The Sr. Business Development Manager (SBDM) will provide leadership over comprehensive and strategic services and initiatives that support and enhance commercialization of intellectual property created by Western and its partners, including faculty, postdoctoral fellows, students, and staff. The SBDM provides mentoring and project leadership to Business Development Managers and/or Business Development Officers within the WORLDiscoveries team.

About Western

With an international reputation for success, Western ranks as one of Canada’s top research-intensive universities. Our research excellence expands knowledge and drives discovery with real-world application. Western also provides an exceptional employment experience, offering competitive salaries, a wide range of employment opportunities and one of Canada’s most beautiful campuses.

About Us

Western Research, under the leadership of the Vice-President (Research), is responsible for ensuring that Western has vibrant and growing interaction with various sources of research funding and that the faculties have increasing funding for their research programs.  It is also responsible to ensure a healthy flow of technology resulting from Western research to the commercial world thereby creating jobs, increasing economic development and the general betterment of society.

Within this mission…

WORLDiscoveries® is the Business Development arm of Western University, Robarts Research Institute and the Lawson Health Research Institute.  The business unit serves as the exclusive advocate and agent for promising commercial and technology transfer opportunities derived from London’s extensive research portfolio.

Responsibilities

The Sr. Business Development Manager (SBDM) will provide leadership over comprehensive and strategic services and initiatives that support and enhance commercialization of intellectual property created by Western and its partners, including faculty, postdoctoral fellows, students, and staff. The SBDM provides mentoring and project leadership to Business Development Managers and/or Business Development Officers within the WORLDiscoveries team.   Differentiating the SBDM from other roles on the team is the level of complexity of files for which they are responsible, level of autonomy, experience and ability to negotiate independently.   BDMs and BDOs work under the leadership of the SBDM.  The role will be a strategic partner who provides leadership for their portfolio’s strategic planning, policy development, and staff allocation, in consultation with the Executive Director and other members of the WORLDiscoveries senior leadership team.  The role will oversee and provide leadership in the development of initiatives and priorities, and act on opportunities to continuously improve business development processes, with the goal of reinforcing and advancing the reputation of Western and WORLDiscoveries locally, nationally, and internationally.

Qualifications

Education:

• Master’s Degree in a Life Sciences related field (such as Biochemistry, Microbiology, Biophysics, Physiology, etc.)
• PhD in a Life Sciences related field is preferred
• Business education (e.g. HBA, MBA) or equivalent business experience would be an asset

Experience:

• 7 years of business development experience, with research and technology transfer initiatives and in negotiating business arrangements in the private sector or industry 
• Working experience in an academic environment with liaison between university and industry is preferred
• Experience in patenting, licensing and start-up companies (business planning, financing, managing) is preferred
• Working experience in commercialization of innovations in a Life Sciences related field would be an asset
• Experience managing staff and projects preferred

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities:
–    Technical knowledge in a Life Sciences related field 

• In-depth knowledge of relevant business practices, intellectual property management and protection, including copyrights and patents
• In-depth knowledge of the regulations and guidelines governing research in an academic environment
• Knowledge of best practices for assessing, developing, and implementing new business processes and procedures and of best approaches for creating a shared vision
• Ability to collaborate across internal and external boundaries to meet common objectives, improve outcomes, and support work beyond one’s own unit
• Ability to provide strategic analysis and recommendations for designing and implementing new and changing practices and processes
• Openness to recognize when change is necessary, and to develop, implement and lead effective change management strategies
• Presentation skills to deliver engaging and informative presentations that clearly explain information to audiences using appropriate communication channels
• Ability to deal confidentially with information that has financial, political, regulatory and reputational implications
• Ability to draw on diversity of skills, backgrounds and knowledge of people to achieve more effective results
• Ability to promote individual growth by encouraging others to learn new skills and develop themselves
• Ability to quickly re-allocate resources and adjust priorities in response to unexpected events or changing circumstances
• Ability to recommend controls to manage operational and legal risks
• Ability to effectively provide staff with regular feedback and recognize and reward strong performance, as well as address performance concerns
• Ability to demonstrate a high level of professionalism and to work effectively and efficiently with internal and external clients at all levels of the organization
• Proven ability to take initiative and champion a project from conception through implementation and evaluation
• Ability to develop strategies that are in line with the University’s mission and which balance competing priorities

Western Values Diversity

The University invites applications from all qualified individuals. Western is committed to employment equity and diversity in the workplace and welcomes applications from women, members of racialized groups/visible minorities, Indigenous persons, persons with disabilities, persons of any sexual orientation, and persons of any gender identity or gender expression.

Accommodations are available for applicants with disabilities throughout the recruitment process.  If you require accommodations for interviews or other meetings, please contact Human Resources at hrhelp@uwo.ca or phone 519-661-2194.

Please Note:

Interested applicants are asked to visit:  https://recruit.uwo.ca/   to apply online to job reference #32714 by October 2, 2023.

We thank all applicants for their interest; however, only those chosen for an interview will be contacted.