Business Partnerships Manager

The University Strategic Plan (2014-2020) sets an ambitious target to grow research funding by 50% to £200m per annum by 2020. The Innovation Development Team will play a key role in supporting academics to develop high quality relationships with business and innovation proposals that will help to meet this target. This will require a transformation in current ways of working and continuous development of the culture within University and this post will play a key role in this.

We are recruiting a Business Partnerships Manager who will play a crucial role in the development of business engagement activities in one of the UK’s largest research intensive universities.

With a background in business development and project management, you will have excellent interpersonal skills, with the ability to network effectively; excellent written and oral communications skills; and a proven ability in innovation related project development and management.
Reporting to the Head of Innovation Development, the role holder will work closely with senior University managers, academics and other research and innovation support professionals to develop and manage strong relationships with external partners. Key priorities will include:
 
• Proactively identify businesses that have the potential to develop mutually beneficial relationships with the University. Develop and manage protocols and processes to contact such businesses and manage resulting activity. 
• Work with a team of Research and Innovation Development Managers to develop and embed a culture of team working and sharing of information and best practice
• Project manage the development, funding and on-going management of strategically important research and innovation projects across the University of Leeds.
• Manage impact and innovation funding opportunities and ensure that effective support mechanisms are in place to increase the level of innovation funding received from public and industry sources.

Research Innovation Service

The recently realigned Research and Innovation Service provides central support to research and innovation activities across the University, working in partnership with Faculty-based Research and Innovation Offices. You will work within the Innovation Development Team that supports the University’s innovation and collaboration activities with external organisations and provides routes to funding to support these activities, such as through Innovate UK. Working closely with the other sub-teams within the Research and Innovation Development central team (Funding Development Team, International Funding Team and EU Funding Team) you will help to support the University’s ambitious targets for growth. You will also work closely with the Commercialisation and Contracts team who provide support for contract development, the identification and protection of Intellectual Property and its commercialisation. Three further teams within the central office support Quality & Governance, Operations and Finance.

Informal enquiries may be made to Dr Danielle Hankin, tel +44 (0)113 343 7030 email D.Hankin@leeds.ac.uk

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