At the Nuffield Council on Bioethics (NCOB), we are on a mission to place ethics at the centre of decisions regarding biomedicine and health so that we all benefit. We are looking for an enthusiastic, creative, and organised communications all-rounder to support our communication and engagement activities and assist in our mission to ‘Make Ethics Matter’.  

The Communications and Engagement Officer role combines work on events, communications, stakeholder management and public affairs, all seeking to build audience engagement and increase the profile and influence of the NCOB.   

This is an important role within our Executive team, working across our priority areas and workstreams, with range of stakeholders, and utilising a variety of channels including in-person and online events, website, email, social media and traditional media.  

The Communications and Engagement Officer reports to the Senior Communications Manager and works closely with them across all communications functions. This post will have responsibility for updating our website, running our social media channels, producing internal and external newsletters and championing and maintaining our brand identity. The post holder will also help to deliver our media relations and policy influencing activities, playing an active role in delivering media campaigns and in supporting our Parliamentary and Government engagement through working closely with the Public Affairs Manager.  

We are looking for someone with experience across the communications and engagement mix, including in events and internal communications, stakeholder management and digital and social media content creation. Our work focuses on research and policy in biomedicine, health and life sciences, and while you don’t need to be an expert in those areas, you should have an enthusiasm to develop knowledge of them and the ability to quickly get to grips with the landscape in which the NCOB operates, our strategy and our target audiences. 

You will enjoy working in a team environment and will have excellent written and verbal communication skills. You will be confident working with a range of stakeholders, ranging from subject specialists and academics to policy makers, journalists and members of the public. We are seeking someone who can think creatively about communicating complex and technical research and can work independently on a range of projects. You will be highly organised, with good project management skills and the ability to prioritise and work across several projects at once. 

You will have a creative mind, strong news sense and ability to tailor communications to the appropriate audience. You will be able to turn your hand to writing newsletter copy, stakeholder emails, social posts and event materials / briefings to a high standard. You will be able to distil key messages from our outputs and use them to create content for a range of communication channels and audiences. 

Ideally, you will have some experience of managing both online and face-to-face events. You will be confident working with audio visual equipment and systems and have experience of using data for analysis, reporting and evaluation. 

Stakeholder engagement is a big part of the role, so you will need some knowledge and experience of using databases/CRM systems to manage and report on stakeholder communications.  

This is an excellent opportunity for someone looking to develop their skills across the full range of communications and engagement, working on projects and campaigns in the high-profile area of bioethics, and supporting our ambitious policy-influencing agenda. 

For further information about the role, please click here to download the full job description (PDF).   

About us  

The Nuffield Council on Bioethics is a leading independent policy and research centre, and the foremost bioethics body in the UK. We are on a mission to embed ethics in decisions regarding biomedicine and heath so that we all benefit.  

For over thirty years we have tackled some of the most complex and controversial bioethical issues facing society. We are funded jointly by the Nuffield Foundation, Wellcome and the Medical Research Council.   

 We aim to inform policy and public debate through timely consideration of the ethical questions raised by biological and medical research so that the benefits to society are realised in a way that is consistent with public values. Our work has led to shifts in public understanding and policy change on topics ranging from assisted reproduction and genome editing to managing the disagreements that arise in the care of critically ill children.  

Further information and how to apply  

The closing date for applications is 09:30am (BST) on Tuesday 9th June 2026. Interviews are expected to take place on 23rd and/or 25th June 2026. 

You will be required to complete some questions as part of this application process, and you are also required to upload an up-to-date copy of your CV. The Applied platform lets you save an application and resume it ahead of submitting before the application deadline.

Should you need to make an application in a different format or require any adjustments as part of the application process, please get in touch with us: recruitment@nuffieldfoundation.org 

The Nuffield Foundation and its Centres think deeply about the role of emerging technology in society. All recruitment decisions are made by a person (we do not use AI tools to rate or reject applicants). We ask applicants to respond to the questions using their own experience, thinking and opinion, writing in their own tone of voice rather than using generative AI tools such as ChatGPT. The use of generative AI can result in generic responses to individual questions which stand out less to reviewers. 

Please note that for vacancies which receive a high volume of applications, we may undertake an initial screening of CVs. 

We are committed to inclusive working practices and during the application process we commit to:    

• As a Disability Confident employer, we will offer an interview to a fair and proportionate number of disabled applicants that meet the essential criteria for the job.  

• making any reasonable adjustments – for example providing documents in different formats, arranging for a sign language interpreter for interviews etc    

• reimbursing reasonable travel costs (and any childcare or care costs) for interviews where in-person attendance is required    

Our benefits package includes:    

• Genuine flexibility - we are open to requests for part-time hours, compressed working weeks, or job shares.  

• 28 days holiday per annum and all public holidays, with the option to buy or sell up to 5 days (prorated for part time staff).  

• A salary exchange pension scheme that offers employer contributions of up to 11%.     

• Life assurance scheme.     

• Family leave policies that provide an enhanced level of pay.     

• Cycle to work scheme and loans towards season tickets.     

• Regular opportunities for learning and development – including coaching, mentoring, and dedicated reading days for personal development and reflection.  

• Support with your physical, mental and financial wellbeing including an employee assistance provider, a private GP service, personal health reviews with Bupa, a will and funeral planning service and a staff network of trained Mental Health First Aiders.  

• A warm and welcoming workplace culture, with active peer groups and social networks to help you connect and belong.