Managing Director: Researchers in Ventures
Zinc Ventures Limited, United Kingdom
Job Description
Background: Zinc’s plans to support researcher mobility amp; development
Zinc is committed to creating and promoting effective ways to support the flow of people and ideas between scientific research and mission-led commercial innovation. Since 2017, we have experimented with a number of ways to help researchers from different disciplines and career stages explore research-focused opportunities in ventures. For example, we have led platforms to facilitate placements, internships and fellowships for MSc students, PhD students and PhD graduates.
We see huge potential for startups to be:
- Accelerating research impact and advancing scientific knowledge
- A valued and attractive destination for researchers to advance their research careers
- Producing research and innovation that generate significant economic and social impact
In order to realise this potential, we are mobilising an exciting and ambitious agenda focused on researchers in ventures. We want to create new opportunities for researchers to move into fulfilling research roles in ventures, and advance their research agendas and careers within venture roles.
We are launching three new platforms, for (i) PhD students, (ii) PhD graduates, and (iii) researchers already working in ventures. These are all developmental opportunities, focused on supporting researchers to apply and advance their skills and research careers. We will focus on startups and scale-ups but with a view to this model being replicated in other settings and sectors. They will be open to researchers from any discipline, but focused on Zinc’s 4 mission areas: Mental health, future of work, healthy ageing, and the environment.
We are excited to be growing our team in order to advance this ambitious agenda, led by a new Managing Director who will design, implement and grow this programme of activities.
Requirements
The successful candidate will be accountable for:
- Leading this new business strand, moving from proposition-development and testing through to launch, iteration and scale.
- Overseeing scouting of research talent, ensuring that we attract the best research talent.
- Designing and delivering the programmes, including shaping relevant research projects with ventures and researchers, supporting researchers' personal and professional development, delivering engaging cohort-based content, and working towards productising and scaling the model.
- Securing funding and developing a sustainable business model for these 'researchers in ventures' platforms.
- Building and maintaining relationships with key stakeholders (including funders, universities and ventures).
- Monitoring, evaluation and reporting on these programmes (e.g. to relevant funders).
We’re looking for people who have:
- A ‘founder’ mentality, and thrive in building new programmes and products from scratch.
- A deep understanding of the target audience (in this case, scientists and researchers), as well as the wider context of universities, research career pathways, and research and innovation systems.
- Commercial experience and can shape new business models.
- Experience building partnerships, ideally with research institutions and research funders.
- Experience of working in / with startups.
- Expertise in designing programmes (e.g. experience in service design, fellowship programme delivery, etc.).
- Excellent project management skills, and experience working in fast-paced, agile environments - working to tight deadlines.
- Strong communication skills, with the ability to build rapport quickly with individuals across sectors and disciplines, and at all levels of seniority.
- Passion for supporting the development of early career researchers and creating new opportunities for scientists.
Benefits
This is an exciting opportunity to work win our established, interdisciplinary, growing Ramp;D team, to build on our track record and momentum, and help to grow a new, ambitious agenda at Zinc. This role will provide the opportunity to:
- Work directly with talented and highly motivated researchers and founders.
- Design and deliver high-impact programmes, tied to pressing agendas in UK research and innovation.
- Grow a new, exciting initiative within Zinc that has huge potential for scale and impact.
- Engage with leading experts in technology, business, design and research.
- Be part of a mission-led, ambitious, evidence-based and high-growth commercial organisation with an enormous sense of urgency to experiment and solve hard problems at scale.
This is a full-time role, starting in January, in the region of 80K p.a. This role will be primarily in-person from our base in Central Lon