Principal Business Development Officer, QAAFI

• Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation (QAAFI)

• Support QAAFI’s business development, database & customer relationship management

• Collaborate with key stakeholders, world class researchers and external partners

• Be part of an organisation with a meaningful purpose and impact

• Based at our vibrant St Lucia Campus

About UQ

As part of the UQ community, you’ll have the opportunity to work alongside the brightest minds, who have joined us from all over the world.

Everyone here has a role to play. As a member of our professional staff cohort, you will be actively involved in working towards our vision of a better world. By supporting the academic endeavour across teaching, research, and the student life, you’ll have the opportunity to contribute to activities that have a lasting impact on our community.

Join a community where excellence is at the core of our culture, contributions are valued and a range of benefits and rewards are available, such as:

• 26 weeks paid parental leave or 14 weeks paid primary caregiver leave

• 17% superannuation contributions

• 17.5% annual leave loading

• Access to flexible working arrangements

• Health and wellness discounts – fitness passport access, free yearly flu vaccinations, discounted health insurance, and access to our Employee Assistance Program for staff and their immediate family

• On campus childcare options

• Cheap parking (from just $5.75 a day)

• Salary packaging options

About This Opportunity 

We are seeking a Principal Business Development Officer to work with the QAAFI Business Development Manager and team. In this role, you will lead database management for new research funding opportunities and scope opportunities to develop database systems to manage IP and customer relationship management.  You will also conduct desktop and market research to identify trends and new funding opportunities. You will also be required to conduct external engagement with research partners and investors, to scope and develop new commissioned funding opportunities across the Institute. 

Key responsibilities will include: 

Database Management and Market Research

• Maintain and update QAAFI Smartsheets database system for pre-pipeline and pipeline opportunities. 

• Provide high level advice to QAAFI Chief Investigators on data entry requirements for QAAFI’s pre-pipeline opportunity database. 

• Investigate options and potentially support customisation and implementation of new database systems to manage QAAFI Intellectual Property (IP) and customer relationship management (CRM) 

• Assists with the compilation and analysis of QAAFI pre-pipeline and pipeline data to prepare monthly reports on business development performance and longer-term performance trends of the Institute for the QAAFI Senior Executive and Research Leadership Teams

• Assist the QAAFI Finance team to forecast future institute revenue based on probability weighting data from the QAAFI pipeline database.

• Liaise with the QAAFI Commercial Office to ensure the timely transfer of pre-pipeline opportunities to the QAAFI pipeline, including opportunities linked to the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries – QAAFI Annual Research Plan.  

• Provides support for the organisation of research training and capacity building sessions on database management for the QAAFI pre-pipeline and pipeline opportunities, especially targeting Early and Mid-Career Researchers.  

• Assists with the preparation and writing of market research reports and strategy papers to support identification of new funding opportunities and inform strategy for business development. 

Partner Engagement and Business Development

• Assists the QAAFI Business Development Manager and QAAFI researchers to scope and negotiate commissioned (i.e., non-competitive) bilateral opportunities with funding agencies and industry partners.

• Provides guidance to QAAFI researchers on the preparation of research budgets, business plans or other project funding documentation that is consistent with the University’s recovery of Indirect Costs and Research Funding and Consultancy policies. 

• Supports the organisation of events related to development of business development activities, such as research workshops and partner meetings. 

• Triages and prioritises the transition of successfully negotiated opportunities to the QAAFI Commercial Office for the development of full proposals and submissions. 

• Conducts other duties as reasonably requested by the supervisor. 

This role is subject to The University’s Code of Conduct .

This is a Full-time, 100% FTE, Fixed-term position through to June 2027 at HEW Level 7.

The full-time equivalent base salary will be in the range $96,649.64 to $105,244.58, plus a generous super allowance of up to 17%. The total FTE package will be up to $113,080.08 to $123,136.15 annually.  As these roles are covered by an Enterprise Agreement, you will also receive regular remuneration increases in line with the Enterprise Agreement.

About You  

• Undergraduate qualifications and extensive business development and database management experience (preferably in the tertiary education or research sectors); or an equivalent combination of relevant experience and/or education/training. 

• Demonstrated skills in maintaining and managing databases (preferably with experience using SmartSheets) and, or conducting business development with research investors and, or industry. 

• Knowledge of the higher education research funding environment and opportunities. 

• A high level of oral and written communication skills. 

• Demonstrated ability to organise and prioritise tasks. 

• Demonstrated ability to work effectively under pressure and to meet deadlines. 

• Evidence of assimilating new information rapidly and deploying such knowledge to the benefit of the organization. 

• Demonstrated capacity to successfully engage with industry partners to ensure efficient progression of funding opportunities.

• Interpersonal communication and customer service skills of a high order.

• Ability to work effectively within a team and proactively liaise across related functional areas of the QAAFI and the University.

• Ability to work independently.

In addition, the following mandatory requirements apply:

• Work Rights: You must have unrestricted work rights in Australia for the duration of this appointment to apply. Visa sponsorship is not available for this appointment. 

• Background Checks: All final applicants for this position may be asked to consent to a criminal record check. Please note that people with criminal records are not automatically barred from applying for this position. Each application will be considered on its merits. 

Questions?

For more information about this opportunity, please contact Oliver Frith - [email protected]  

For application queries, please contact [email protected] stating the job reference number (below) in the subject line. 
 

All applicants must upload the following documents in order for your application to be considered:

• Cover letter addressing the ‘About You’ section  

• Resume 

Other Information 

At UQ we know that our greatest strengths come from our diverse mix of colleagues, this is reflected in our ongoing commitment to creating an environment focused on equity, diversity and inclusion .  We ensure that we are always attracting, retaining and promoting colleagues who are representative of the diversity in the broader community, whether that be gender identity , LGBTQIA+ , cultural and/or linguistic , Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples , or people with a disability . Accessibility requirements and/or adjustments can be directed to [email protected] .

If you are a current employee (including casual staff and HDR scholars) or hold an unpaid/affiliate appointment, please login to your staff Workday account and visit the internal careers board to apply for this opportunity. Please do NOT apply via the external job board.

Applications close Friday 10 May 2024 at 11.00pm AEST (Job Reference Number – R-37182). Please note that interviews have been tentatively scheduled for mid-late May.