Corporate and External Affairs Associate
Location: Oxford
Work Model: Hybrid (2 days per week on-site)
About Oxford Nanopore Technologies
Oxford Nanopore has developed a new generation of nanopore-based sensing technology for faster, information-rich, accessible and affordable molecular analysis. The technology is used to understand and characterise the biology of humans, animals, plants, bacteria, viruses, and diseases such as cancer. By enabling biological insights, we strive to improve life on Earth and beyond.
About the Role:
The Corporate and External Affairs Associate will play a central role in helping the Corporate Affairs function deliver its mission to inform, unite and protect. You will be part of the team shaping how Oxford Nanopore communicates with employees, partners, stakeholders and the outside world: making complex science accessible, telling powerful stories and supporting the business to operate confidently on the global stage.
This ambitious, proactive, and highly organized role in corporate affairs suits someone interested in communications, reputation, and life sciences. You will manage defined workstreams, support high-profile initiatives, and collaborate across Strategic Comms, Internal Comms, Government Affairs, Commercial, R&D, and People teams. This role offers exposure to senior decision-making, scientific innovation, and global engagement. Openness to using digital and AI tools to boost productivity is essential in this dynamic, fast-growing FTSE250 company.
Key Responsibilities
Strategic Communications and Content
- Create and publish high‑quality content for the website, LinkedIn, news updates, briefings and presentations.
Own specific content areas such as factsheets, news pages or project trackers.
- Support major announcements and corporate moments by coordinating materials and cross‑functional inputs, using appropriate digital tools (including AI where helpful) to support clarity and speed.
Internal Communications
- Produce engaging internal content that reflects business priorities and culture.
- Manage routine intranet updates and employee communications independently.
- Support delivery of internal events such as town halls and leadership sessions.
Reputation and Insight
- Monitor media, competitors, policy and scientific news to provide clear insights for leaders, using digital and AI‑supported monitoring tools where appropriate.
- Maintain dashboards and monitoring tools to highlight risks and opportunities.
- Support media engagement with data, enquiries and reactive statements.
External Engagement
- Coordinate Oxford Nanopore’s overarching communication of events, conferences and community initiatives.
- Prepare briefing and materials for senior leader engagements.
- Support programmes with external partners, industry bodies and community organisations.
Operational Excellence
- Keep Corporate Affairs organised and efficient through strong processes and supplier management.
- Lead small projects or workstreams with high‑quality delivery.
- Act as a reliable point of contact, providing clarity, structure and forward planning for the team, including smart use of AI enabled organisational and productivity tools.
Skills and Experience
Essential
- Experience (or strong internship/placement) in communications, corporate affairs, PR, marketing or similar.
- Experience in life sciences, biotech or healthcare.
- Excellent writing skills, able to simplify complex or technical topics.
- Strong organisational ability; manages multiple priorities reliably and on time.
- Confident working with colleagues at all levels.
- Curious about science, innovation and technology‑driven organisations.
- Proactive, positive and solutions focused, with confidence to own tasks.
- Comfortable adopting new digital tools and willing to use AI‑enabled platforms to support content creation, insight gathering and productivity.
Desirable
- Familiarity with digital analytics, CMS, media monitoring or corporate reporting.
- Exposure to events, stakeholder engagement or comms planning.
- Interest in public affairs, corporate reporting or sustainability.
- Comfortable experimenting and applying emerging technologies, including AI, to work smarter and faster.
Personal Attributes
- Quick to understand new concepts with the ability to communicate them simply.
- Curious, collaborative and ambitious for professional growth.
- Exceptional organisation and solutions‑driven, thrives with high-pace and deadlines.
Please note that no terminology in this advert is intended to discriminate on the grounds of a person's gender, marital status, race, religion, colour, age, disability or sexual orientation. Every candidate will be assessed only in accordance with their merits, qualifications and abilities to perform the duties of the job.
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About Us
Oxford Nanopore Technologies: Our goal is to bring the widest benefits to society through enabling the analysis of anything, by anyone, anywhere. The company has developed a new generation of nanopore-based sensing technology for faster, information rich, accessible and affordable molecular analysis. The first application is DNA/RNA sequencing, and the technology is in development for the analysis of other types of molecules including proteins. The technology is used to understand and characterise the biology of humans and diseases such as cancer, plants, animals, bacteria, viruses, and whole environments. With a thriving culture of ambition and strong innovation goals, Oxford Nanopore is a UK headquartered company with global operations and customers in more than 125 countries.
