Business Development Specialist, Life Sciences

Job Posting Title:

Business Development Specialist, Life Sciences

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Hiring Department:

Discovery to Impact

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Position Open To:

All Applicants

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Weekly Scheduled Hours:

40

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FLSA Status:

Exempt

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Earliest Start Date:

Mar 25, 2024

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Position Duration:

Expected to Continue

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Location:

PICKLE RESEARCH CAMPUS

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Job Details:

General Notes

Discovery to Impact https://discoveries.utexas.edu/ is charged with bringing products and services to the market based on UT Austin’s research enterprise to benefit the world. Discovery to Impact manages the university’s intellectual property, corporate sponsored research, and support for UT-affiliated startups.

UT Austin offers a competitive benefits package that includes:

• 100% employer-paid basic medical coverage.   

• Retirement contributions: Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS)

• Paid vacation and sick time.

• Paid holidays .

• Please visit our Human Resources (HR) website to learn more about the total benefits offered.

Must be authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis for any employer without sponsorship.

Purpose

Responsible for generating a pipeline of potential new partnering opportunities in the life sciences pertaining to intellectual property and corporate sponsored research, with the objective of advancing UT research innovation and commercialization through partnering.

Responsibilities

• Cultivating new relationships and fostering existing relationships with businesses of all sizes to identify solutions to industry’s needs, including intellectual property available for licensing, UT Austin’s research capabilities and infrastructure, and other resources available throughout the institution and ecosystem.

• Engaging inventors as key contributors for identifying partnering leads and keeping inventors aware of commercialization efforts.

• Providing guidance to personnel responsible for generating marketing materials for intellectual property that is available for partnering and UT Austin’s research domains of interest to industry partners.

• Collaborating with counterparts in Intellectual Property Development to holistically evaluate the appropriate commercialization pathway for intellectual property – via licensing, new venture formation, or corporate sponsored research.

• Soliciting insight from corporate partners to provide the Intellectual Property Development team an industry perspective when evaluating potential patent filings and prosecution.

• Collaborating with counterparts in Licensing and Collaborative Research on term sheet development. Business Development to provide perspective of potential licensee, raise awareness of relevant market forces, and suggest opportunities for most effective and valuable deal terms all the while maintaining a united front to the potential licensee. Licensing and Collaborative Research team to consider the partner’s perspective when negotiating agreement terms, while maintaining a united front to the potential licensee. Some term sheet negotiations will be led by the Licensing Specialist, others by the Business Development Specialist, as mutually determined based on the external relationship and workload. In either case, real-time collaboration between Business Development and Licensing will be maintained.

• Raising industry awareness of the entire Discovery to Impact team, including Austin Technology Incubator and Texas Innovation Center, to build and maintain organizational credibility and partnering opportunities.

• Supporting the Director of Business Development with strategic initiatives like the “Front Door” website for UT Austin industry engagement and programmatic approaches to connecting UT Austin researchers to potential industry sponsors.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree in any life or natural sciences.

• Minimum of 3 years of industry experience in a technology sector (developing or supporting biopharma or biotech assets at the company). Please note: marketing experience does not meet this requirement.

• Basic understanding of early-stage technology developments.

• Experience developing and maintaining professional relationships with technology industry representatives and industry marketing channels to advance UT Austin life sciences technologies to the market.

• Must have relationships inside research and business groups within the technology sector.

• Knowledge of basic principles of intellectual property and licensing.

• Demonstrated ability to translate early-stage research into solutions for industry needs, including articulating an invention's potential technological and commercial impact to industry and communicating complex scientific concepts clearly and concisely to audiences with and without technical expertise.

• Demonstrated successful experience in developing private sector partnerships for life sciences technologies.

• Must be a highly self-motivated professional with exceptional ability to identify priorities and complete projects. Capable of simultaneously managing multiple projects within a portfolio at different stages in execution.

• Experience using personal computer applications.

• Available to work extended hours and travel.

Relevant education and experience may be substituted as appropriate.

Preferred Qualifications

• Advanced degree in life or natural sciences.

• Experience with drug formulation, pharmaceutical assets, and diagnostics a plus.

• More than 5 years of experience working in a business development role in a biopharma or biotech company. Please note: marketing experience does not meet this qualification.

• Advanced understanding of pharmaceutical development.

• Experience negotiating agreements and IP clauses between parties

• Extensive knowledge of partnering with industry, licensing, and policies/issues relating to commercialization of university science-based research.

• Experience promoting academic research capabilities to attract corporate sponsored research.

• Experience collaborating with IP and licensing teams to determine optimal strategies for commercializing IP.

• Knowledge of market valuation techniques.

• Experience identifying and evaluating market opportunities based on feedback from trusted industry connections and other sources.

• Proven track record of success in commercializing technology.

Salary Range

$85,000+ depending on qualifications

Working Conditions

• Work is performed in standard office environment.

• Repetitive use of a keyboard at a workstation and prolonged screen time. ​

• Occasional evening or weekend hours may be required.

Work Shift

• Work schedule is typically Monday – Friday, 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

• Flexible schedule and/or remote work may be allowed.

