About us:
The Babraham Research Campus is considered to be the UK’s leading campus to support early-stage bioscience enterprises. World class research and business come together to promote innovation and strengthen links between academia and the commercial world.
Babraham Research Campus (BRC) is the company that manages and develops the Campus, supporting and promoting the regional and UK bioscience ecosystem. It has responsibility for the administration and commercial development of the site for the benefit of all the tenant companies including the Babraham Institute. The Campus provides emerging and growing biotech companies laboratory and office space together with access to outstanding scientific facilities in an ideal geographical location at the core of the Cambridge cluster. Our aim is to be the most successful bioincubator campus in Europe and to support the Cambridge region and the UK bio-science communities.
We are situated on an attractive 430-acre parkland estate, seven miles south west of Cambridge City Centre. The campus blends modern laboratory facilities with historic buildings in a spacious, beautifully landscaped setting. The campus offers the companies excellent amenities: fully-equipped meeting rooms and conferencing facilities, bar, coffee shop, a sports and social club, gym, tennis court and football pitch. A large component of the estate grounds including the wood, grass, grazing meadows and park land are opened for both the campus and the wider community to walk through and use.
Role
Babraham Research Campus are co-delivering the Cambridge NeuroWork’s ARIA Activation Partners Fellowship Programme, together with other Cambridge organisations including the Milner Therapeutics Institute, the Maxwell Centre, Cambridge University Health Partners and are seeking to appoint a Fellowship Operations Manager.
The Cambridge NeuroWork’s programme aims to:
Support an end-to-end scientific entrepreneurship journey: From ideation of highly speculative ideas to investment-ready propositions, providing tailored support and mentorship to maximise the chances of success.
Create a safe place to do risky things: By harnessing the vibrant innovation ecosystem of Cambridge, the programme aims to accelerate the delivery of globally affordable neurotechnology.
Broaden participation: Targeting diverse backgrounds, including engineers, scientists, clinicians, other medical professionals and those from industry with the purpose to minimise barriers to participation.
Activate a UK-wide neurotech network: Through structured stages that spark innovative ideas, de-risk speculative science, and accelerate innovations to impact.
Foster collaboration: Bringing together well-acquainted partners as a single consortium to build on the connections, expertise, and infrastructure of Cambridge University Health Partners and other institutions.
The Cambridge NeuroWorks Fellowship Programme offers two streams: BlueSky Fellowships for early-stage ideas needing further development, and Frontier Fellowships for more mature concepts ready for validation. Both streams aim to support UK talent, enabling quick adaptation when hypotheses are disproved and accelerating innovation when validated, focusing on interfacing with the human brain at scale.
The Fellowship Operations Manager is a key role to support and deliver significant activities within the Cambridge NeuroWorks Fellowship programme. The Fellowship Operations Manager will be responsible for the co-ordination and supervision of up to six Fellows annually, to conduct their individual 12-month research fellowships. The Fellowship Operations Manager will be required to work effectively with other Activation Partners ensuring the Fellow is supported at their respective host organisation and is fully equipped with laboratory and technical enablers in addition to appropriate mentor networks.
The Fellowship Operations Manager will be responsible for understanding and ensuring contractual obligations and research activities are upheld by the Fellow at respective host organisation(s) including appropriate and timely reporting, invoicing and financial oversight. For Fellows hosted at Babraham Research Campus within the communal science laboratories, LiveLabs@Babraham, the Fellowship Operations Manager will be required to work effectively with the LiveLabs Manager and team members to ensure smooth running of the Fellows’ research endeavours.
Fellows will be required to participate in the annual Accelerate@Babraham programme which is a leading life science accelerator and bio-incubator capability based at the Babraham Research Campus, supported by a number of organisations and key individuals and receives funding from strategic partners including Pharmaceutical companies and investors. The aim of the Babraham Accelerator is to support early-stage companies in their entrepreneurial journey and includes running a successful annual Accelerate@Babraham. Therefore, the Fellowship Operations Manager will be required to work alongside the Accelerate@Babraham team and their partners to deliver a neurotech theme designed specifically for the Fellows occurring alongside the wider accelerator cohort members.
