West Cambridge | From £30,000 | Full-time |Permanent | Hybrid (up to 2 days from home)

IE Cambridge is the University of Cambridge’s central support hub for entrepreneurship. We collaborate closely with departments, faculties, colleges, and University-wide initiatives, as well as with external partners across the Cambridge innovation ecosystem, to ensure that ideas can move into action and create social, cultural, and economic value.

As our Engagement Lead, you will be sitting at the heart of this dynamic ecosystem, helping researchers, postdocs and students navigate the right entrepreneurial pathway for them.

You will shape how people discover and connect with IE Cambridge through our community platform, programmes, events, website and partnerships. You’ll work closely with the IE Cambridge Director to grow how we reach people across the University and the wider Cambridge innovation ecosystem.

Day to day, you might be improving how our community platform brings people together, supporting programmes like the Postdoc Venture Creation Challenge and RisingWISE, or finding simple, creative ways to share what we do. You’ll also build relationships across departments, colleges and external partners, helping people understand what’s available and how to get involved.

The work is varied and no two days are the same. You could be delivering a workshop session, coordinating communications, improving how people connect through our platforms, or working with partners across Cambridge. Community runs through everything we do, bringing people together around a shared interest in seeing ideas turn into impact.

You’ll see the impact of your work in real time: Supporting a postdoc see the potential of their idea, helping an early-stage venture connect with the right funding, or talking to students about their next step. If you care about making entrepreneurship more accessible, you’ll fit right in.

What you will be doing

• Coordinating engagement across programmes, events, communications and digital platforms

• Delivering IE Cambridge programmes, including the Postdoc Venture Creation Challenge and RisingWISE

• Improving the community app and website to increase participation and user experience

• Coordinating communications across newsletters, social media and digital channels

• Building relationships with departments, colleges and partners across the University

• Connecting people to relevant programmes, opportunities and support

• Planning and tracking engagement activity to keep things aligned and running smoothly

• Gathering feedback and insight to improve how we work

• Supporting campaigns that promote programmes, events and opportunities

What we’re looking for

• Experience in engagement, programme delivery, community building or communications

• Strong organisational skills and the ability to manage multiple priorities

• Comfortable taking ownership and delivering work end to end

• Confident working with a wide range of people across the University and beyond

• Clear, effective written and verbal communication

• Proactive and solutions-focused, with the ability to spot opportunities to improve

• Able to work independently while collaborating with others

• Interest in entrepreneurship, innovation or impact-driven work

• Degree-level qualification or equivalent experience

Nice to have

• Experience in higher education, innovation, startups or ecosystem environments

• Experience delivering events, workshops or community programmes

• Familiarity with digital platforms, apps or community tools

• Experience supporting engagement campaigns or content

• Comfortable using feedback or data to improve activity

Link to JD

Diversity and equality matter

These are our ideal requirements, but we know not everyone will meet every criterion. At Cambridge Enterprise, we’re committed to building a diverse, inclusive and empowering workplace, so we encourage you to apply if you meet most of the requirements.

If you have any questions about the interview process, or need reasonable adjustments, please contact us at people@enterprise.cam.ac.uk.

Perks at a glance

• 30 days’ holiday plus bank holidays

• Class-leading Bupa private medical insurance

• Hybrid working with genuine flexibility, including up to 30 days per year working from abroad (in most roles)

• Generous University pension scheme

• Personal development support, including LinkedIn Learning

• Family-friendly policies, including enhanced parental leave, childcare benefits, fertility leave and pregnancy loss leave

• Mental health and wellbeing support, including access to free counselling

• Access to Bupa’s Menopause Plan

• Retail and travel discounts

Why Cambridge Enterprise

Cambridge Enterprise sits at the centre of one of the world’s leading research and innovation ecosystems. We help turn University of Cambridge ideas into real-world impact through licensing, partnerships, spinouts and investment.

Key dates

Closing date: Monday 25th May, midnight
First interviews: 8th and 9th June
Second interviews: 22nd and 23rd June

If we receive a high volume of applications, we may close this role earlier than advertised, so we recommend applying as soon as possible.