Business Engagement Manager for Regional Centre

• Graduate qualification in an engineering or science discipline
• Experience in a management role and/or technology consulting / industrial / commercial environment with senior level interactions with client organisations, ideally SMEs
• A proven record of undertaking business development with clearly identifiable contributions to influencing the commercial success of activity
• Ability to summarise complex issues/concepts and present them appropriately for a range of audiences
• Ability to plan, manage and prioritise own workload, respond to changing priorities and deliver innovative solutions to deadlines maintaining a consistently high standard of service and meeting client needs
• Ability to work effectively as part of a multi-functional team across several partnering organisations
• Excellent client relationship management and interpersonal skills and an ability to work closely with other people at all levels of seniority, both within and outside of the Centre
• Excellent communication skills: oral, written and presentational
• Able to analyse business needs and identify business solutions utilising a range of technologies, summarising key points to other people at all levels of seniority, both within and outside the Centre
• Understanding of the higher education research environment, its research functions and markets
• Understanding of the UK's Innovation, Catapult, and RTO environment, the MTC's technological functions and markets
• Understanding of the regional organisations connecting and supporting business and SMEs
• Understanding of academic research and knowledge transfer practices, funding streams and motivations
• Understanding and experience of the management, delivery and reporting processes in publically funded R&D and knowledge transfer programmes
• Ability to implement processes and identify where processes or procedures might be improved

Desirable

• Postgraduate qualification in an engineering or science discipline
• Experience of working in a higher education or research management environment

Job Purpose

The Science to Industry (S2I) Centre, a Midlands Centre for STFC business engagement, aims to deliver a vibrant and sustainable environment for Midlands SME business, one that gives access to STFC's world leading research capabilities while bridging to the manufacturing innovation of the Manufacturing Technology Centre and the region's science and engineering base through its universities. The project aims to raise the profile of STFC facilities and create a series of pathfinding projects with regional SMEs and in turn generate the processes and capability that will form a regional ecosystem in which STFC national facilities are part of the innovation pathway. The intent is to use this project to create a Centre fully integrated into the region's portfolio of innovation activities.

The Business Engagement Manager will inspire Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) within the Midlands to engage with STFC, the University of Birmingham and the Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC) via the new Science to Industry (S2I) Centre: the Midlands Centre for STFC Business Engagement.

The successful candidate will work with manufacturing SMEs and executives in the manufacturing sector to develop their understanding of how step changes to their products and processes can be delivered through the application of cutting edge research and technology at STFC, University of Birmingham and the MTC. The Business Engagement Manager will stimulate demand from SMEs to access the expertise across a broad portfolio of technologies and capabilities within the three organisations. The post will also work closely with the University and the MTC to create a Regional Centre to drive the delivery of the project. Stimulating SME demand for the research in the region will ensure on-going project success through knowledge transfer activities to ensure STFC deliverable targets are met.