hackathons, user groups or conferences
  • mentoring, teaching, peer review or representing colleagues on institutional groups
  • participation on committees, boards or panels
  • evidence for the delivery of digital research infrastructures or research computing services
  • experience of working nationally or internationally, particularly in the context of global challenges
  • experience of the development of research outputs into real world value, for example in the form of people, policy, infrastructure, data management, standards
  • evidence of involvement in monitoring and evaluation

Essential criteria

These include:

  • professional expertise relevant to the remit of RTAG, appropriate to your career stage
  • awareness and knowledge of the infrastructures, facilities, resources and services necessary for the life science research community to carry out ground-breaking research and support its translation into economic and societal impact
  • understanding of the interface between academia, industry and other relevant BioFAIR stakeholders
  • awareness and understanding of societal, ethical or legal considerations related to the life sciences or research more widely
  • commitment to the FAIR principles and to the objectives of the BioFAIR project
  • ability to work collaboratively and productively with other RTAG members

Desirable criteria

These include:

  • knowledge and understanding of the life science research landscape in the UK and/or internationally
  • expertise in multidisciplinary or interdisciplinary working across fields of the life sciences and more widely, including the formation of collaborations and partnerships and facilitation of knowledge exchange
  • knowledge of equality, diversity and inclusion activities being undertaken in research and innovation across the UK and internationally, and a demonstrated commitment to making progress on equality, diversity and inclusion issues, with experience of improving outcomes

Previous experience of serving on an advisory board is not required or expected for this round.

We expect you to be able to commit the necessary time and attention to your appointment and to have the full support or the necessary permission of your employer. Please tell us in your application if there is anything we can do to support your participation, for example around scheduling, caring responsibilities, part-time hours or accessibility requirements.

We will assess expressions of interest against the criteria set out in the role description.

In addition to reviewing applications against the criteria for appointment, we will consider diversity and institutional and geographic balance as part of the decision-making process.

Equality and Diversity

We recognise that diverse ideas, experiences, backgrounds and perspectives are fundamental to successful research and technical development.

We are committed to ensuring that our committees, panels and boards are inclusive, diverse and representative of the UK life sciences community.

We are committed to the principle of providing equal opportunities for all.

In this application process we collect information about your age, gender (including previous gender identity if applicable), disability, ethnic origin and sexual orientation as part of our equality monitoring procedures. Non-sensitive data collected from your application form is used to assess your suitability for the role and, as appropriate, make arrangements for appointment. Sensitive data collected as part of our equality monitoring procedures is used to provide anonymised data and reports to ensure we maintain and promote equality of opportunity across our recruitment practices. As appropriate, it may also be used to ensure reasonable adjustments are made to recruitment processes in relation to any disability, in accordance with the Equality Act 2010.

Eligibility for this round is based on career stage, not age. Career stage is not a proxy for age, and applications are welcome from people of any age who meet the eligibility description above.

Our full privacy statement can be found here: https://biofair.uk/privacy-policy/