Interim Business Support Manager - 12 month Maternity in London

Location: London

Job Type: Full-time, 12 month rolling contract

About the role:

This role will provide high-level business support to the Chief Communications Officer (CCO), ensuring priorities are clear, decisions are well prepared, and actions are progressed effectively across the Communications, Marketing and Corporate Affairs function. The role brings structure, pace, judgement and follow-through to a broad and fast-moving portfolio, enabling the CCO and wider leadership team to operate efficiently and with confidence. Working closely with the CCO, the CCO’s Executive Assistant, and senior colleagues across LifeArc, the postholder coordinates priorities, prepares and drafts high-quality materials, supports planning and governance rhythms, and ensures communications, sponsorship, reporting, budget and leadership matters are handled in a timely and organised way. The role includes oversight and line management responsibility for the CCO’s Executive Assistant, ensuring a joined‑up, high‑quality and responsive support model for the CCO office. The role also supports the effective running of the CCO office and Communications & Marketing function through improved ways of working, process improvement, stronger governance and proactive coordination across teams.

About you:

Key responsibilities include:

• Provide structured and proactive support to the CCO, managing priorities, preparing for key meetings and ensuring clear follow‑through on actions and decisions.
• Drafting and coordinating high‑quality written materials on behalf of the CCO, including briefings, emails, presentations, committee papers and strategic communications.
• Managing and coordinating the flow of work through the CCO office, ensuring visibility of priorities, effective sequencing, and timely escalation of key issues.
• Provide oversight and line management to the CCO’s Executive Assistant, setting clear expectations, supporting workload planning and development, and ensuring consistently high standards of executive support.
• Leading and supporting core planning and governance processes for the function, including teamwork planning, executive updates, committee reporting and risk/escalation inputs.
• Preparing concise, decision‑ready briefings for the CCO across projects, sponsorships, events and senior stakeholder engagements.
• Coordinate and improve key operational processes including sponsorships, memberships, approvals, budget tracking, record keeping and reporting.
• Building effective working relationships across LifeArc including Finance, HR, Policy, Corporate Affairs and Events to progress work and resolve issues quickly and constructively.

Essential experience required:

• Experience in providing senior‑level business or executive support in a complex environment, ideally supporting C‑suite or senior leadership.
• Strong written communication skills, with the ability to produce clear, concise and audience‑appropriate materials.
• Proven ability to bring structure and follow‑through to high‑volume, fast‑moving work, including tracking actions and managing competing priorities.
• Experience of working across multiple stakeholders and functions, building trusted relationships and handling sensitive matters with discretion.
• Experience of supporting planning, governance, reporting or committee processes.
• Experience of working with budgets, approvals, sponsorships or similar administrative/governance processes.
• Strong organisational skills with the ability to maintain accuracy and pace under pressure.
• Experience supporting a Communications, Marketing or Corporate Affairs function.
• Experience of improving processes, templates or ways of working.
• Experience working closely with an Executive Assistant in a shared support model.

Education:

Educated to degree level or equivalent experience

Skills & abilities:

• Strong communication and drafting skills
• Planning and organisational capability
• Stakeholder management and influencing
• Problem‑solving and judgement
• Attention to detail and quality focus
• Proactive and solutions‑focused approach

About us:

LifeArc is a not‑for‑profit life science organisation, leading the way for change in rare diseases in the UK and supporting promising initiatives in global health. We seek out research in areas of unmet need that has great potential, providing support to help it become breakthroughs that change lives.

What we can offer you:

Focused on finding life changing solutions for underserved patients, our people thrive in an inclusive, and supportive environment that prioritises their health and wellbeing. Our multidisciplinary approach guarantees our people growth opportunities, while our culture of innovation and collaboration drives the impact we make delivering on our purpose of ‘putting patients at the centre of everything we do’.

LifeArc is committed to making our recruitment practices as inclusive as possible and developing a culture that values differences. As a Disability Confident Employer, we guarantee an interview to candidates with a disability or long‑term health condition who meet the essential criteria for the role.

Please note that in certain situations, such as high volumes of applications, it may not be practical to interview all eligible candidates. In these cases, we may need to select those who best meet the essential criteria.

Salary will be determined by qualifications and experience along with other exceptional benefits. Because we understand everyone has different requirements, our flexible benefits allow you to choose those which are important to you. Our pension scheme offers employer contributions of up to 12%, private health insurance, and annual leave of 31 days PLUS bank holidays.

Don’t meet every single requirement? Studies have shown that women and people from minority ethnic backgrounds, for example, are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single qualification. At LifeArc we are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive, and authentic workplace, so whatever your background or lived experience, if you’re excited about this role but your experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. Our top priority is finding the best candidate, and you may be just right for this or other roles.

We all have potential. At LifeArc, you’ll discover what you can really do with it.