Associate, Education (Venture Science Doctorate)

About the Venture Science Doctorate (VSD)

We are setting out to materially alter and broaden the definition of “scientist”.

The VSD, run by Deep Science Ventures, is the world’s first 3 year, fully-accredited PhD run in labs at the world’s best universities. Focused exclusively on solving global challenges in health and climate through science as the basis for new science companies. This is an opportunity to radically impact the postgraduate STEM landscape.

The VSD is backed by:

• Schmidt Futures – the pioneering global philanthropic facility for science founded by the former CEO of Google – Eric Schmidt
• InnovateUK – the UK’s primary government innovation agency
• A national network of leading labs worldwide, which include GSK, The Mayo Clinic, The University of Edinburgh, King’s College London, Imperial College, Oxford University and the University of Manchester among many others.

You can read more about the programme itself on the dedicated VSD site here .

About the Role

As an Associate at the Venture Science Doctorate (VSD), you will play a pivotal role in the delivery and development of the world’s first venture creation-focused PhD programme. This unique position is designed for a dynamic individual who is passionate about redefining the landscape of doctoral STEM education and contributing to solving global challenges in health and climate.

You will join a dedicated founding team comprising Dominic Falcao, Aaron Appleton, Claire Thorne and Thane Campbell, along with the wider DSV team of specialists in science commercialisation. This role offers the unique opportunity to contribute to the programme’s growth, support emerging science companies, and engage with a vast network of partners and funders.

The role is part-time for a one-day-a-week contract with a possibility to transition into a full-time role.

Key Responsibilities:

• Programme Delivery: Oversee the successful delivery of the VSD programme, ensuring alignment with accreditor requirements and the highest standards of educational quality;
• Course Management: Build and maintain all VSD courses and project milestones within our learning management system (Canvas) and accreditation management system, ensuring compliance with accreditor standards and frictionless platform experiences for students;
• Assessment Systems & Processes: Build out the systems and processes for our innovative formative and summative assessment approaches that accurately evaluates student progress and achievements while also creating a seamless experience for feedback givers;
• Stakeholder Engagement: Maintain effective communication with accreditors (Woolf University), students, facilitators, visiting guest experts, and other key stakeholders to foster a successful learning environment;
• Session Coordination: Outreach, scheduling, and preparation of live session co-facilitators and visiting guest experts, attend all live sessions for attendance tracking, administrative management, and quality assurance;
• Documentation and Accreditation: Ensure thorough documentation of student work and activities for accreditation purposes, maintaining meticulous records;
• Event Planning & Management: Organise and execute in-person learning experiences (intensives/conferences), managing all logistical aspects to provide enriching and frictionless experiences for participants.

Who should apply

Experience:

• Proven experience in programme/events management, preferably within an educational or research setting;
• Demonstrated ability in building and maintaining educational content in learning management systems, particularly Canvas;
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with a knack for building relationships with diverse stakeholders, including accreditors, students, and partners;
• Strong organisational and administrative skills, with a keen attention to detail and the ability to manage multiple tasks efficiently;
• Creative thinker with a proactive approach to problem-solving, particularly in the context of live events management and improving learning experiences – experience in qualitative research skills / human factors research / design research / UX research is a plus;
• Team player with a founder mindset, capable of driving programme development and overcoming sector challenges through visionary leadership.

Cultural alignment:

• You have a bias for action and thrive in a fast-paced environment, comfortable making decisions quickly to drive progress;
• You are ambitious and have a strong desire to play an important role in reinventing the PhD, taking ownership of both challenges and opportunities;
• You are deeply motivated by our mission and have passion for / depth of understanding of science entrepreneurship.

If you feel like you’d love this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with the above, we encourage you to apply anyway – your ability to learn on the job is more important than ticking every single box!

Benefits:

• Competitive salary;
• The chance to co-found a global doctoral programme and work with us to scale this to thousands of candidates;
• Space to develop deep expertise in the key developmental areas for science entrepreneurship, such as resilience; empathy, persuasion and creativity;
• Option to work either in Central London from high spec offices, or remotely from anywhere in the world;
• Tailored personal and leadership development plan;
• Access to some of the most entrepreneurial Professors and innovative research labs in the world as well as leaders in the “science of science” field.