Career progression and personal development

All of our staff are encouraged to improve and refresh skills for their current role, to enhance transferable skills and to develop their career through learning and development opportunities.

A wide range of technical, personal and professional development initiatives are available to support career development at all levels.

All our staff have an annual performance review, an opportunity to reflect on progress, discuss reward and promotion opportunities and to consider future development and training needs.

We also offer a range of courses designed to develop technical scientific skills including bioinformatics, statistical analysis, biophysical analysis and image processing.

For management and leadership skills we offer courses that include career planning, networking, recruitment and selection skills training. There are courses for presentation skills, teaching and project management, and we offer mentoring and coaching opportunities that compliment a diverse range of activities to support wellbeing and personal resilience at work.

Mandatory training includes Health and Safety, Equality and Diversity and Bullying and Harassment Awareness. Our development programmes include:

  • Leadership and Management
  • Mentoring and Coaching
  • Technical Skills Development
  • Careers Advice

Leadership and management

Our focus on identifying, nurturing and training future research leaders is a primary driver of our scientific effectiveness.

Experience gained at the John Innes Centre is highly valued and provides a springboard for career development in the scientific community both nationally and internationally.

We provide management and leadership development programmes supporting the experience and skills needed at different career stages – from essential management skills for those moving into their first supervisory or management role, through to the EMBO endorsed ‘Hfp Leadership and Management Skills’ programmes for Postdoctoral Scientists and Group Leaders.

Bespoke events and programmes are developed according to need. A recent example was a ‘Women in Wheat’ mentoring programme.

Mentoring and coaching

Mentoring and coaching support is available at the John Innes Centre, and is designed to support your career and personal development needs.

You have access to the trained internal mentoring and coaching pool. This can be in the form of one-off sessions or longer mentoring/ coaching support.

The mentoring and coaching pool is a diverse group whose roles and experience range from Directorate and Group Leaders to Research and Support Specialists.

Tenure Track Group Leader/ Independent Fellow Mentoring: If you are a Tenure Track Group Leader or a 5-year Independent Fellow you are automatically allocated a mentor to provide guidance and an independent view of your intended work plan and progress. Your mentor provides advice on challenges faced by the individual during their Tenure Track or Fellowship, and offers support with personal and career development. If you are a Tenure Track Group Leader or 5-year Independent Fellow you are also mentored as a group by experienced Group Leaders.

Professional skills development

Personal and professional skills development programmes are delivered in our seminar rooms, training suite and online. These cover a wide range of subjects including communication skills, time management, project management, ethics, effective presentation skills, and are often led by experts at the John Innes Centre.

You can also request bespoke training to support Continuing Professional Development (CPD) needs.

Personal resilience and mental health awareness courses are included in the programme to meet increasing need for support in these areas.

Technical skills development

Our training facilities include an IT theatre where the latest bioinformatics, statistical analyses and research design training courses are delivered. These are designed, delivered and supported by John Innes Centre experts and international visiting specialists.

Individual support is provided through ‘drop-in’ clinic sessions for applied informatics and statistics.

Bespoke learning opportunities in the latest crystallography and imaging techniques are available from our specialists on demand.

Careers advice

Everyone has access to the UEA careers service via Career Central drop-in sessions. Individual appointments and one-to-one career clinics are run at the John Innes Centre.

The John Innes Centre community Voices also organise career talks with both internal and invited external speakers.