Head Of Investment & Licensing - Life Sciences

Position: Head of Investment & Licensing (Life Sciences)

Package: £70,000 - £80,000 pa (DOE) + Annual Bonus, Commission, Pension, Dental Plan, Private Medical Insurance, Optional Hybrid Working or Remote Working, Onsite Parking & Annual Leave.

Core Hours: Mon – Friday, 09:00 – 17:00 (start and finish times are flexible)

Environment: Academia, IT, Innovation

Location: Manchester

The Company:

My client is a leading Technology Transfer Office within Manchester that aims to capture and evaluate new inventions coming out of their associated University. They effectively assess innovations and opportunities to determine which have the greatest chance of generating future social and economic impact.

The Investment & Licensing Group:

The Innovation Factory’s Investment & Licensing group sits within the Business Development, Investment & Licensing group and is responsible for driving the commercial transactions which result in revenue and value creation from licensing University intellectual property or investment in spin-out business.

The Group is responsible for commercialising opportunities from all three University faculties but, based on the relative number of new invention disclosures, most of the business development activity is focused in the areas Life Science and Science & Engineering.

The role:

My client is wanting to recruit a dynamic Head of Investment & Licensing (Life Sciences) whose core responsibilities are to:

• Ensure the effective distribution of business cases for innovative opportunities linked to the faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, and the faculty of Humanities.
• Advise and guide the I&L team on business plan development for both licensing opportunities and new spinout companies within Life Sciences.
• Work on, and also support the team on the valuation, structuring, term development, negotiation and execution of licensing transactions and spin-out investment deals.
• Develop and maintain relationships with key commercial partners and investor groups.
• Drive the I&L team with regards to the delivery of a personal targets for licensing revenue and 1st investment in university spinouts.
• Develop and manage optimal deal and investment structures aligned with target commercial partners or investors to maximise returns for the University, as well as Inventors and Founders.
• Maintain regular contact with academic inventors and founders as well as external parties during the commercialisation phases of a project.
• Ensure the Life Sciences I&L team maintain the information flow between Invention Discovery, the Business Analytics team and the Corporate Services Team to facilitate market awareness, correct valuation of opportunities and identification of potential customers and investors.
• Develop and maintain the database of national and international organisations and contacts which are sources of Investment or potential licensees in the field of Life Sciences. Introduce these contacts to the Information and Digital Communications Group to facilitate targeted marketing campaigns.
• In coordination with the Invention Discovery and Business Analytics team, interface with the University’s Business Engagement team and other University organisations to ensure that commercial relationships and licensing/investment opportunities are maximised (with primary focus on the University’s strategic partners).
• Communicate with colleagues in the Corporate Services Team to ensure that the I&L Life Sciences teams licensing and investment deal-terms are fully considered, benchmarked and risk-mitigated, while achieving strong returns for the academic founders and the University.
• Be a role-model for the team by way of personal standards of integrity, results focus and work ethic.
• Ensure that the contents and structure of business plans, pitch decks and other selling tools created by the team mirrors the needs of potential investors and licensees.
• Support the Innovation Factory’s leadership team to drive organisational change to meet competitive and business challenges.
• Continually build a technical understanding of the structure of commercial licensing deals, the valuation of IP and the processes associated with investing in early-stage IP-rich University spinouts.
• Other activities consistent with the successful delivery of budgets and commercial targets and as well as the objectives of wider organisation

The successful candidate will possess a strong background in a discipline related to Life Sciences and have demonstrable experience of commercial deal-making specifically in the areas of IP licensing and investment.

A degree or similar level 6 qualification (England, Wales and N.Ireland Qualification levels) or equivalent is essential for this role (within a Life Sciences related subject).

A post graduate qualification in a business-related discipline is desirable although not essential.