Operations Manager - Generative Biology Institute in Oxford

At the Ellison Institute of Technology (EIT), we are on a mission to translate scientific discovery into real world impact. We bring together visionary scientists, technologists, policy makers, and entrepreneurs to tackle humanity's greatest challenges in four transformative areas: Health, Medical Science & Generative Biology; Food Security & Sustainable Agriculture; Climate Change & Managing CO₂; Artificial Intelligence & Robotics.

Welcome to the Generative Biology Institute: Led by Founding Director Jason Chin, the Generative Biology Institute (GBI) at the Ellison Institute of Technology is tackling the key challenges in making biology engineerable, unlocking the unrivalled power of biology for the benefit of humanity. The vision of the GBI is to lay the foundations for engineering biology and unlock its potential for good. To achieve this, we must overcome two key challenges: (1) writing in the natural language of biology to enable rapid and scalable synthesis of entire genomes with precision, and (2) understanding what to write – determining which DNA sequences will generate biological systems that perform the desired functions. Addressing these challenges will allow us to harness the full power of biology to create transformative solutions across health, agriculture, clean energy and more.

Your Role: We are seeking an experienced and detail-oriented Operations Manager to support GBI's COO in driving the strategic growth of the institute. In this role, you will help design and implement scalable business processes, provide PMO support across key operational and infrastructure projects, and keep multiple workstreams moving through strong coordination and stakeholder management. You will act as a go-to problem solver, support high-impact strategic initiatives, and contribute to shaping GBI's organisational strategy and future direction. The role also includes working closely with external partners and helping coordinate core operational functions for new spin-out companies.

Key Responsibilities:

• Support the COO in strategic scaling of GBI, ensuring smooth and responsive business operations that enable world-class research.
• Design, document, and implement business operations processes, working closely with central EIT teams (e.g. HR, finance, legal, facilities) to ensure scalability and alignment with best practices across GBI and EIT teams.
• Provide project management office (PMO) support, tracking timelines, milestones, and deliverables across operations and infrastructure projects.
• Liaise with internal and external stakeholders, managing timelines, documentation, and coordination across multiple workstreams.
• Act as a flexible and reliable point of contact for operational problem-solving, stepping in wherever needed to keep projects moving.
• Support strategic initiatives and special projects led by the COO, contributing to planning, execution, and internal alignment across teams.
• Contribute to GBI's organisational strategy, including understanding the scientific landscape, and identifying opportunities for growth and operational innovation.
• Manage and coordinate relationships with external collaborators, including academic institutions, research networks, and strategic partners, ensuring smooth communication and delivery on joint initiatives.
• Support and coordinate key operational functions for new Spin-out companies that have been incubated within GBI, including budgeting and finance processes, legal and commercial matters, recruiting, communications, procurement, and lab facilities planning.

Qualifications & Experience:

• A degree in a relevant field, such as life sciences, business operations, or project management, or a science/research background and/or experience working in or supporting laboratory environments is preferred.
• Strong operational experience, across finance and/or legal workstreams ideally in a fast-paced environment.
• Ability to coordinate and run complicated projects across multiple different workstreams.
• Excellent project coordination and time management skills, with experience overseeing complex timelines, budgets and competing priorities with experience in creating materials for leadership teams.
• Proactive and self-directed, with a willingness to take ownership of problems and implement practical solutions.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to work across scientific, technical, and administrative teams.
• Comfortable supporting strategic planning, with an interest in scientific trends, innovation, and organisational growth.
• Experience in finance and/or venture capital is highly advantageous.

Benefits:

• Salary: Competitive + travel allowance + bonus.
• Enhanced holiday pay.
• Pension.
• Life Assurance.
• Income Protection.
• Private Medical Insurance.
• Hospital Cash Plan.
• Therapy Services.
• Perk Box.
• Electric Car Scheme.

You must have the right to work permanently in the UK with a willingness to travel as necessary. In certain cases, we can consider sponsorship, and this will be assessed on a case-by-case basis. You will live in, or within easy commuting distance of, Oxford (or be willing to relocate).