The Wellcome Trust has defended its £211,000-a-year diversity officer role, after criticism that the salary was too high for a non-profit organisation.
The charitable foundation became a target of criticism after it announced it was seeking a chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer.
The Wellcome Trust’s insights and learning lead, Farrah Nazir, tweeted a link to the job description, adding that the successful candidate would receive £211,000 a year.
The tweet received more than 250 replies, most of which remarked that the salary was too high for a non-profit organisation.
Nazir said she believed it was important to pay EDI director-level roles “what they are worth” and on a par with other director-level roles within the organisation.
A spokesperson for Wellcome told Third Sector the position was “critical” to the organisation and the salary was benchmarked to the marketplace for equivalent roles.
They said: “We are a global organisation spending £16bn over the next decade on science to solve urgent health challenges. We are funded by the returns from our investment portfolio.
“This is a critical leadership role which will improve equity, diversity and inclusion across our work. The post-holder will be a member of Wellcome’s executive leadership team.
“The salary, like all salaries at Wellcome, is benchmarked to the marketplace for equivalent roles.”