Vacancies

In the spring of 2025, the Dunhill Medical Trust changed its name to the Vivensa Foundation as part of a wider plan to better reflect its work as a funder and impact-intentional investor.

The name ‘Vivensa’ is inspired by the Latin word vivens, meaning to live, be alive, or to reside in — a reflection of the work we support our award-holders and investees to do. But this is more than a change of name — it reaffirms our commitment to funding the remarkable science and radical social change needed for people to age well on their terms.

It was back in the 1980s that the Board of the predecessor charity recognised that the shifting demographics would drive a need for investment in a high-quality research base to improve our understanding of the mechanisms of ageing and ageing-related disease and the delivery of innovation in the health and social care of older people. Since then, the Foundation has been funding some of the very best of the UK’s researchers and community innovators to do just that. 

The Foundation plans to play its part in three broad ways:

• investing in ideas
• connecting research and practice and
• fostering flourishing communities.

With our new identity and with our refreshed Strategic Framework and priorities for the next five years launched in April, we are looking forward to writing our next chapter.Our next five years will involve scaling our impact‑intentional investment portfolio, deepening our role in evidence-to-practice ecosystems, and strengthening our partnerships with communities across the UK.

Board vacancy

Owing to a retirement, we welcome applications for the position of Trustee from candidates with expertise in one of the priority areas set out in our new plan. 

We will prioritise applications, from either:

• research active clinicians and academics with demonstrable expertise in translating research and evidence into practice or;
• professionals with a background in delivering innovative change in NHS or local authority settings, social care or housing provision with the experience and networks to turn the latest evidence into practice.

We value skills potential and lived experience. The work we fund means that we know all too well the negative impacts of inequity. We are therefore committed to promoting equity, diversity and inclusion in all areas of our work and improving the diversity of representation on our Board of Trustees and on our Committees and we welcome applications from global majority backgrounds.

How to apply

It’s an exciting time to be joining us and we’re looking for people with the commitment, vision and expertise to support and work with our small but highly experienced and professional executive team and make your contribution to writing the next chapter in our story. 

If you think this could be you, please send your CV, with a covering letter of no more than two pages addressing how you meet the needs of the person specification to jobs@vivensafoundation.org.uk, together with the optional Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) form. 

Our EDI form is optional and you do not have to answer any / all of the questions. However, gathering this data helps us to know if we are succeeding in involving different groups of people, and to change our approach if some groups are not represented.

Your application will be anonymised before it is considered by the recruiting panel and the panel will not have access to any information you have provided in our EDI form.

CVs without covering letters will not be considered. We also recognise the potential of generative AI to contribute to the creative process and we encourage its ethical and constructive use. This includes acknowledging it whenever it is used. Therefore, please reference generative AI in your written application if you have used it.

The closing date is 17.00 on 17 May 2026.

Applications are invited from across the UK and Board and Committee meetings are held quarterly, with dates set in advance (the time commitment for each is around six days per year). The Board is collaborative and evidence-driven with a commitment to learning and good governance. While our office base is in central London, we offer the opportunity to attend meetings either in person or virtually. Although the role is unpaid, reasonable expenses, including travel, the need to cover caring responsibilities, and expenses incurred as a result of loss of earnings will be reimbursed.

We recognise the inherent benefits of having a diverse board and workforce and the negative impact of discrimination on us and the communities that we serve. We work hard to promote a culture of respect and dignity and work within the practice – and the spirit – of the Equality Act 2010. We do our very best to proactively combat behaviours and barriers that can lead to discrimination.  If you wish to make your application in a different format to the one stated, please contact us and we will do our best to accommodate your needs.

Data Protection

The information you provide in your application will only be processed for the purpose of this recruitment process as described above. By applying for this role, you have consented that the data you provide will be processed and stored as described above. For more information, please read the Vivensa Foundation’s Privacy Notice.