Innovation & Partnerships Manager

Salary: £46,485 to £49,250 with progression to £55,295 per annum

Newcastle University is a great place to work, with excellent benefits. We have a generous holiday package; plus the opportunity to buy more, great pension schemes and a number of health and wellbeing initiatives to support you.

Closing Date: 24 November 2024

Net Zero is an historic opportunity for radical change in the process industries. From bulk and fine chemicals to food and beverages, pharmaceuticals, manufacturing, and utilities, all process industries will fundamentally need to change the way they handle the flow of energy, feedstocks, and data. 

Newcastle University is leading the way with a new centre for Doctoral training (CDT) it is part of the UKs biggest ever investment in engineering and physical sciences and will produce the next generation internationally renowned researchers.
As Innovation and Partnerships Manager you will have a genuine interest in achieving the Governments Net Zero Strategy. You will work as part of a multidisciplinary CDT team; the main purpose of this role will be to ensure meaningful strategic engagement and collaboration.

In order to be highly successful in this role you should have some technical understanding on one or more of the areas, namely energy, feedstock and data, with an aptitude to further and develop your skills and knowledge. You will have exceptional communication skills being able to collaborate with interdisciplinary approach. You will enable and facilitate relationships with confidence ability to relate to stake holders across the project in order to enable the realisation of benefits across its extensive network of partner organisations.
The role will involve managing and growing existing relationships with CDT partners, but also proactively seeking out and engaging new industrial and academic partners and co-creating new PhD projects, to increase funding.

This is a fantastic opportunity to be involved in a next generation project, if you are passionate about achieving Net Zero targets and feel you have the innovative skills to help shape the future, we would love to hear from you.

For an informal chat about the role, please get in touch with Karen Allenby, Head of Partnerships karen.allenby@newcastle.ac.uk

This is a fixed term position for 51 months, expected start date Jan 2025.

Interviews are expected to be held 9th December 2024

To apply please upload your CV and cover letter. Your cover letter should be a supporting statement outlining how you meet the essential criteria for the role, please evidence examples.

Key Accountabilities

• Collaborate effectively with a range of colleagues across the University and its CDT partners in furthering the activity of the CDT
• Lead on creation of a strategy for industry engagement for the CDT, being a champion for the mission and vision of the CDT for industry in both the academic and business community
• Maintain & build new relationships from an existing network of 100+ commercial organisations from SME to multi-national corporates, spanning utilities to food and pharmaceuticals
• Lead on the identification of new partners and opportunities, leveraging both established and new networks, to identify, develop and successfully convert a pipeline of mutually beneficial activity and commitments
• Co-ordinate delivery of the new Annual PINZ Conference, which will act as a primary mechanism to showcase the CDT to new partners
• Derive maximum benefit for the CDT and industry from its relationship with established industrial networks, including the North East Process Industry Cluster (NEPIC)
• Play a critical role in realising the ambitions of the CDT and its partners, ensuring established financial contributions and studentship targets are met and existing commitments are converted
• Act as first point of contact for and in executing internal and external queries relating to partners/industry for the CDT
• Embed effective use of the University’s CRM system for tracking and reporting CDT interactions with partners

The Person 

Knowledge, Skills and Experience 

• Demonstrable, broad knowledge of the process industries, whether through formal academic training, significant work experience or a combination of both
• Evidence of an appreciation of the interface between industrial and academic institutions and how interaction can benefit both
• Proven track record of leading or working effectively as part of a team
• Ability to effectively manage stakeholder relationships, including resolving competing priorities and expectations

Attributes and Behaviour

• Sets high expectations for self, actively seeking opportunities to innovate and implement more effective ways of working
• Through well-developed communication, listening and constructive challenge, ensures sound understanding of team strengths, seeking ways in which to maximise these for greatest impact
• Shows initiative, taking responsible decisions and seeing these through
• Prioritises and organises effectively and demonstrates resilience and perseverance to ensure delivery within own area or by successfully gaining input from others

Qualifications

• A first degree or higher qualification (preferable) in a subject of relevance to the process industries or related technology sectors, in addition to several years’ work experience. Significant experience in demanding technology or business development roles in the sector would be an equivalent

Newcastle University is a global University where everyone is treated with dignity and respect.  As a University of Sanctuary, we aim to provide a welcoming place of safety for all, offering opportunities to people fleeing violence and persecution.

We are committed to being a fully inclusive university which actively recruits, supports and retains colleagues from all sectors of society.  We value diversity as well as celebrate, support and thrive on the contributions of all of our employees and the communities they represent.  We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer and encourage applications from individuals who can complement our existing teams, we believe that success is built on having teams whose backgrounds and experiences reflect the diversity of our university and student population.

At Newcastle University we hold a silver Athena Swan award in recognition of our good employment practices for the advancement of gender equality.  We also hold a Race Equality Charter Bronze award in recognition of our work towards tackling race inequality in higher education REC.  We are a Disability Confident employer and will offer an interview to disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role as part of the offer and interview scheme.

In addition, we are a member of the Euraxess initiative supporting researchers in Europe. 

Requisition ID: 27329

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