Associate Director of Business Development, Commonwealth Cyber Initiative

Commonwealth Cyber Initiative, is seeking an Associate Director of Business Development who will be based in Northern Virginia and be responsible for identifying, nurturing, and growing industry partnerships of all types for CCI.

About CCI:

The Commonwealth Cyber Initiative (CCI) is a state-funded $20M/year effort calling on higher education institutions and industry to build an ecosystem of cyber-related research, education, and engagement in Virginia.

CCI will create a Commonwealth-wide ecosystem of innovation excellence in CPS with an emphasis on trust and security. CCI will ensure Virginia is recognized as a global leader in secure CPS and in the digital economy more broadly for decades to come by supporting world-class research at the intersection of data, autonomy, and security; promoting technology commercialization and entrepreneurship; and preparing future generations of innovators and research leaders. CCI will build on Virginia's strong base of research excellence, innovative and diverse higher education system, vibrant ecosystem of venture capital investment and high-growth firms, and unparalleled density of cybersecurity talent.

CCI must address two challenges: today's workforce gap and tomorrow's economy. They are different facets of the same problem and opportunity. To focus only on today's workforce challenge is to miss an opportunity to diversify the economy. Today's assessment is a look in the rear-view mirror. Conversely, to focus only on the future economy is to ignore the fact that the basis for that economy is threatened by the workforce gap.

Position Summary:

The Associate Director/Director of Business Development will serve as the primary interface between a defined portfolio of industry partners and CCI, as well as support partnerships and engagement as they relate to key strategic activities of the initiative. This person will identify, nurture and expand relationships through research-based partnerships, connections to research centers, institutes and programs, faculty expertise, facilities and equipment, facilitated working sessions and co-creation activities, fundraising, facilitation of student hiring and internships, professional training, advisory board opportunities, networking events and other CCI activities and programs in response to industry partner needs and interests.

Reporting to the Executive Director of CCI, the Associate Director/Director of Business Development will:

• Nurture and expand relationships with prospective industry partners, often with senior leaders, serving as the primary point of contact for a portfolio of corporations.
• Work closely with a team in the CCI Hub and across the Network comprised of faculty, program managers, and staff to engage industry partners, making links between company interests/market needs and university opportunities, research, and students.
• Lend industry, market, and/or technical domain analysis, insight, and experience (principally related to cybersecurity, as well as adjacent topics including techno-policy, 5G networks, autonomous systems, IoT, and other related disciplines) to identify possible opportunities and value drivers to inform and support cultivation and engagement strategies.
• Identify and shape big ideas in cybersecurity and associated value propositions to create platforms for partnerships that include multiple industry partners, as well as state and federal partners.
• Develop intelligence around and connections to CCI faculty and research interests, capabilities, and activities connections, identifying opportunities that have industry/market relevance; organize working sessions, and effectively connect and shepherd the relationships.
• Identify, shape, and solicit corporate opportunities (including philanthropic) through a variety of mechanisms, including organizing working sessions and co-creation activities with members of the faculty and staff.
• Schedule and host corporate visits to CCI campuses that reflect the breadth of CCI offerings across the network, driving toward tangible opportunities and outcomes.
• Maintain knowledge of technology, research, and recruiting needs of industry, as well as of specific firms.
• Assist in crafting grant applications, proposals, white papers, status reports and corporate report cards.
• Lead the formulation of collaboration strategies and opportunities, as well as research contract and gift agreement review and processing.
• Assist in developing marketing initiatives and stewardship programs with corporate partners.

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree and significant sales/industry experience; or master's or other advanced degree.
• Industry and/or university experience including computer science and engineering, data sciences, cybersecurity, cyber-physical systems, autonomy, information technology, and related domains.
• Experience in consultative or technical sales/marketing, business development, client management, business/research strategy, and/or innovation/partnerships function.
• Track record of professionalism, with strong communication skills and ability to work with and support a wide range of constituents, e.g., clients, customers, teams, donors, and volunteers.
• Ability to analyze data (e.g., market, technical, customer) and lend technical expertise to establish priorities, as well as develop and implement strategies with increasing complexity.
• Evidence as a self-starter who can work independently, and be a team contributor in a complex and fast-paced organization.
• Willingness to travel on a frequent basis.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Evidence of business/revenue growth and/or partnership development in a technical sales/marketing capacity.
• Evidence of productive relationships and facilitation with administrators, key business leaders, faculty, staff, institutional boards, volunteers, and/or donors.
• Previous business development/strategy experience developing progressively complex strategies and using data analytics, technical/domain knowledge and information, and competitive/market intelligence to guide decision making.

Job Duties:

Industry partnership strategy (40%)

• Develop and implement a partnership strategy and models for the CCI Hub and Nodes, aligning assets across the Network against corporate needs.
• Develop and implement cultivation and solicitation strategies, which includes analyzing data, (e.g., company, market and technical reports) to build, manage, and solicit a strategically-relevant portfolio of industry partners.
• Develop and maintain knowledge of technology, research, and recruiting needs of industry to match needs and interests of prospective partners to university opportunities, faculty, students, and assets.
• Assist in research contracting, review, and processing, considering aspects such as intellectual property, know-how, proprietary data, research uses, and gift agreement.

Partner management (60%)

• Serve as a primary point of contact for a portfolio of prospective industry partners; effectively field internal and external inquiries. Portfolio to include average of 30-50 industry partners.
• Establish knowledge of and strong ties to university faculty and staff and effectively discern industry applications to identify and engage prospective partners.
• Use resources, tools, and processes to engage and support faculty and staff, by for example, providing educational opportunities around industry partnerships, organizing working meetings between potential partners and faculty, lending support to discuss and evaluate merits of opportunities, partners, contracting terms, valuations, etc.
• Identify and solicit corporate funds, including philanthropic.
• Schedule and host corporate visits to campuses to illustrate the range of engagement opportunities; follow-up by conceptualizing and preparing grant applications, proposals, white papers, solicitations, status reports and corporate report cards.
• Assist in developing marketing initiatives and stewardship programs with corporate partners.
• Be based in Arlington, with travel, on average, five to eight days per month to cultivate, solicit, steward, and identify industry partners and participate in meetings across Node campuses.
• With direction from the Advancement Division leadership and prospect management guidelines, assist in creating a comprehensive yearly operating plan outlining individual goals and objectives that comply with performance benchmarks.
• Attend all CCI, VT Advancement and VT Office of Vice President for Research and Innovation meetings and trainings, as applicable.

Employment Conditions:

Must have criminal background check to include driver's license check.

Must have an acceptable and safe driving record.

Regional and national travel required which may include overnights and weekends. Must have the ability and willingness to travel utilizing standard, commercial, and/or personal modes of transportation.

Reports to the Executive Director of CCI, with input from the Executive Director of LINK, Virginia Tech's Center for Industry Partnerships.

Salary: Commensurate with Experience

For further information and to apply, go to https://jobs.vt.edu and enter #511624.

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