Director, Western Technology Transfer Office

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

The Office of the Vice-President (Research) fosters a culture of research excellence by promoting a globally minded approach to curiosity, discovery, creative activity, and innovation. The Vice-President (Research) also provides strategic leadership of Western Research, which allocates resources, aligns strategies, and provides services and programs to ensure Western is a leading research-intensive university. 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...
The Western Technology Transfer Office is the Business Development arm of Western University, Robarts Research Institute and the London Hospitals’ Research Institutes. 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

Western has a distinguished history of discoveries and achievements and our collective successes in advancing knowledge and building a thriving community has resulted in attracting top researchers and students. With state-of-the-art facilities accessible to industry, government, and other partners, we can collectively expand the impact of our research, teaching, and community engagement.

The Director, Western Technology Transfer Office will have a leadership role and support the Associate Vice President (AVP), Innovation and Strategic Partnerships in developing and executing strategies and plans to enhance research commercialization and entrepreneurship opportunities at Western. The Director will proactively seek out and encourage opportunities to leverage business development and the commercialization of intellectual property at Western and the London Hospitals’ Research Institutes. The role will advance the Western Technology Transfer Office’s local, national and global outreach, promoting Canadian technologies and small- and medium-sized entities (SMEs), within a large diverse research community. The Director will develop and execute a strategy to identify new and strengthen existing partnerships and assist creators, such as faculty, staff or students, other Canadian research organizations and SMEs, to commercialize their discoveries through licensing, new company spin-offs, funding opportunities, investment, direct-to-market or distribution channels. The Director will work with the AVP to lead the development and implementation of strategic plans, and manage the allocation and reporting of financial, human and physical resources to support Western’s Technology Transfer Office.

Qualifications

Education:

• Graduate Degree in a Science related discipline
• M.Sc with an MBA, or a PhD in a Science related discipline preferred

Experience:

• 7 years’ experience in industry and/or technology transfer/business development experience
• 5 years’ experience with accountability for leading large complex projects, including the delegation of tasks and providing feedback to project team members
• Experience in an academic institution would be an asset 

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities:

• In-depth knowledge of the Canadian peer-review granting systems, processes and procedures
• In-depth knowledge of the regulations and guidelines governing research in an academic environment
• In-depth knowledge best practices in building a strong collaborative team and leading people
• Extensive knowledge of sector-specific market knowledge and business development expertise, local, national and international opportunities, and third party, such as industry, connections 
• Ability and willingness to stay abreast of developments in the field of technology transfer, commercialization, entrepreneurship and knowledge mobilization 
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills and confidence dealing with all levels of an organization 
• Ability to maintain and develop an effective network of contacts that provide information regarding emergent opportunities and best practices
• Ability to establish effective routines for excellent communication with all members of the team to maximize productivity
• Ability to provide solutions and ideas for improvement by using imaginative approaches where constructive thinking and innovation are required
• Ability to make decisions and recommendations that are clearly linked to the organization's strategy and goals
• Ability to promote individual growth by encouraging others to learn new skills and develop themselves
• Ambitious with the ability to identify opportunities, develop action plans and set challenging goals in order to achieve desired outcomes
• Results-oriented with the ability to motivate and coach employees to meet high performance standards, while working effectively as a member of the leadership team
• Project management skills to manage multiple projects simultaneously from conception to completion within tightly prescribed timelines
• Proven ability to build both formal and informal professional relationships within, across, and external to organizational boundaries
• Capacity to think and act at a strategic level and achieve operational requirements

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 or phone 519-661-2194.

Please Note:

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


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