Sanger Excellence Fellowship

Do you want to help us improve human health and understand life on Earth? Make your mark by shaping the future to enable or deliver life-changing science to solve some of humanity’s greatest challenges.

Sanger Excellence Fellowship Applications are now open for 2024 - We are offering up to 4 open positions.

We are keen to enable Black early career researchers to develop their portfolio of research experience and thrive in the field of UK genomics science. Our Fellowship is designed to attract research excellence and we will provide the Fellows with training, mentorship and support to drive their careers forward and to support a more diverse pipeline of future talent.

Our Fellowship has been developed in close collaboration with internal and external experts, including senior Black academics and Black-led community groups, who have helped shape the overall approach.

Mentorship, training and sponsorship is built into the heart for the programme and all candidates, including those who are unsuccessful, will receive feedback and have the opportunity to be mentored and receive career development support.

For more background on our Fellowship, please visit: https://www.sanger.ac.uk/about/equality-in-science/sanger-excellence-fellowship/

About the Fellowship

Eligibility

This Fellowship is aimed at early career researchers and the general requirements are an Undergraduate degree and PhD awarded from institutions from within the UK, the Republic of Ireland, Isle of Man and the Channel Islands (the common travel area). We pride ourselves in offering a first-class and well-resourced exceptional learning environment and our Postdoctoral Fellowship Development Programme provides a comprehensive training experience designed to equip you with the knowledge, training and skills you require to be successful in your future careers – whatever you may do.

This particular scheme is open to people who self-identify as being from a Black heritage background, including a Mixed heritage background. For example, Black African; Black Caribbean; Black Other; Mixed background (to include Black African, Black Caribbean or other Black backgrounds).

The Institute offers a range of fellowships, should your background not match the requirements, more details can be found on our website. We welcome any applicants to reach out directly to sangerexcellence@sanger.ac.uk to discuss other relevant Postdoctoral opportunities at the institute. 

Salary

You will be part of our Postdoctoral Fellowship programme and will be paid in line with this pay scale (£38,000 - £49,156 in 2024), dependent on skills and experience. The Sanger Excellence Fellowship also includes research consumables of up to £18,000 per annum, dependent on the nature of the project and a budget of £1,500 per annum for you to attend conferences and training.

Start date

There is flexibility with the start date, but you should be able to start by the end of December 2024. 

The Fellowship runs for three years and can be worked full-time, part-time or flexibly.

Application process:

• Stage 1: Expression of Interest and call with member of the Excellence fellowship team
• Stage 2: Application form
• Stage 3: Co-development of a research project with a member of Sanger Institute research lead - as part of this stage, you will be invited to visit our Campus
• Stage 4: The co-created projects are submitted to the Scientific Review Panel
• Stage 5: Interview

1-1 Support is available at all stages of the recruitment process, you can contact us on sangerexcellence@sanger.ac.uk for any queries.

About you:

You will be an early career researcher (recently completed your PhD or more established with experience as a postdoctoral fellow) and interested in our science. This opportunity will give you the benefits of our unique learning environment, we welcome applications from you whether you are looking to move into a new research area or build upon your current skills and experience.

Essential skills:

• PhD, or soon to be completed PhD,  in a relevant subject area (or equivalent)
• Motivation and ambition to make a personal contribution to GRL research
• Team player with the ability to work with others in a collegiate and collaborative environment
• Ability to effectively communicate ideas and results to collaborators and present orally groups
• Proven ability to develop and maintain effective working relationships with wide range of persons of differing levels, abilities and knowledge
• Ability to effectively prioritise, multi-task and work independently
• Detailed orientated, strong organisational and problem-solving skills
• Commitment to personal development and updating of knowledge and skills
• Demonstrates inclusivity and respect for all

Joining us as Postdoctoral Fellow:

You will be part of a vibrant international Postdoctoral Fellow community at the Sanger Institute with a wide programme of transferable skills training and excellent career development opportunities. We are committed to:

• Providing an enriching and respectful research environment so you can focus on and enjoy your work
• Mentoring you and providing opportunities for you to network across the genomics scientific community

For more information about being a Postdoctoral Fellow - please visit: https://youtu.be/1-vxm2nBmFA

To submit your Expression of Interest, please click apply.

Closing Date: 29th April 2024

Hybrid Working at Wellcome Sanger:

We recognise that there are many benefits to Hybrid Working; including an improved work-life balance, with more focused time, as well as the ability to organise working time so that collaborative opportunities and team discussions are facilitated on campus. The hybrid working arrangement will vary for different roles and teams. The nature of your role and the type of work you do will determine if a hybrid working arrangement is possible.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion:

We aim to attract, recruit, retain and develop talent from the widest possible talent pool, thereby gaining insight and access to different markets to generate a greater impact on the world. We have a supportive culture with the following staff networks, LGBTQ+, Parents and Carers, Disability and Race Equity to bring people together to share experiences, offer specific support and development opportunities and raise awareness. The networks are also a place for allies to provide support to others.

We want our people to be whoever they want to be because we believe people who bring their best selves to work, do their best work. That’s why we’re committed to creating a truly inclusive culture at Sanger Institute. We will consider all individuals without discrimination and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees, where everyone can thrive.

Our Benefits:

We are proud to deliver an awarding campus-wide employee wellbeing strategy and programme. The importance of good health and adopting a healthier lifestyle and the commitment to reduce work-related stress is strongly acknowledged and recognised at Sanger Institute.

Sanger Institute became a signatory of the International Technician Commitment initiative In March 2018.  The Technician Commitment aims to empower and ensure visibility, recognition, career development and sustainability for technicians working in higher education and research, across all disciplines.

Every year the Wellcome Sanger Institute supports the visits of dozens of overseas researchers from across the globe to the Genome campus to collaborate, share insights and to undertake ground-breaking scientific research. Our reliable in-house service provides expert advice and guidance to support current and prospective staff, and visitors at various points of their journey. We are able to provide guidance through your entire journey, from initial visa application through to extensions and applications of Indefinite Leave to Remain, the service is proud to support your personal applications and those of your dependants and family members. 

For more information about our immigration service visit: https://www.sanger.ac.uk/about/careers/global-mobility-and-immigration-service/