Business & Industry Relationship Officer
Knowledge Exchange & Innovation
Location: Canterbury
Salary: £35,326 to £39,739 per annum
Grade: Grade 7
Post Type: Full Time
Contract Type:Permanent
Release Date: Wednesday 09 March 2022
Closing Date: 23.59 hours BST on Sunday 10 April 2022
Interview Date: To be confirmed
Reference: RIS-024-22-R
Are you an experienced Business Relationship professional, who is proactive and persuasive when seeking new clients and opportunities, converting interest into funded collaborations? If so this varied and exciting role could be ideal.
The main purpose of this role is to support the expansion of the University’s knowledge exchange and innovation portfolio. We are particularly keen to increase the area of University consultancy, Knowledge Transfer Partnerships, Industrial Strategy and collaborative projects, contract and collaborative research. You will work in a small co-ordinated team of Business & Industry Relationship Officers, supporting the University’s six Divisions delivering outputs against the University’s Knowledge Exchange & Innovation targets. Each Officer will become a market specialist in each of the priority areas of focus – income targets are an integral part of this role and the wider Business & Industry Relationship team.
Whilst innovation projects may be interdisciplinary spanning the six Divisions of the University, Business and Industry Relationship Officers work aligned to a specific Division. For this vacancy the role holder will work closely with academic, and Research and Innovation colleagues in the Division for the Study of Law, Society and Social Justice. This Division is comprised of the academic schools of the Kent Law School, School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research, and Centre for Journalism.
As Business & Industry Relationship Officer you will:
instigate, develop and manage relationships with business and industry, including the public and third sectors, on the phone and in person
proactively engage with Divisions and individual academics to identify opportunities to develop a portfolio of income generating activities
in close liaison with the External Communications & Events Co-ordinator, as well as other colleagues within KEI, deliver and assist in the organisation of business-facing workshops , conferences, high profile dinners, industry and trade association opportunities and events
To be successful in this role you will have:
extensive experience of business development gained in a goal focused, target driven and customer service orientated environment
a successful track record of securing income, increasing revenue from existing clients and establishing new partnerships
experience in co-ordinating a range of external facing workshops, conferences and business facing activities
a demonstrable track record over a number of years of identifying prospective business leads and turning these into sales projects, including helping to develop funding applications
Interviews will be held on either 19th or 21st April 2022.
Please also upload a cover letter as part of your application explaining why you are interested in this particular role and your key strengths – a CV will not be required as these details are covered in the application questions.
Please see the links below to view the full job description and to apply for this post. If you require further information regarding the application process please contact centralservicesresourcing@kent.ac.uk quoting ref number: RIS-024-22.
Previous applicants need not apply.
We particularly welcome applications from black, Asian and minority ethnic candidates as they are under-represented at this level in this area.