Community Manager

Build the ecosystem that will shape the future of microbiome innovation.

What if your work could help accelerate solutions for healthier people, more sustainable food systems, and a more resilient planet?

At the Holomicrobiome Innovation Institute (HMBI), we're building a national ecosystem around one of the most promising scientific and societal developments of our time: microbiomes.

Microbiomes play a crucial role in the health of humans, animals, plants, soils, and water systems. Their potential to address challenges in health, agriculture, food production, and sustainability is enormous. But unlocking that potential requires more than scientific excellence alone. It requires collaboration.

That's why HMBI brings together researchers, entrepreneurs, companies, policymakers, and societal organizations from across the Netherlands. Together, we are creating the connections, knowledge, and innovations needed to translate scientific breakthroughs into real-world impact.

To accelerate this mission, we're looking for a Community Manager with an entrepreneurial mindset, who thrives on connecting people, building networks, and creating momentum. Someone who understands how communities drive innovation and how meaningful connections can lead to lasting societal impact.

Your challenge
This is not a traditional community management role.

You will help build and activate a national innovation ecosystem at the forefront of microbiome research and innovation. Your role is to create the conditions in which people can connect, collaborate, and create impact together.

You'll bring together stakeholders who don't naturally meet every day: researchers from commercial and academic organizations, entrepreneurs, and societal partners. You'll create the spaces, experiences, and opportunities that help them discover shared ambitions, launch collaborations, and become part of a growing movement.

You will have the freedom to shape the community strategy, develop new engagement formats, and create experiences that people genuinely want to be part of. If you've built startup communities, innovation hubs, accelerator programs, entrepreneurial ecosystems, or industry networks before, you'll feel right at home.

What you'll cultivate - Build a thriving Innovation ecosystem

• Develop and execute the community strategy for a fast-growing national innovation program.
• Connect researchers, entrepreneurs, companies, and societal organizations around shared opportunities and challenges.
• Create engagement programs that turn participants into active contributors.
• Foster meaningful interactions that lead to partnerships, projects, innovation, and societal impact.
• Strengthen the sense of belonging and shared purpose across a diverse national network.
• Help translate scientific knowledge into practical applications by strengthening connections between research, industry, and society.

What you'll create - Design events that inspire action

• Create and deliver inspiring events, meetups, and ecosystem activations for groups ranging from 25 to 150 participants.
• Design experiences that spark conversations, facilitate connections, and generate new ideas.
• Work closely with impact developers to translate program themes into engaging community formats.
• Lead both the strategic design and hands-on development of community events.
• Organize logistics, planning, venues, and event execution while shaping the overall experience, atmosphere, and participant journey.
• Continuously experiment with new ways to engage and connect community members.

What you'll shape - Set the stage for long-term growth

• Set up and optimize the community infrastructure, including CRM systems, engagement processes, and community journeys.
• Develop scalable approaches to activate, engage, and retain community members.
• Build content and engagement strategies together with impact developers and ecosystem partners.
• Monitor community growth, engagement, and impact, using insights to continuously improve.
• Help define and shape a new role with significant autonomy, ownership, and a lot of room for creativity.

What drives and motivates you?

• You are someone who naturally brings people together and enjoys driving the growth of a network. This doesn’t mean you have to be a super extrovert, it means you have to understand what makes people tick and stick; what makes them want to connect and engage and how to set the stage for it to happen.
• You understand that strong communities don't happen by accident. They require vision, structure, creativity, and genuine human connection.
• You likely bring experience from startup ecosystems, innovation hubs, accelerators, venture-building programs, scale-ups, industry associations, or community-driven organizations.

How we work – your role and collaboration with the team
We are a team of 25 people and growing. We look forward to adding you to the team because you know how to make something out of anything. You are the driving force behind the community. While colleagues contribute content expertise, operational support, and strategic alignment, you create the connections, experiences, and engagement that bring the ecosystem to life.

You take the lead and execute on community activation, engagement strategy, and community experience. You are supported by the Project Office, particularly for operational event planning and logistics, and you report to the Director of Valorisation.

You will work closely with the Marketing & Communications Manager to ensure community engagement and program communications reinforce one another. You will also collaborate with program managers, impact developers, communications specialists, the Project Office, and the leadership team. Together, we'll build one of the Netherlands' most ambitious innovation ecosystems, connecting stakeholders across science, industry, and society.

What we are looking for

• An experienced community builder and ecosystem connector – minimum of 5 years of experience.
• Skilled enthusiast at creating events, programs, and experiences that generate meaningful engagement.
• Equally comfortable talking to founders, researchers, corporate leaders, policymakers, and societal partners.
• Entrepreneurial, proactive, creative, and comfortable building something new from the ground up.
• Strategic enough to develop a roadmap and hands-on enough to make it happen.
• Curious about innovation and motivated by creating societal impact.
• Experienced in stakeholder management and community growth.
• Fluent in English, preferably also in Dutch.
• Available 32–40 hours per week.

What we offer

• A unique opportunity to contribute to solutions for some of society's biggest challenges in health, sustainability, and food systems.
• The chance to build a national innovation ecosystem from the ground up.
• A role with visible and meaningful impact on the future of microbiome innovation.
• Significant freedom, ownership, and room for experimentation.
• The opportunity to shape a new role and leave your mark on a growing organization.
• A salary between €4,500 and €5,500 gross per month (full-time), depending on experience. If your experience and seniority exceed the level of this position, we welcome a conversation about how we can shape the role to best match your expertise and ambitions.

Interested? Join us!
If you're excited by the idea of building communities that accelerate innovation and create real-world impact, we would love to hear from you. Interviews will take place on 9 July, 22 July, 23 July, 20 Aug, and 25 Aug. Please let us know your availability over the summer period in your application. We will start reviewing applications immediately and may close the vacancy once a suitable candidate is found.

Please note that this position is not open to freelancers or contractors. Please send your application, including your CV, by email before 3 July 2026. Applications can be sent to: work@holomicrobiome.org

Help us build the ecosystem that will shape the future of microbiome innovation.

3500-5000

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