Operational Readiness Manager in Oxford

Join us at the Ellison Institute of Technology (EIT), where we are on a mission to translate scientific discovery into real-world impact. We bring together visionary scientists, technologists, engineers, researchers, educators, and innovators 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, and Robotics.

This is ambitious work that demands curiosity, courage, and a relentless drive to make a difference. At EIT, you'll join a community built on excellence, innovation, tenacity, trust, and collaboration, where bold ideas become real-world breakthroughs. Together, we push boundaries, embrace complexity, and create solutions to scale ideas from lab to society.

Your Role: We are seeking an experienced and detail-oriented Operational Readiness Manager who will be responsible for ensuring that new and refurbished environments, including laboratories, high-end offices, clinical areas, new buildings, and temporary offices, are fully prepared, compliant, and operationally ready for use. The role acts as the central coordinator across operational teams, translating project delivery into day-one readiness. This includes planning, coordination, hands-on action, and assurance that all operational, technical, regulatory, and people-related elements are aligned and on track.

Your Responsibilities:

• Operational Readiness Planning: Develop and manage detailed operational readiness plans for new facilities, refurbishments, relocations, and temporary spaces. Define readiness criteria, milestones, dependencies, and go-live requirements for each allocated project. Ensure facilities are safe, compliant, functional, and fit for purpose at handover.
• Cross-Functional Coordination: Coordinate closely with operational teams including laboratory operations, clinical teams, facilities management, IT, security, health safety, procurement, HR, and project delivery. Act as the single point of coordination for readiness activities, ensuring clear ownership and accountability. Facilitate regular readiness reviews, workshops, and progress updates.
• Execution Hands-On Delivery: Take direct action to resolve readiness gaps, unblock issues, and progress outstanding actions. Oversee commissioning, move-ins, decants, and transitions to live operations. Ensure operational procedures, access, equipment, supplies, and services are in place ahead of occupation.
• Risk, Compliance Assurance: Identify readiness risks early and implement mitigation plans. Ensure compliance with relevant regulations, standards, and internal governance. Support inspections, audits, and operational sign-off processes.
• Stakeholder Communication: Provide clear, structured updates to senior stakeholders on readiness status, risks, and decisions required. Translate complex project and technical information into operational impacts and actions. Support change management by ensuring teams are informed, prepared, and trained where required.
• Continuous Improvement: Capture lessons learned from each opening or transition. Improve readiness frameworks, checklists, and templates. Contribute to organisational standards for operational handover and occupancy.

Requirements:

Essential Skills, Qualifications Experience: Proven experience in operational readiness, facilities commissioning, or complex project delivery. Experience supporting the opening or transition of laboratories, clinical environments, or offices. Strong coordination and stakeholder management skills. Ability to manage multiple workstreams simultaneously. Practical, solution-oriented mindset. Highly organised and detail-oriented. Proactive, calm under pressure, and delivery-focused. Collaborative with confidence to challenge when required. Pragmatic and adaptable.

Desirable Knowledge, Skills and Experience: Experience in scientific, healthcare, or regulated environments. Knowledge of laboratory or clinical operational requirements. Familiarity with health safety or building compliance frameworks.

Benefits:

Salary: Negotiable depending on experience + travel allowance + bonus. Enhanced holiday + options to buy additional days. Pension. Life Assurance. Income Protection. Private Medical Insurance. Hospital Cash Plan. Therapy Services. Perk Box. Electric Car Scheme. Childcare benefit.

Working Together – What It Involves: 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). This position is fully onsite, 5 days per week in Oxford.