Mark Downs Email & Phone Number

London, England, Gb

A Charity and professional body acting as a single unifying voice for biology in the UK. The Society doubled turnover and trebled staff in the first four years. There are over 22,000 individual members from all sections of the biosciences ranging from school student members to Nobel laureates. Members work in schools, the private sector, government, third sector and academia. The Society also represents over 80 member organisations. Around 70 of these are other bioscience learned societies in specialist areas with a combined membership exceeding 50,000 who the Royal Society of Biology represents on generic issues such as education reform, science funding, science policy, ethical issues, early stage careers and public engagement.Other member organisations include small and large companies, research institutes, trusts, schools and universities.The Society is solely funded through membership and project income to; support members; offer professional registration and training; campaign; provide educational resources; offer bioscience events regionally and nationally; and to support public engagement.

Member of the senior management team responsible for 400 staff. Main areas included leading a £5m retail business, £6m service delivery business and customer information service. Also, running a £2m biomedical and Technology research programme providing grants and carrying out in-house IT research.

Managing three policy teams with 21 staff and lead responsibility for negotiating on behalf of the UK five major environmental Directives. Government regulator for domestic legislation. Leading the transcription of EU directives into UK law. Set up of WRAP - the Waste and Resources Action Plan, now a £30m environmental body. Working closely across government and with a wide range of industry stakeholders from manufacturing to retail.

Leading bilateral and multilateral trade policy; seeking market deregulation especially in legal services and healthcare; accompanying, briefing and supporting senior public and private sector figures on trade visits to Japan including most members of the Cabinet, FTSE100 CEOs and on occasions members of the Royal family. Supported UK telecoms business in the first hostile foreign take over in the sector and finalised deregulation of English legal services in Japan. One year was spent on full time language training. Seconded to the Japanese Ministry of International Trade for a short period.

Senior Scientific Officer, then Grade 7 in the Innovation Unit, managing a team of 20 with half drawn from the private sector on secondment, looking at innovation across management, education and business. Set up the Faraday programme partnerships between universities and research bodies ranging from textiles to sensor technology. Spent nine months at the British National Space Centre in the policy team.

Running a small team of three working on a research programme for new biosensors and subsequently managing the Government's Molecular Sensors LINKS programme under contract.

Ph.D, Biotechnology

Doctor Of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Biosensors

Bsc (Hons), Biotechnology