Call for Research Leaders Forum Champions

The ARMA Research Leaders Forum, formerly called Research Directors Forum, is an online community for all directors, deputy directors and heads of research and research offices in higher education institutions, research institutes, independent research organisations, public sector research establishments, Catapult centres, NHS bodies, mission groups and funders.

In the past year, ARMA has engaged with research leaders across the UK to understand their needs, learn about challenges they face and opportunities for ARMA to support their work. One of the recommendations was refreshing and relaunching the ARMA Research Directors Forum with member volunteers acting as champions (like Special Interest Group (SIG) champions) to develop and deliver events, both in-person and online

We are pleased to announce the creation of a new voluntary role called Research Leaders Forum Champion. Research Leaders Forum Champions will work together to plan and deliver 2-3 information-sharing events each year for the Forum, as well as curate resources on the ARMA website and facilitate discussions on the Research Leaders Forum JiscMail list. Research Leaders Forum Champions will be invited to get involved in the planning of the in-person ARMA Directors Forum and provide input into the ARMA’s response to sector consultations. For further information about the role, please refer to the Research Leaders Forum Champion Role Description.

There will be up to four places available for Research Leaders Forum Champions, enabling leaders from a range of research organisations to get involved and steer the activities of the Forum.

How to express interest
If you are interested in becoming a Research Leaders Forum Champion, please send us a supporting statement (up to 400 words) outlining your background, why you are interested in becoming a Research Leaders Forum Champion and what you will bring to the role.

To submit your expression of interest statement please email Amaka Nwagbara at Amaka.Nwagbara@arma.ac.uk by Friday 30 May 2025 with the subject line, ‘Research Leaders Forum Champion Vacancy’. While we do not require you to be an ARMA member to express interest for this role, in the event that you are successful, you will be asked to join the Association.

How Research Leaders Forum Champions are selected
All supporting statements will be reviewed and scored by a selection panel. All statements will be anonymised with the name and current institution redacted, so if you can avoid using these details in your statement. The panel will score the statements based on the below areas:

• Relevant background in research leadership
• Ability to engage the community and willingness to respond to sector discussion and consultations
• Potential contribution to ARMA offerings for those in research leadership roles.

Our commitment to EDI
ARMA is committed to equity, diversity and inclusion.  It is a strategic priority for us to improve representation within our organisation. We particularly welcome applications from groups who are underrepresented within our community. We are committed to taking active steps within our recruitment process to reduce bias and minimise barriers to application and participation. We are also committed to offering a flexible and inclusive working environment for our employees. We offer a range of adjustments throughout the process to enable full participation. If there is anything further we can do, we encourage you to get in touch.