Deadline:
31st October 2026
Arcadia Impact is hiring a Director of Operations to help lead the organisation through a period of significant growth and scale the systems and infrastructure that power our training and research programmes in AI safety and governance. This is a leadership role working closely with leadership staff and co-owning the health and culture of the organisation as it grows.
Summary
Salary: £120k - £144k depending on skills and experience
Location: London (primarily in-person from our office)
Start date: November 2026 (flexible)
Visas: We are able to sponsor visas
About us
Arcadia Impact is a registered charity working to empower people and organisations to contribute to addressing pressing global problems, with a focus on AI safety. Our core training programmes include LASR Labs and the AI Governance Taskforce, which are focused on upskilling people for careers in technical AI safety and AI governance. We also support three sponsored projects: Orion AI Governance Initiative, Impact First, and the AI Safety Engineering Taskforce. Additionally, we recently secured a grant from the UK AI Security Institute's Alignment Project to launch a year-long research programme with their alignment team.
Some highlights from our work so far:
Through our LASR Labs programme, we have supported 70 participants in producing 18 research papers on technical AI safety. Of the 8 papers produced on our summer 2024 and spring 2025 cohorts, 7 were accepted to workshops at NeurIPS.
We recently wrapped up the first full cohort of our AI Governance Taskforce, supporting 16 experienced professionals to produce 4 research papers.
We recently launched our new Arcadia Alignment team, a team of 8 researchers working on model motivations and scalable oversight.
The Orion AI Governance Initiative supported 57 participants across its programmes and placed 2 people into AI policy roles at think tanks and AI Governance organisations.
We launched Impact First, a new project focused on supporting students to launch high-impact careers, and running our London coworking office.
We are growing quickly, and expanding our operations leadership to match. This role works directly with our Director and leads a growing operations team.
Who we are looking for
We are looking for someone who is excited by our mission and has a strong track record in operations and people leadership. If you don't fit all the experiences here, we still highly recommend applying.
We are looking for someone with
Significant experience leading operations, ideally spanning several areas across finance, people/HR, legal and compliance, in a growing organisation.
At least 6 years of experience in people management, including having grown and led teams through a period of meaningful scale.
Demonstrated ability to build and maintain team culture and wellbeing, for example developing managers, running performance and development systems, or holding a team together through rapid growth or a hard transition.
A track record of building and scaling systems and processes, and of managing and developing teams.
Strong financial literacy: you're comfortable owning budgets, management accounts, and working with accountants and auditors.
An optimisation mindset and the judgement to prioritise across competing demands.
Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, and the ability to operate autonomously as a trusted partner to leadership.
High attention to detail.
Motivation to contribute to our mission and an understanding of work in AI safety and governance.
Strong candidates may also have
Experience in the charity sector and with UK charity law.
Experince with organisation governance.
Experience in a research or training organisation.
The role
As Director of Operations, you will own the operational backbone of Arcadia, translating our strategy into operational reality and building systems that can scale as we grow. You'll lead all operational functions and develop the operations team, freeing up our Director to focus on strategy, fundraising, and programme direction. You will co-own the health and trajectory of the organisation, building the culture and the management depth that allows us grow without losing what makes us effective.
Specific areas you'll lead include:
Operational leadership and strategy
Translate organisational strategy into operational plans, ensuring alignment with our programme and research priorities.
Build and optimise systems and processes that can scale as the team and our programmes grow.
Identify and track high-leverage opportunities, such as partnerships, funding pathways, and capacity-building initiatives, in coordination with leadership.
Monitor and evaluate organisational goals and report to leadership and trustees.
People and culture
Steward and scale our culture through growth, maintaining our values.
Build and coach managers across our programmes, setting the standard for how we support and develop staff, and own leadership development for the wider team.
Own the systems and the judgement that keep engagement, retention, and wellbeing strong.
Lead people operations, including hiring, contracts, payroll, benefits, and staff development.
Build the infrastructure that lets us recruit, retain, and develop an excellent team.
Develop and grow the operations team, unlocking high-potential team members to take on new responsibilities.
Finance
Own financial operations across the organisation, including budgeting, management accounts, grant cost allocation, and financial reporting.
Oversee our relationships with accountants, bookkeepers, and auditors, and ensure a clean annual audit.
Build and improve financial systems, controls, and decision-making processes.
Legal, compliance, and risk
Ensure compliance with charity law, Charity Commission requirements, and our obligations as a visa sponsor.
Oversee contracts, grant agreements, and other legal documents.
Identify and manage organisational risk, and develop information security practices.
What we offer
We expect to offer a successful candidate between £125,000 and £145,000 per year, depending on previous experience and performance during the application process.
We pay 3% employer pension contributions.
We provide a £5k per year professional development budget to help you work at your best.
This is a senior, high-leverage role with real ownership of how Arcadia operates and scales. You'll shape the operational foundations a leading AI safety research and field-building organisation.
The role will be based in our London Coworking Office where we provide free snacks and basic meals.
Our annual leave allocation is 25 days of paid leave plus UK bank holidays.
We can sponsor UK work visas if required.
Application
Apply here by 31st October 2026.
After completing the initial application, you will be invited to an short interview, followed by a work task and in-depth interview with the team, and reference checks before we make an offer. We expect to make an offer for the role in early December.
We are an equal opportunity employer and are eager to consider candidates from a variety of backgrounds.