University Accelerator Community Manager (23 months)

NatWest Group; York and North Yorkshire; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 55,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading UK banking organization seeks a University Accelerator Community Manager to enhance its Accelerator program by driving collaboration within the ecosystem, engaging with stakeholders, and supporting entrepreneurs in achieving their goals. This role involves establishing connections and leveraging partnerships to foster innovation across universities and local communities. The ideal candidate will have experience in building entrepreneurial communities and understanding the UK SME support landscape.

Qualifications

• Experience in driving return on investment through strategic engagement.
• Track record of attracting entrepreneurs through outreach and partnerships.
• Knowledge of the UK entrepreneurial landscape and SME support.

Responsibilities

• Drive regional leadership and ecosystem collaboration.
• Support entrepreneurs in achieving goals and clarify needs.
• Engage with stakeholders and build a collaborative environment.

Skills

Identifying commercial opportunities

Scaling communities

Building relationships

Confidence in communication

Coaching conversations

Using feedback to inform strategy

Understanding financial crime risks

Job description

Join us as a University Accelerator Community Manager

• Where you'll have a chance to have a tangible effect on the expansion of the NatWest Group Accelerator as we work hand in hand with universities across the UK to bolster the innovation economy
• We’ll look to you to provide strategic oversight of our hub experience delivery, ensuring consistent, high-quality engagement aligned to the Accelerator brand and purpose
• Your primary focus will be on organisational ecosystem stakeholders and regional leadership via the regional board, and you’ll enable and facilitate an effective accelerator ecosystem which supports our accelerator commitments and strategy
• You’ll have oversight of hub experience standards and feedback loops, working in close partnership with Accelerator Journey Managers and acting as a connector and light-touch consultant for entrepreneurs, ensuring alignment with the Accelerator brand and purpose
• We're offering this role for a period of 23 months

What you'll do

As a University Accelerator Community Manager, you’ll play a pivotal role in delivering our Accelerator proposition in partnership with a leading university. You’ll support the regional team in establishing a new hub and help position NatWest Group as a champion for entrepreneurs within the university and its surrounding community. Your focus will be on building a collaborative ecosystem, driving regional leadership, and ensuring the effective delivery of the Accelerator proposition—aligned with the bank’s start-up, SME, and venture banking strategy.

This will involve working closely with and enabling the appropriate business area managers to ensure consistent, high-quality engagement and vibrant, inclusive, and impactful environments aligned to the brand and purpose.

You’ll own the feedback and insight loop regarding hub activity, using data to inform regional strategy and flagging centrally where appropriate. You’ll also act as a strategic connector for entrepreneurs, offering structured conversations and guidance to help identify needs, clarify goals, and connect them to the most appropriate support within the business area ecosystem. You’ll do this while proactively spotting commercial opportunities, driving value, and maintaining visibility across hub activity to identify consultancy needs and ensure entrepreneurs are supported through the right channels.

In addition to this, your role will involve:

• Engaging with stakeholders to complement our position in the ecosystem, including through the regional board
• Building a collaborative Accelerator Ecosystem between the university, and NatWest’s internal and external networks, creating value through collaboration to support local entrepreneurial activities, actively leveraging partners and stakeholders to attract and recruit new entrepreneurs
• Coordinating and managing all internal engagement with the hub and acting as knowledge expert within the location
• Delivering against a consistent contact strategy framework, including managing most valuable community relationships and prospects
• Identifying sponsorship and partnership opportunities to support the Accelerator strategy

The skills you'll need

We’re looking for someone with the ability to identify and unlock commercial opportunities within entrepreneurial ecosystems, driving return on investment through strategic engagement and partnerships. Along with experience in scaling communities, you’ll have a track record of attracting high volumes of entrepreneurs through targeted outreach, partnerships, and compelling value propositions.

We’re also looking for:

• An in-depth understanding of the UK entrepreneurial and Subject Matter Expert (SME) support landscape, including incubators, accelerators, funding bodies, and innovation networks
• The ability to build and maintain relationships across internal teams, regional boards, external partners, and the media to amplify impact and influence
• The ability to hold light-touch coaching conversations, helping entrepreneurs clarify goals and navigate support pathways effectively
• A confident communicator with experience in managing local media relationships, social media presence, and storytelling to promote hub success
• The ability to use feedback loops and hub data to inform strategy, improve experience delivery, and surface insights for central teams
• An understanding of financial crime and fraud risks, with experience in identifying and escalating issues appropriately within a regulated environment