Required Materials

• Resume/CV

• 3 work references with their contact information; at least one reference should be from a supervisor

• Letter of interest

Important for applicants who are NOT current university employees or contingent workers: You will be prompted to submit your resume the first time you apply, then you will be provided an option to upload a new Resume for subsequent applications. Any additional Required Materials (letter of interest, references, etc.) will be uploaded in the Application Questions section; you will be able to multi-select additional files. Before submitting your online job application, ensure that ALL Required Materials have been uploaded.  Once your job application has been submitted, you cannot make changes.

Important for Current university employees and contingent workers: As a current university employee or contingent worker, you MUST apply within Workday by searching for Find UT Jobs. If you are a current University employee, log-in to Workday, navigate to your Worker Profile, click the Career link in the left hand navigation menu and then update the sections in your Professional Profile before you apply. This information will be pulled in to your application. The application is one page and you will be prompted to upload your resume. In addition, you must respond to the application questions presented to upload any additional Required Materials (letter of interest, references, etc.) that were noted above.

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Employment Eligibility:

Regular staff who have been employed in their current position for the last six continuous months are eligible for openings being recruited for through University-Wide or Open Recruiting, to include both promotional opportunities and lateral transfers. Staff who are promotion/transfer eligible may apply for positions without supervisor approval.

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Retirement Plan Eligibility:

The retirement plan for this position is Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS), subject to the position being at least 20 hours per week and at least 135 days in length.

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Background Checks:

A criminal history background check will be required for finalist(s) under consideration for this position.

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Equal Opportunity Employer:

The University of Texas at Austin, as an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer , complies with all applicable federal and state laws regarding nondiscrimination and affirmative action. The University is committed to a policy of equal opportunity for all persons and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, disability, religion, or veteran status in employment, educational programs and activities, and admissions.

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Pay Transparency:

The University of Texas at Austin will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with the contractor’s legal duty to furnish information.

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Employment Eligibility Verification:

If hired, you will be required to complete the federal Employment Eligibility Verification I-9 form.  You will be required to present acceptable and original documents to prove your identity and authorization to work in the United States.  Documents need to be presented no later than the third day of employment.  Failure to do so will result in loss of employment at the university.

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E-Verify:

The University of Texas at Austin use E-Verify to check the work authorization of all new hires effective May 2015. The university’s company ID number for purposes of E-Verify is 854197. For more information about E-Verify, please see the following:

• E-Verify Poster (English) [PDF]
• E-Verify Poster (Spanish) [PDF]
• Right To Work Poster (English) [PDF]
• Right To Work Poster (Spanish) [PDF]

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Compliance:

Employees may be required to report violations of law under Title IX and the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Crime Statistics Act (Clery Act). If this position is identified a Campus Security Authority (Clery Act), you will be notified and provided resources for reporting. Responsible employees under Title IX are defined and outlined in HOP-3031 .

The Clery Act requires all prospective employees be notified of the availability of the Annual Security and Fire Safety report. You may access the most recent report here or obtain a copy at University Compliance Services, 1616 Guadalupe Street, UTA 2.206, Austin, Texas 78701.

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Employment Eligibility:

Regular staff who have been employed in their current position for the last six continuous months are eligible for openings being recruited for through University-Wide or Open Recruiting, to include both promotional opportunities and lateral transfers. Staff who are promotion/transfer eligible may apply for positions without supervisor approval.

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Retirement Plan Eligibility:

The retirement plan for this position is Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS), subject to the position being at least 20 hours per week and at least 135 days in length.

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Background Checks:

A criminal history background check will be required for finalist(s) under consideration for this position.

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Equal Opportunity Employer:

The University of Texas at Austin, as an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer , complies with all applicable federal and state laws regarding nondiscrimination and affirmative action. The University is committed to a policy of equal opportunity for all persons and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, disability, religion, or veteran status in employment, educational programs and activities, and admissions.

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Pay Transparency:

The University of Texas at Austin will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with the contractor’s legal duty to furnish information.

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Employment Eligibility Verification:

If hired, you will be required to complete the federal Employment Eligibility Verification I-9 form.  You will be required to present acceptable and original documents to prove your identity and authorization to work in the United States.  Documents need to be presented no later than the third day of employment.  Failure to do so will result in loss of employment at the university.

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E-Verify:

The University of Texas at Austin use E-Verify to check the work authorization of all new hires effective May 2015. The university’s company ID number for purposes of E-Verify is 854197. For more information about E-Verify, please see the following:

• E-Verify Poster (English) [PDF]
• E-Verify Poster (Spanish) [PDF]
• Right To Work Poster (English) [PDF]
• Right To Work Poster (Spanish) [PDF]

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Compliance:

Employees may be required to report violations of law under Title IX and the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Crime Statistics Act (Clery Act). If this position is identified a Campus Security Authority (Clery Act), you will be notified and provided resources for reporting. Responsible employees under Title IX are defined and outlined in HOP-3031 .

The Clery Act requires all prospective employees be notified of the availability of the Annual Security and Fire Safety report. You may access the most recent report here or obtain a copy at University Compliance Services, 1616 Guadalupe Street, UTA 2.206, Austin, Texas 78701.