Innovation Development Officer (Project Development)

This role will be based on the university campus with scope for it to be undertaken in a hybrid manner. We are also open to discussing flexible working arrangements.

Are you interested in driving innovation across sectoral/disciplinary boundaries and understanding complex challenges? Do you enjoy bringing people together with a purpose? Do you want to take the lead in developing new projects between the University and industry?

You will take the lead in developing new Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTPs), and other similar projects. You will use your outstanding people and communication. skills to motivate and enthuse project partners, working with leading academics and industry leaders, to build partnerships and refine projects to deliver clear objectives and meet funders’ criteria. You will lead and coordinate contributions from internal and external partners, pull together complex documents and prepare and submit high quality funding proposals.

Building on your track record of understanding and interpreting complex information at a high level, you will enjoy the challenge and versatility of learning about new developments in a wide range of disciplines from science and technology, social sciences, and arts & humanities. You will be unafraid to ask questions to build a comprehensive understanding of each potential project, developing a clear view of project objectives and how they will be achieved.

You will also relish the challenge of understanding the background and motivations of partner organisations, identifying gaps in knowledge and will be able to zero-in on key facts and figures from financial statements, market and competitor analyses, and business cases. You will learn the dynamics of industries that are new to you, and understand and address issues of importance to partner organisations such as commercial impact, socio-economic impact, sustainability, Intellectual Property, return on investment, business transformation, managing change and organisational culture use of negotiation and communication skills to generate coherent projects with commitment from the business and academic partners.

In addition to working with academic and external project partners, you will be part of a high-performing and supportive KTP Office working centrally in the University. As a vital team member, you will contribute to wider University objectives around building industry partnerships and growing Innovation funding and ensuring that the University is seen by external partners as a strategic innovation partner in delivering lasting transformational impact.

Main Duties and Responsibilities
As an Innovation Support Officer (Project Development), your main duties will include:

• Working with colleagues across the university and external partners to promote and develop new innovation projects, with a primary focus on classic KTPs and Management KTPs and other variants.
• Developing new projects and partnerships, including brokering productive relationships between companies and academics, determining eligibility and advising on funding criteria, project scoping, proposal development, coordinating and editing contributions from project partners, collating and submitting final applications, facilitating collaboration agreements, and effective partnership start in collaboration with the Post-award colleagues.
• Developing and maintaining a pipeline of potential projects and managing partners’ expectations whilst planning individual timelines for submission.
• Working with funders’ representatives to develop high quality proposals for funding and support effective partnerships.
• Working with RIS colleagues and partners to broker an effective KTP Associate recruitment process.
• Maintaining an overview of the KTP portfolio and working with colleagues to respond to complex issues and project changes, recommending improvements to processes and procedures.
• Maintaining rigorous record keeping and monitoring systems to ensure a full audit trail is in place.
• Contributing towards the production of data for funding bodies and producing written reports as they apply to the University’s KTP portfolio.
• Developing case studies, presentations, briefings, and training as necessary to internal and external contacts on innovation funding, with a focus on developing new projects.
• Developing strong networks across the University, regionally and nationally and acting as a first point of contact for any questions regarding KTP processes, eligibility, or outcomes.
• Developing a strong understanding of the research and innovation funding landscape.
• Occasional travelling within the UK to meet with external partners and attend key networking events as appropriate.

These duties provide a framework for the role and should not be regarded as a definitive list. Other reasonable duties may be required consistent with the grade of the post.

Working at Leeds:
We are a campus based community and regular interaction with campus is an expectation of all roles in line with academic and service needs and the requirements of the role. We are also open to discussing flexible working arrangements. To find out more about the benefits of working at the University and what it is like to live and work in the Leeds area visit our Working at Leeds information page.

What we offer:
* 26 days holiday plus approx.16 Bank Holidays/days the University is closed by custom (including Christmas) – That’s 42 days a year!
* Generous pension scheme plus life assurance– the University contributes 14.5%
* Health and Wellbeing: Discounted staff membership options at The Edge, our state-of-the-art Campus gym, with a pool, sauna, climbing wall, cycle circuit, and sports halls.
* Personal Development: Access to courses run by our Organisational Development & Professional Learning team.
* Access to on-site childcare, shopping discounts and travel schemes are also available.