Community Lead

About Us

At Conception X, we help PhD researchers create deeptech startups and accelerate scientific breakthroughs. We launched seven years ago as a public innovation pilot at University College London and now run Europe’s leading cross‑university deeptech venture creation programme. To date, we have recruited aspiring PhD founders from more than 90 universities, built 600+ founding teams across eight cohorts, and helped our portfolio startups raise more than £200 million.

The Role

The right person for this role will have a genuine passion for people and a deep curiosity for science and technology — as comfortable in a room full of PhD founders and early‑career researchers as they are with investors and industry leaders. You will be the connective tissue of our ecosystem, building authentic relationships across our network, representing Conception X on campuses and at events, and leading outreach at universities and research institutions across the UK and Europe. This role requires real maturity and emotional intelligence. You will navigate complex relationships across academia, venture, and industry, and will often be a trusted point of contact for founders at pivotal moments on their founder path. Based in London, with a willingness to travel, it combines strategic thinking with hands‑on delivery.

Responsibilities

• Community Building & Engagement — 50%
  • Actively tend to and build the broader Conception X community — nurturing relationships across PhD founders, early‑career researchers, academics, investors, and industry partners, and proactively identifying opportunities for collaboration and developing events that bring the network together in new ways.
  • Own alumni engagement as a distinct priority — keeping science founders from past cohorts active and involved, bringing them back as mentors, speakers, and advocates, fostering peer connections across cohorts, and actively delivering value back to alumni through meaningful introductions and connections that support their onward journey.
  • Facilitate introductions between founders and the right investors, experts, and industry partners, at the right time — spotting opportunities to connect people and making those connections happen proactively and quickly.
  • Lead cohort community initiatives — including meetups, knowledge‑sharing sessions, and wider ecosystem events — working closely with the Programme Manager, who owns the programme calendar and delivery.
  • Manage and moderate our online community channels, including Slack, gathering insights from interactions and sharing these with the programme team to inform and improve the experience.
  • Curate and activate our mentor and expert network in close coordination with the Programme Manager, matching industry practitioners and researchers to programme needs and maintaining those relationships over time.
  • Play a key role in Demo Day and showcase events, coordinating the community and stakeholder experience alongside the Programme Manager.
  • Work closely with the Head of Portfolio on cohort and alumni engagement, ensuring founders and graduates remain connected, supported, and active within the community.
  • Track community health metrics and maintain CRM data, using both to inform engagement strategy and report on outcomes.
• Talent Pipeline & Outreach — 40%
  • Lead recruitment outreach and events at universities and research institutions across the UK and Europe, serving as the primary on‑the‑ground presence for Conception X on campuses.
  • Proactively identify and cultivate high‑potential PhD founders and early‑career researchers — building trusted relationships well ahead of recruitment windows — and deliver information sessions, presentations, and events at PhD fairs and academic conferences to maximise pipeline quality and visibility.
  • Build relationships with contacts at universities and research institutions — careers services, research offices, academic champions, and student societies — in close coordination with the University Partnerships function and the Chief Strategy Officer, who leads on strategic partnerships.
  • Track outreach effectiveness by institution, event, and channel, using data to refine approach each cycle.
• Programme & Marketing Support — 10%
  • Coordinate with the Marketing team on campaigns and outreach collateral to drive programme awareness and grow the applicant pipeline.
  • Provide on‑the‑day support for programme events, online and in‑person.
  • Undertake any additional tasks deemed appropriate and within the individual’s competence.

What We’re Looking For

Experience

• 4–7 years of work experience in community management, ecosystem building, or a closely adjacent role — ideally within a startup, innovation, or science and technology environment.
• Demonstrable experience building and sustaining a community, with evidence of engagement and retention outcomes.
• Experience planning and delivering outreach events or campaigns, including in‑person visits to campuses, institutions, or conferences.
• An understanding of the university and research ecosystem — you don’t need to have come from academia, but you need to be able to navigate it and engage its people credibly.
• Experience managing or activating a network of senior stakeholders — mentors, experts, investors, or industry partners.
• Willingness to travel regularly across the UK and Europe for campus visits and events.

Skills & Personal Qualities

• Deep genuine interest in science and technology, with the ability to engage credibly with technical founders, researchers, and academics.
• Strong relationship‑building skills — warm, curious, and able to build trust quickly across very different types of people.
• A track record of making introductions that led to meaningful outcomes — connecting founders, investors, or experts in ways that created real value.
• A natural networker who invests in relationships over the long term, not just when there is an immediate need.
• Maturity and emotional intelligence — trusted by people at pivotal moments, and able to handle sensitive relationships with care and discretion.
• Someone who believes in Conception X’s mission and can represent it with conviction.
• Proactive, organised, and self‑directed — able to manage multiple workstreams in a lean team without losing the personal touch that makes community work.

Benefits

• Salary of £45-50K (dependent on experience)
• Friendly, open and transparent culture
• You’ll get to join a passionate startup with proven traction on its scaling journey
• Opportunity to sit in on Conception X Deeptech Entrepreneurial Training Sessions
• Flexible working hours / ability to work from home
• 27 days’ holiday plus all bank holidays
• Private health insurance

Closing Date for Applications: To be confirmed

How to Apply

Please submit your CV and a short cover letter outlining your relevant experience and suitability for the role: https://www.escapethecity.org/opportunity/51788-community-lead-at-conception-x. Applications without a cover letter will not be considered.