Enterprise Executive

;, United Kingdom

Updated: 3 months ago
Location: Edinburgh, SCOTLAND
Job Type: FullTime
Deadline: 13 Feb 2024

FTE and working pattern: 1 FTE, 35hrs per week, Monday - Friday

Holiday Entitlement:28 days annual leave plus 9 buildings closed days (and Christmas Eve when it falls on a weekday)

About the team - the GRID @ Heriot-Watt

Fascinated by the future and captivated by technology and innovation? Keen to help the technologies get to market and address the global challenges?

Heriot-Watt University (HWU) is one of Scotland’s leading research universities. In areas as diverse as health technologies and net zero solutions, quantum computing and sustainable oceans, and industrial robotics and decarbonisation, HWU is a source generating ground-breaking technological advances. But how do we convert those technological advances into practical solutions to global challenges?

The University has a strong track record within enterprise and company creation and is originator and host of the leading pan-Scotland enterprise programme, the Converge Challenge. HWU’s award-winning Enterprise Team is tasked with building high-growth technology businesses based on the pioneering innovations emerging from its research teams. In the last year, the Enterprise Team has more than doubled in size and its ambitions are now focused delivering a step change on the number and quality of high-growth technology businesses. Some of the most recent successes are Optoscribe, Kenoteq, and Rockit.

Purpose of Role

As a key member of the Enterprise Team, the Enterprise Executive has a broad remit which includes:

  • Supporting the development of innovations toward start-up/spinout companies,
  • Building high-quality leadership teams capable of delivering successful companies,
  • Developing strategies and business plans for early-stage company growth,
  • Securing early-stage investment and funding for the emerging companies,
  • Growing our entrepreneurial culture, and
  • Contributing to the development and delivery of new enterprise activities for the university.

Essential & desirable criteria

Essential

  • Proven track record of working within a start-up environment 
  • Commercial experience, operating in an innovation-centred environment
  • Financial management and business planning
  • Writing funding proposals
  • Ability to work in partnership across public and private sector organisations
  • Strong understanding of intellectual property
  • Good first degree in a Technology, Engineering or Business-related subject
  • Outstanding interpersonal skills and excellent communicator, both written and verbal
  • Strong project and task management skills and ability to plan workload, prioritise effectively, and set and meet joint objectives & deadlines
  • Strong attention to detail
  • A good understanding of and the ability to use a range of software applications and services (CRM, intellectual property management, word-processing, spreadsheets, databases, email, PowerPoint).
  • Ability to understand complex ideas and help articulate them into a coherent value proposition
  • A good understanding of early-stage fundraising
  • Ability to negotiate and sell opportunities

    • Desirable

  • Strong public speaker with experience of delivering training and workshops 
  • Co-ordinating activities across large organisations
  • Strong network in the local and international entrepreneurial support ecosystem
  • Understanding of available business start-up support across the UK
  • The ability to provide clear reports and advice for the different senior stakeholders within an entrepreneurial and academic ecosystem

    • How to Apply

    Applications can be submitted up to midnight (UK time) on Tuesday 13th February 2024.

    Please submit your CV via the Heriot-Watt on-line recruitment.

    Use our total rewards calculator: www.hw.ac.uk/about/work/total-rewards-calculator.htm  to see the value of benefits provided by Heriot-Watt University.


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