We are recruiting for a Deputy Director, A Fairer Start 

About Nesta

We are Nesta, the UK’s innovation agency for social good. We design, test and scale solutions to society’s biggest problems. Our three missions are to give every child a fair start, help people live healthy lives, and create a sustainable future where the economy works for both people and the planet. 

For over 20 years, we have worked to support, encourage and inspire innovation. We work in three roles: as an innovation partner working with frontline organisations to design and test new solutions, as a venture builder supporting new and early stage businesses, and as a system shaper creating the conditions for innovation. 

Harnessing the rigour of science and the creativity of design, we work relentlessly to change millions of lives for the better. Find out more at nesta.org.uk.

About this mission: A Fairer Start

We want to break the link between family background and life chances. Our mission is that from 2030 every child has the same chance of developing to their full potential in the early years. 

We are focusing on improving the outcomes of children from low-income backgrounds during early childhood because this is when the foundations of physical, emotional and social development are laid. However, babies and young children growing up in poverty are more likely to miss out on the resources and experiences needed for healthy development. 

We are working on improving children’s early outcomes by strengthening the early years system - ensuring family support services and early education are available, accessible, appealing, effective and cost-effective for families and children living in low-income. 

We work across sectors - with national policymakers, local government, other charities, academics, and funders - in order to drive the changes we need to see to reach our mission goal. 

Your role 

This is a senior leadership role at Nesta, wholly dedicated to breaking the link between family background and life chances. You will oversee and create projects that make a real-world impact on our mission. They will generate new ideas and evidence for how to improve children’s environments in the early years. You will work alongside the Mission Director and other Deputy Directors to shape the portfolio and enable the team to deliver results. You will lead and work with a highly motivated and capable team including a range of ‘practice’ specialists including designers, behavioural scientists and researchers. You will be pivotal in enabling a step change in our impact through partnership working over the year.

Your responsibilities 

• Support in shaping the strategic direction for the mission, how we deliver against this effectively, and ensuring team alignment

• Oversee a portfolio of projects that meets our strategic goals, leverages our innovation methods, appropriately considers and builds the evidence, and delivers at pace; help make tradeoffs between pace and perfection

• Create the conditions to scale solutions that work - by building our networks and influence, forming strategic partnerships, securing funding, and planning for scale from the start

• Manage senior stakeholder relationships with existing partners and build new relationships and partners (e.g. with industry players, local authorities, funders)

• Create the conditions for the team and others to succeed, fostering a high support, high challenge culture that reflects Nesta’s ‘whatever it takes’ mentality, and proactively supporting L&D across the team 

• Co-lead a team (total mission team of 25) including staff with specialist skills such as designers, researchers, data scientists and behavioural scientists

• Drive your teams to deliver results, ensuring they have the best chance of making a meaningful impact to our mission

• Represent Nesta externally at events and in the media and enhance our credibility in the domain area of early years

• Contribute to the wider leadership team and work with cross-Nesta departments to enable mission success (e.g. with the project management office, people team and strategy unit)

• Engage with Nesta’s executive team and Board of Trustees on a regular basis or as required

Essential Attributes

• Experience of the domain i.e. working in early years practice, policy and/or research

• At least five years’ experience in at least one of:

  • Applying innovation methods, such as behavioural science, design thinking, experimental design, or quantitative analysis; and/ or

  • Managing a complex programme of work and leading a team from problem diagnosis to impactful solutions

  • Leading policy change and delivery to alleviate early years inequalities

• An ability to rapidly get up to speed and deliver results in a short timeframe

Preferred attributes

• Excellent leadership skills and experience in creating and leading a high-performing, happy team

• Excellent stakeholder management, and the ability to create new relationships

• Experience of early years policymaking

• Experience of portfolio management and complex project-based working

• Experience critically appraising evidence and using it to make effective decisions

• The ability to write for and talk to senior decision-makers (such as senior policymakers, execs of philanthropic and sector organisations ) and to present to large audiences or the media

• A drive to continuously improve oneself and others, and take a proactive role in one’s own development

What we offer

Salary: circa £77,500 plus array of benefits, including private medical insurance, dental insurance, the ability to buy and sell annual leave, eyecare vouchers and more.  

Location: This role is based in London - with at least 2 days per week working from our Blackfriars office.

Term:  Permanent 

Start date: As soon as possible

Hours: This is a full-time role but we offer a range of flexible working arrangements and encourage our people to take advantage of them. Many do. 

Reports to: Mission Director.

Making an application

To apply for this role, please submit your application before 8:00am on the 3 September 2025.

First round interviews will take place w/c 15 September 2025.

At Nesta, we believe that a diverse workforce leads to an organisation that is more innovative, more creative, and gets better results.

We want our workforce to represent the diversity of the people and communities we serve. We also want our workplace to be one where different experiences, expertise and perspectives are valued, and where everyone is encouraged to grow and develop.

This means that when we are recruiting, we actively seek to reach a diverse pool of candidates. It also means that we are happy to consider any reasonable adjustments that potential employees may need to in order to be successful.

We recognise the importance of a good balance between work and home life, so we do everything we can to accommodate flexible working, including working from home, compressed or part-time hours, job shares, and other arrangements. 

Please just let us know in your application, or at any stage throughout the process (and beyond), if these are options you’d like to explore.