Associate Scientific Project Manager

Entrepreneur First; Greater London; On-site; GBP 60,000 - GBP 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A dynamic scientific startup in Greater London seeks an Associate Scientific Project Manager to manage R&D projects. Candidates should have a natural sciences background and project management experience, with skills in cross-functional team coordination and strong communication. This role involves overseeing project milestones and working in a fast-paced, collaborative environment focused on sustainability and nutrition. Enjoy a range of employee perks including competitive salary and ongoing development opportunities.

Benefits

Competitive salary

25 days of holiday

Access to Private Healthcare & Mental Health support

Stakeholder pension

Share Option Scheme

Weekly team lunch

Ongoing learning and development opportunities

Free on-site gym

Cycle2Work

Eye-care vouchers

Qualifications

• 1-2 years of project management experience in a scientific setting.
• Interest in the interface between science and business functions.
• Ability to synthesize technical information for commercial contexts.

Responsibilities

• Manage and coordinate R&D, commercial, and regulatory projects.
• Facilitate internal technical reviews and track project progress.
• Support management of external R&D projects with partners.

Skills

Project management

Communication

Cross-functional team coordination

Scientific acumen

Presentation

Education

Natural Sciences undergraduate/masters degree (Biology or Chemistry)

Tools

Project Management tools/software

Job description

About Us

At Better Dairy, we are dedicated to harnessing the bioactive components of milk to create ingredients uniquely suited to our bodies and needs. Our proprietary precision fermentation technology enables us to create nutritious and sustainable dairy ingredients that are biologically indistinguishable from their traditional counterparts, all without relying on animals or harming our planet. These can then become the foundation of a new generation of products, from infant formula to dietary supplements — setting a new benchmark for science-based nutrition!

The Role

We’re searching for an Associate Scientific Project Manager with a natural sciences, biotechnology or chemistry background to join our mission to create a more sustainable future. The successful candidate will be managing various projects within Better Dairy, principally related to R&D activities. This is a critical role to design and manage cross-team collaboration in our protein and end-product production journey to ensure timely delivery of key milestones. We would love to meet candidates who thrive in fast-paced environments and have a passion for nutrition and sustainability.

We are looking for project management skills, experience with structured approaches (e.g. Agile, PRINCE2, As Is - To Be, MoSCoW etc.) and the ability to manage commercial milestones within scope, budget, and timeline constraints whilst establishing constructive working relationships with internal project teams and external stakeholders. A significant advantage would be a comprehensive understanding of the experimental process and its inherent risks and considerations, ideally gained through prior hands-on experience in a laboratory research environment.

Influencing effectively without direct authority and successful stakeholder management are important in this role. The successful candidate will also be comfortable presenting at every level and enjoys a high accountability/high autonomy environment.

Responsibilities

• Internal Project Management
  • Manage & coordinate R&D, commercial and regulatory projects
  • Coordinate and facilitate internal technical reviews and meetings, ensuring clear agendas, effective discussion, and timely follow-up on action items
  • Gather input from teams to collate and report progress updates for Monthly Steering and All Hands meetings
  • Own the internal cross-functional reporting process and Gantt. This includes identifying key goals, risks and working with relevant stakeholders to track and troubleshoot. This includes proactively raising project risks with the senior team and C-suite and managing mitigating actions to closure
  • Further improve the cross-functional communication and reporting (between scientific and commercial senior team inc. C-suite) to ensure clarity and transparency against our key company goals in a timely manner
  • Drive internal projects of high strategic and operational importance, such as execution of cross-functional process changes and coordination of grant applications
• External Project Management
  • Support with management of external R&D projects with partners
  • Support with management of scale up or manufacturing activities with external partners (such as contract manufacturing organizations)
  • Oversee the administration of active grants, ensuring compliance with funding requirements, timely reporting, and effective coordination across project teams and support with the submission of new grant applications

Essential Skills & Experience

• A minimum of 1-2 years of project management experience in a scientific setting
• Natural Sciences undergraduate/masters degree, ideally Biology or Chemistry
• Strong scientific acumen, with an interest in the interface between science and business functions
• Experience working with cross-functional teams
• Strong communication and presentation skills
• Ability to effectively synthesize technical information and translate it to commercial contexts, and vice-versa
• Proactive, self-driven and results-oriented with the ability to work with high levels of ambiguity

Desirable Experience

• Project Management qualification (e.g. PRINCE2)
• Practical experience in a laboratory environment
• Experience with Project Management tools/software
• Experience within a startup environment

Working at Better Dairy

At Better Dairy you will join a dynamic and diverse team that is excited and motivated to build this future for dairy. We cultivate a fast-paced, enjoyable environment, believing it to be an exceptional platform for career growth. Everyone here is dedicated to addressing a monumental challenge and we embrace the journey with enthusiasm and have fun along the way.

We’re proud to have been featured in a range of global publications and programs – visit our Media Page to learn more about us. Our state-of-the-art lab and office facilities are situated in Hackney Wick. We pride ourselves on a genuinely diverse and collaborative culture. As an Equal Opportunity Employer, we guarantee that all qualified applicants will receive impartial consideration for employment, irrespective of any protected characteristics. We also celebrate our diverse workforce, striving to foster a climate where mutual respect flourishes, varied perspectives are valued, and every individual feels empowered to bring their authentic self to work and thrive. We champion an agile working culture across all our roles.

Some of the perks our team can enjoy include:

• A competitive salary
• 25 days of holiday, plus bank holidays
• Access to Private Healthcare & Mental Health support services
• A stakeholder pension
• Share Option Scheme
• Weekly team lunch
• Ongoing learning and development opportunities
• Free on-site gym
• Cycle2Work
• Eye-care vouchers