The Campus has an ambitious strategy to maintain its leading position in Europe as the preferred location for early stage and start-up companies. The role-holder will play a critical part in delivery of this fellowship programme which is a catalyst for expanding our campus-wide support activities which encourage the exploitation of science commercialisation, entrepreneurship and scale-up and nurture the ecosystem, enhancing connections, collaboration and engagement within the campus community.
The role will report to the Chief Scientific & Innovation Officer and will involve working closely with the Cambridge NeuroWorks ARIA Activation Partners.
Responsibilities
Planning, management and administration of the Cambridge NeuroWorks Frontier fellowship programme
Co-ordination and supervision of up to six Frontier Fellows annually, conducting their individual 12 month fellowships, even if the Fellow is conducting their research activities at a host laboratory that is not on the Babraham Research Campus.
Ensure each Fellow is fully equipped with laboratory and technical enablers in addition to appropriate mentor networks, irrespective of where they are hosted. This will require collaborative working with equivalent roles at the Maxwell Centre and Milner Therapeutics Institute respectively.
Where necessary, close liaison with the Cambridge college that is hosting visiting Fellows from outside of Cambridge.
Ensuring all contractual obligations and research activities are upheld by the Fellow at respective host organisation(s) including appropriate and timely project reporting, invoicing and financial controls.
Co-deliver a neurotech workstream within the Accelerate@Babaraham programme to support Fellows develop their business proposition by
Effective support to the Senior Lead Science & Entrepreneurship by identifying and engaging neurotech focussed mentors, industry partners and potential sponsors of the A@B programme.
Support where required for liaison with speakers, programme timings and content
Actively support Fellows with scientific/ technical mentorship/ guidance
This list is not exhaustive, and the successful candidate would be expected to undertake reasonable additional duties in support of the site operations as and when required.
Person Specification
Education and Qualifications
- Relevant undergraduate degree in the life sciences or other qualification with an equivalent combination of relevant experience, education and training
- Postgraduate qualification in a relevant subject or significant post graduate experience.
Experience
- Experience of working with diverse stakeholders at all levels internally and externally
- Leading or managing collaborative research programmes that span academia and industry
- Experience of undertaking scientific research
- Experience of contracting and budgetary oversight
- Experience in health technology &/or life sciences sector(s) in roles that have focussed on research translation or innovation and entrepreneurship
- Experience of the entrepreneurial journey and origins of start-up/small biotech growth and development (Desirable)
- Experience of research and grant management, including grant application and peer review processes (Desirable)
Skills and Abilities
- Can work under pressure and to tight timelines
- Approachable, friendly, helpful and supportive team player
- Ability to think strategically and work proactively and on own initiative
- Knowledge of translational research within the life science and biotechnology sector
- Ability to create networks and nurture relationships
Ability to work across a matrix management structure
- Knowledge of business development and creation of value from academic research (Desirable)
- Excellent written and oral communication skills
- Use of Microsoft word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint and other packages
Able to demonstrate our company values (passion, teamwork, customer focus, commercial awareness and continuous improvement)
Supportive of the entrepreneurial journey and willing to provide a listening ear.
Company Benefits
Pension Allowance - Babraham Research Campus Ltd. offers a Group Personal Pension Scheme and currently contributes 10.5% of salary subject to a staff contribution of 3%.
Holiday Entitlement - 25 days p.a. plus bank Holidays and 3 privilege days for Christmas Shutdown
Discretional Annual Bonus - Employees may be eligible for a discretional performance related bonus
Private Healthcare
Employee Wellbeing Service - The scheme offers confidential support, information, expert advice and specialist counselling service to all BRC employees
Restaurant Facilities.
Skills training is encouraged
Onsite Accommodation - There are a number of hostels, flats and houses that can be rented. (There is currently a waiting list for all types of accommodation).
Social - Sports & Social Club and onsite Gym
Nursery and Holiday Playscheme on site. (Availability of places is dependent on demand).
There is free car parking on the Campus (please note that the Campus actively pursues a green transport policy).
Any offer of employment will be subject to security screening and may be subject to health screening.
To apply, please send a copy of your CV and covering letter to brchr@babraham.co.uk