BIA Vacancies

The salary for this role is £26,000 - £28,000 PA subject to experience.

MAIN PURPOSES OF THIS JOB

The Policy and Public Affairs Executive position is a key role for the UK BioIndustry Association (BIA), the voice of the innovative life sciences and biotech industry, enabling and connecting the UK ecosystem so that businesses can start, grow and deliver world-changing innovation.

The primary purpose of the Policy and Public Affairs Executive role is to support the delivery of the influence objective of the BIA, with a focus on the application of life sciences and biotechnology beyond human health. This involves understanding the policy landscape of the UK and what it means for the sector; supporting BIA colleagues and members to represent the sector to policy makers, investors and sector stakeholders; and working to shape and influence the environment in which our members operate.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Working closely with the Policy and Public Affairs Manager, the Head of Policy and Public Affairs, and the wider team and Director of External Affairs as appropriate, the Policy and Public Affairs Executive will:

• Provide administrative support to BIA’s wider life sciences influencing activities and the new and growing non-health biotech agenda
• Work with colleagues in marketing and content to ensure policy and public affairs work is communicated to members and stakeholders through the BIA’s communication and media channels in a regular and timely manner
• Support production and delivery of reports and briefings on BIA’s non-health biotech and engineering biology workstreams
• Support the delivery of meetings and events in your priority area of work  
• Work with colleagues in BDMS to curate data about the non-health biotech member community
• Maintain and grow stakeholder map in relevant area and identify opportunities to promote BIA’s work to stakeholders and government

The above responsibilities will include the following types of activity:

• Keeping abreast of policy and public affairs developments and sharing information with colleagues and members as appropriate
• Researching and writing about our sector and its needs, including analysing reports, documents and data and conducting desk research as directed to support the policy development work of the non-health biotech agenda
• Producing engaging content on our policy and public affairs work for a variety of audiences and looking for wider opportunities to communicate BIA interests such as through external blogs and events
• Contributing content to the quarterly influencing reports
• Supporting relevant member committees and groups as directed
• Contributing to the development of the strategic focus of the BIA in respect of policy and public affairs, corresponding plans and activity and delivering those in practice
• Engaging with stakeholders at external events, policy working groups and fora
• Attending weekly policy and public affairs team meetings to update on your work, contribute to team goals and brief colleagues effectively
• Contributing to and maintaining stakeholder list/maps and contacts within the Dynamics database
• Ensuring BIA website content is kept up to date for the pages you are responsible for

As a small organisation, flexibility is a key value all members of the team need to work to. As such the above duties and responsibility are subject to change as informed by needs of the team, organisation and changes in the external environment.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE Essential

• An interest in science, healthcare, the environment, and politics
• Ability to understand policy development and how to showcase coherent arguments
• Ability to grasp complex issues quickly and distil these for a variety of external audiences
• Excellent organisational skills, including meeting and event management
• Collaborative team-player who is flexible to changing business needs and supports colleagues effectively
• Excellent interpersonal skills with demonstrative ability to work with a variety of stakeholders
• Ability to represent the BIA and its members in person and through oral and written communication

Desirable

• Academic background and/or previous work experience in life sciences and/or sustainability sectors

To apply, please send a covering letter outlining your suitability for the role and your CV to Riana Potamitis. Please DO NOT send your CV only as these will not be considered. The deadline is Sunday 11^th June 2023 at 11pm.

Salary: £26 - £28,000 per annum - subject to experience

Reports to: Senior Events Manager

ABOUT THE BIA

The BioIndustry Association (BIA) is the UK’s Trade Association for biotechnology and innovative life sciences. We work with incredible entrepreneurs, scientists, business leaders, regulators, policy makers and advisors in a fascinating, vital and booming sector which spans global connections and the entire life sciences ecosystem in the UK.

We produce leading sector events both in person and online – aimed at both our members and the wider life sciences community – currently ranging from a Gala Dinner, thought leadership conferences, roundtables and boot-camps, vibrant networking events and broadcast webinars. All benefit from a high profile, trusted brand in the BIA and strong engaged communities.

SUMMARY BACKGROUND AND ROLE

As a successful and growing membership organisation, BIA continues to expand its capabilities, capacity and benefit to our members. Increased demand has led to us growing existing events and planning new ones. As such we are looking for an Events Coordinator to support our existing Senior Events Manager and Event Manager as we take on more delegates and expand our offering.

In addition to assisting with planning, launching and lead up to events from an administrative, logistics and marketing perspective, this role will have plenty of opportunity for hands-on event experience at venues in London and across the UK, meeting and greeting a wide range of BIA stakeholders. The role will also take on direct responsibility for running our webinars, and also for specific elements of larger conferences, e.g. poster sessions, providing an opportunity for ownership of specific projects.

There will be plenty of opportunity for an exceptional candidate to take on their own smaller in-person events as they grow in knowledge, capability and confidence.

We’re looking for a bright and energetic individual who wants to learn fast and make the most of being in the centre of an incredible and dynamic sector. Someone also who has the confidence to communicate professionally and efficiently with senior stakeholders and C-Suite speakers and delegates to ensure that webinars and our other events run smoothly.

Essential for the job? Degree or equivalent with at least 1-2 years’ experience in an events, administrative, marketing or business support role.

Desirable? Experience of CRM and CMS systems, webinar platforms and basic financial processing or administration. Understanding of life sciences or biotechnology

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Leading on BIA webinar programme: liasing with key stakeholders, scheduling panel calls, website maintenance, marketing emails & running of webinar via Zoom.
• Acting as a support function to the events team (Senior Events Manager and Events Manager) at larger scale events: producing name badges, drafting event materials, booking couriers, on-the-day assistance etc.
• Leading on specific sessions at large conferences e.g. student poster flash/displays.
• First point of contact for event queries and day-to-day management of general events inbox: liaising with delegates, management of all booking, finance and general enquiries.
• Assisting with financial administration for events: finance department queries and liaison, generating booking invoices, assisting finance team with sponsor invoices during busy periods Assisting with systems administration: updating CRM (Dynamics), troubleshooting for online booking and reporting errors/updating cases; updating event web pages.
• Assisting the events team with the preparation of events marketing emails.
• Booking meetings, travel and accommodation for staff and key stakeholders. 
• Venue research and sourcing where appropriate.
• Ad hoc administration and project support

Development projects

• Running smaller scale networking events (dinners, lunches, drinks receptions)
• Building meeting/community-building capacity across the organisation (as required)

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE

Essential

• Degree level or equivalent
• 1-2 years’ experience in an events, administrative, marketing or business support role
• Super-organised
• Self-starter
• Great attention to detail
• Confident oral and written communicator
• Ability to manage multiple deadlines and unphased by a busy schedule
• Team player
• Problem solving, solutions oriented
• Highly computer literate and comfortable with technology

Desirable

• CRM (Dynamics or similar)
• CMS (experience of building or editing websites)
• Managing financial tasks
• Experience of liaising with senior management/C-Suite stakeholders
• Experience of running/assisting with webinars (Zoom) or online events

To apply, please send a covering letter outlining your suitability for the role and your CV to Riana Potamitis. Please DO NOT send CV only. This will not be considered. The deadline is 5pm on Tuesday 9th May 2023.