Investment Associate – Impact Funding

Investment Associate – Impact Funding (0.5 FTE: 20 hours per week)
Investments and New Ventures Team
Fixed Term role (36 months)

With one foot in academia and the other in industry, Oxford University Innovation’s professionals undertake a wide variety of tasks, from licensing university ideas, consultancy and finding investment for spinout companies to setting up social enterprises and supporting student entrepreneurship. The Investments and New Ventures team (OUI-INV)acts as the growth catalyst for companies emerging from Oxford University through early-stage investment and support.

The main responsibilities of the team include translational funding, supporting new company formation, equity fundraising, fund management and portfolio management

Impact

U is a collective of UK universities, led by Oxford, working collaboratively to support and raise awareness of mission-driven businesses emerging from our ecosystems. Impact

U provides training and alternative finance to accelerate ventures with a social or environmental mission towards revenue or further investment. Impact

U is passionate about delivering positive impact from innovative solutions focusing on health, wellbeing, society and the environment. Our projects emerge from research, student activities, accelerators, and entrepreneurial ecosystems. This initiative aims to propel interventions and technologies in diverse settings, such as low-resource or community-led environments, ensuring ventures mirror the values and methodologies inspired by founders. Our new FdT Health Impact Loans are funded by Financiëre de Tubize (FdT), which is the reference shareholder of UCB, an innovative and global biopharmaceutical business headquartered in Belgium, mainly focusing on neurology and immunology, with research centers in Belgium, the United Kingdom and the United States.

The funding will provide interest‑free Health Impact Loans of up to £60,000 for ventures developing sustainable, scalable health innovations that deliver measurable impact where it’s needed most.

We now have a unique opportunity for a dynamic and motivated Investment Associate to join our team. Reporting to the Head of Investments and New Ventures and Social Venture Lead, the successful candidate will demonstrate knowledge and enthusiasm for university innovation. They will possess the right skills to effectively deploy awards that will help companies across Impact

U flourish. The successful candidate will have experience working in a business and/or financial environment as well as a passion for social entrepreneurship. They may have an undergraduate degree (or equivalent) in a related subject area.

• Working with Impact
  
  U partners, including the London School of Economics training programme lead, to upskill and scout potential applicants.
• Supporting the management of the FdT Health Impact Loans and any other Impact
  
  U funding mechanisms.
• Activities will include supporting companies applying for funding, attending investor events, and onboarding new partner organisations.
• Assisting in the management of the portfolio, including supporting funded companies with reporting and introduction to investors.
• Travel, where required, including (but not exclusively) to Member Universities of Impact
  
  U, such as the London School of Economics, University of Cambridge, the University of Northampton and York University.

• Experience or passion for mission led businesses.
• Relationship with others
  – the ability to contribute to build relationships within OUI, across external partners, and Impact
  
  U members, and an ability to work with diverse entrepreneurs from different industries.
• Self‑starter
  – the ability to use your initiative to find solutions to problems.
• Communication
  – a team player with excellent interpersonal skills and strong communication skills, both verbally and in writing.
• Data management
  – effectively manages data and possesses high levels of attention to detail in all areas of their work.
• Early‑stage investment
  – an interest in the UK early‑stage…