Head Of Communications

About Arc Institute

The Arc Institute is a new scientific institution conducting curiosity-driven basic science and technology development to understand and treat complex human diseases. Headquartered in Palo Alto, California, Arc is an independent research organization founded on the belief that many important research programs will be enabled by new institutional models. Arc operates in partnership with Stanford University, UCSF, and UC Berkeley.

While the prevailing university research model has yielded many tremendous successes, we believe in the importance of institutional experimentation as a way to make progress. These include:

• Funding: Arc fully funds Core Investigators’ (PIs’) research groups, liberating scientists from the typical constraints of project-based external grants.
• Technology: Biomedical research has become increasingly dependent on complex tooling. Arc Technology Centers develop, optimize and deploy rapidly advancing experimental and computational technologies in collaboration with Core Investigators. 
• Support: Arc aims to provide first-class support—operationally, financially and scientifically—that will enable scientists to pursue long-term high risk, high reward research that can meaningfully advance progress in disease cures, including neurodegeneration, cancer, and immune dysfunction.
• Culture: We believe that culture matters enormously in science and that excellence is difficult to sustain. We aim to create a culture that is focused on scientific curiosity, a deep commitment to truth, broad ambition, and selfless collaboration.

Arc scaled to nearly 100 people in its first year. With $650M+ in committed funding and a state of the art new lab facility in Palo Alto, Arc will continue to grow quickly to several hundred in the coming years.

About the position

The Arc Institute is seeking a Head of Communications to build Arc’s growing reputation as a world-class leader in research and innovation.  

About you

• You are an experienced communications professional with exposure to life sciences.
• You are curious about scientific research and excited to engage with research scientists to communicate their work.  
• You are comfortable taking initiative and operating independently in a rapidly expanding, early-stage organization.
• You have a well-honed instinct for when to pursue a longer-term effort and when to prioritize an immediate deliverable.
• You are a strong writer and bring out strong writing in others.
• You are an open, collaborative colleague who thrives in cross-functional teams.
• You pivot easily between managing team members, working with outside agencies, and operating as an individual contributor.

In this position you will

• Tell the world about Arc’s scientific discoveries.
• Amplify Arc’s vision for a new model of research institution.
• Develop Arc’s employer brand in the scientific and operational talent markets.
• Partner closely with People, University Relations, and Scientific Publications colleagues to share our mission, celebrate our scientific progress, and support our teams.
• Foster productive relationships with reporters to drive an affirmative media strategy and react to coverage as needed.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree or advanced degree in a field relating to communications or science.
• 15+ years of work experience with a minimum of 10 years communication experience including in the biotechnology, computer science, machine learning, or life sciences fields developing an organization’s employer brand and implementing internal and external communications strategies.
• Extensive experience managing relationships with media.
• Ability to understand scientific concepts and translate technical language for mainstream audiences.

The base salary range for this position is $202,775 to $250,475. These amounts reflect the range of base salary that the Institute reasonably would expect to pay a new hire or internal candidate for this position. The actual base compensation paid to any individual for this position may vary depending on factors such as experience, market conditions, education/training, skill level, and whether the compensation is internally equitable, and does not include bonuses, commissions, differential pay, other forms of compensation, or benefits. This position is also eligible to receive an annual discretionary bonus, with the amount dependent on individual and institute performance factors.