Community and Operations Manager/Associate

Learn more and apply here: https://www.impactfirst.org.uk/join-the-team

Overview

Location: Farringdon, London

Deadline: Sunday, 18 January 2026 at 23:59 (GMT)

Start date: Ideally April 2026, open to later

Salary: £40,000 - £45,000 per annum

Hours: Full-time (40 hours per week)

Visas: Visa sponsorship subject to conditions

About Impact First

Impact First is a non-profit organisation supported by Arcadia Impact, dedicated to supporting exceptional students and early-career professionals as they explore and pursue high-impact paths.

We’re based in London, one of the world’s most vibrant talent hubs, with world-class universities, a high concentration of ambitious young people, and close proximity to organisations working on some of the world’s most pressing problems.

Our vision is to build an ambitious, intellectually exciting community grounded in the belief that it is both possible and worthwhile to tackle these problems. We’re especially excited about fostering this culture within universities: creating environments where talented people can find peers who inspire them, mentors who support them, and opportunities that set them on extraordinary paths.

This role is a rare opportunity to help build an organisation from the ground up. You’ll work closely with the Director in a small, fast-moving team of two, shaping our programmes, our systems, our culture, and ultimately our impact.

If you'd be excited to help grow our community, and support the people in it as they tackle some of the world's most pressing problems, we’d love to hear from you.

Context

Impact First is a non-profit organisation supported by Arcadia Impact. Arcadia Impact, a registered charity founded in 2022, originally focused on supporting Effective Altruism student groups across London and operating the LEAH Coworking Space.

Over the past few years, Arcadia has expanded its work to include AI safety talent development programmes and targeted AI safety projects. This shift has increasingly defined Arcadia’s mission. At the same time, Arcadia’s support of EA student groups has moved toward its more centralised programmes and services (like its student research programme and career advising).

To reflect these developments, Arcadia has reorganised its broader community support under a new brand: Impact First. Led by former Head of Groups, Alicia Pollard, Impact First will continue to support people in London in pursuing high-impact careers, while Arcadia focuses on delivering and scaling its AI safety initiatives. Impact First will function as a project under Arcadia Impact, with the flexibility to expand its services for both students and early-career professionals.

About the role

As a Community and Operations Manager/Associate at Impact First, you will work closely with the Director, Alicia Pollard, to deliver and scale a range of high-impact programmes for students and early-career professionals in London. This role offers meaningful responsibility, space to take ownership of projects, and the opportunity to help shape a growing organisation while receiving clear guidance and support.

You’ll contribute to a variety of Impact First’s initiatives, and your responsibilities may include:

• Supporting our student research programme, including helping deliver the kick-off weekend and awards ceremony, assisting with outreach and selection for participants and mentors, tracking engagement and outcomes, sourcing external reviewers, and contributing to ongoing programme improvements.
• Helping deliver our student career advising service, including taking advising calls, assisting with outreach and selection for advisees, following up with advisees, and providing application support or referrals to external programmes.
• Contributing to the design and delivery of events, both small and large in scale, for students and professionals. This may include workshops, speaker events, socials, hackathons, and other community-building activities.
• Supporting external partners by helping provide funding, mentorship, and operational support to individuals, groups, institutions, or organisations running partner events or programmes across London.
• Creating and sharing resources and content for the Impact First website and other communication channels.
• Helping with marketing and brand-building, including promoting both Impact First’s services and relevant external opportunities.
• Supporting the operation of our coworking space, such as reviewing applications or helping supervise student coworking days and weekends.
• Strengthening general operations by developing and optimising systems, monitoring performance and impact, and generally making our internal processes more efficient.
• Potentially launching and scaling new programmes and initiatives, depending on organisational needs and your interests and strengths.

The role is based in London, with the expectation that you’ll spend most of your time working from the Impact First Coworking Space (based in Farringdon, London). Occasional travel across London (e.g., to universities or event venues) will be required. Working hours are somewhat flexible, though some events take place outside standard office hours (evenings/weekends), and you will be expected to attend these.

Ideal candidates

We’re looking for someone who wants to help build Impact First from the ground up, is energised by improving systems, shaping new projects, and taking real ownership of their work and its impact. We especially value enthusiasm for community-building and operational problem-solving.

You don’t need prior experience for this role: we’re open to junior or recent graduate applicants and are committed to supporting your professional development as you grow into the position. The role is intentionally flexible to allow for more junior (Associate) and senior (Manager) versions of the role, depending on who we’re most excited about.

We expect many strong candidates to have the following attributes, though we encourage you to apply even if you don’t meet all of them:

• Familiarity with the principles of Effective Altruism and a good understanding of one or more of our focus areas, such as AI safety, biosecurity, global health and development, or animal welfare.
• Motivation to help people pursue high-impact careers and to strengthen the London ecosystem for students and early-career professionals.
• Experience in community building, programme delivery, or outreach, such as running events, organising university societies, supporting student programmes, or coordinating early-career initiatives.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills, including the ability to engage thoughtfully with students, mentors, and professionals.
• Able to work both collaboratively and independently, including taking ownership of projects while seeking guidance when needed.
• Strong organisational skills and attention to detail, especially when managing multiple programmes, events, or stakeholders.
• A proactive and problem-solving mindset, with enthusiasm for improving processes and trying new ideas.
• Optional but beneficial: experience with advising, mentorship, career support, event/programme management, or operations.

We also encourage speculative applications, as we expect many strong candidates will have different levels of experience or unconventional backgrounds.

Further details

Start date

Ideally we would like a candidate to start in April but we are open to someone starting later. You can let us know your availability for a start date in the application form.

Location

The role will be primarily based in London and we expect you to work from our coworking space in central London (near Farringdon) most of the time.

Visas

Visa sponsorship may be possible for this role, subject to conditions. If you have more questions, then please contact joe@arcadiaimpact.org

Diversity and Inclusion

Arcadia Impact is an equal opportunity employer. If you need assistance or an accommodation due to a disability, or you have any other questions about applying, please contact alicia@arcadiaimpact.org. We are committed to a culture of inclusion and we encourage anyone from diverse backgrounds and experiences to apply.

Application Process

The deadline to apply is Sunday, 18 January 2026 at 23:59 (GMT). We expect to let applicants know whether they’ve been shortlisted for interview by 1 February. In the final round, we will invite candidates to complete a short trial task, and plan to communicate final decisions to candidates in March. Please feel free to reach out to alicia@arcadiaimpact.org if you would need a decision communicated earlier than the standard timeline (this may or may not be possible), or have any other questions about the application process.

Salary: £40,000 - £45,000 per annum, depending on experience

Location: Access to our central London coworking space (<5 minutes from Farringdon station), including office amenities, snacks/drinks, and opportunities to connect with our community.

Professional Development: £5,000 learning and development budget

Holiday: 25 days of paid annual leave

Pension: Standard UK pension with a 3% employer contribution

Flexible Working: Flexible working arrangements and working hours

English - high proficiency in written and spoken communication