| Post | Commercial Development Manager, Full-time |
| Contract Duration | 18 Months fixed term contract |
| Department /Faculty |
Learnovate Centre, Discipline of Intelligent Systems, School of Computer Science and Statistics |
| Reports to | Learnovate Centre Director |
| Location | Learnovate Centre, Unit 28, Trinity Technology and Enterprise Campus, Pearse Street, Dublin 2 |
| Salary | Appointment will be made on the Administrative 1 salary scale at a point in line with Government Pay Policy |
| Closing Date: | 12 Noon on Friday 26th June 2015 |
The successful candidate will be expected to take up post by 1st August 2015 or as soon as possible thereafter. Note: Interviews will take place week of 6th July
Post Summary
Candidates are invited to apply for the position of Commercial Development Manager in the Learnovate Centre. The Learnovate Centre, the centre for learning innovation, is hosted by the School of Computer Science & Statistics. The Centre is industry-led and works directly with over 50 industry partners; commercial alignment and industry participation are key to the ability of the centre to deliver economic and commercial impact and sustainability.
This is a senior role, working directly with the Centre Director and a dynamic, multi-disciplinary research team. The ideal candidate will have significant experience in business development and/or marketing roles in industry, preferably with exposure to a start- up environment and an understanding of IP management practices. A team player and self-motivated, the candidate will demonstrate a strong team ethos and an ability to develop and convert strong relationships with industry partners.
The successful candidate will have overall responsibility for managing the Learnovate Centre’s Commercialisation and Business Development activities. This position is responsible for ensuring the continuance and growth of Industry research and innovation collaboration, industry funding and commercialisation activities. The position is responsible for developing Learnovate’s commercialisation strategy, developing new industry involvement, realising licencing opportunities and directing the Learnovate innovation/commercialisation pipeline. This successful candidate will be directly responsible for industry engagement, both new and existing, with the position being a key member of the Learnovate team, working across all the Learnovate Centre partner institutions.
Background on the Learnovate Centre
The Learnovate Centre is an Enterprise Ireland/IDA funded Technology Centre hosted by Trinity College Dublin (TCD). The Centre is a collaborative industry/ academic centre. The Centre has four research partners: Trinity College Dublin, University College Dublin, NUI Galway and Waterford Institute of Technology. It has over fifty industry partners/members. The Centre’s central location within TCD’s Technology and Enterprise Campus provides a dynamic hub for Industry and research partners to apply, innovate, trial and showcase the learning technologies. The Centre is establishing itself as a unique and invaluable industry-led entity enabling the delivery of innovative Learning Technology research and development from research providers to industry in Ireland. Learnovate is evolving into a globally recognised centre of innovation for its market-focused approach to applied Learning Technology research for the benefit of, and with direct relevance to, Irish industry.
Further Information
Informal enquiries about this post should be made to Dr. Martyn Farrows, Centre Director (martyn.farrows@learnovatecentre.org).
Standard duties and Responsibilities of the Post
- In collaboration with the Centre Director, provide leadership for the strategic development, implementation and continuous review of the Learnovate Centre’s commercialisation strategy;
- Work in collaboration with the Centre Director, the Programme Manager and the Research Team to ensure an integrated strategy for industry partnership, commercialisation of Learnovate IP and industry spinout activity;
- Ensure the achievement of the primary objective of Learnovate’s commercialisation strategy in accelerating the realisation of national economic benefits from Learnovate through active exploitation of research outputs;
- Collaborate with the technology transfer offices (TTO’s) across all four academic partners to coordinate Learnovate commercialisation activities;
- In close collaboration with the Centre Director, define Key Performance and Management Indicators (KPIs) related to commercialisation activities and ensure that these KPIs are met or exceeded. KPIs must align with Enterprise Ireland metrics for the overall Technology Centre programme;
- Foster links with key personnel in Enterprise Ireland, IDA Ireland and in other Research Centres to appropriately leverage commercialisation activities for maximum impact;
- Align commercial development opportunities with existing Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland supports and services;
- Build partnerships with indigenous and international industry partners to promote transfer and implementation of new technologies;
- Help guide future research activity towards commercially relevant outcomes.
Funding Information
The Centre has been awarded a five year grant by Enterprise Ireland (EURO 5M) up to end December 2016.
Qualifications
A post-graduate qualification in business, preferably an MBA.
Knowledge and Experience
Essential
- Minimum of 5 years’ experience in commercial development.
- A proven track record of building relationships, negotiating and closing deals with industry partners.
- Knowledge of the learning technology industry.
- Strong leadership style and the ability to interact with and influence individuals at all levels including investors, business partners, and government officials.
- Knowledge of national and international funding mechanisms for technology and knowledge transfer.
- Experience in business development, marketing, and/or business strategy.
- Proven stakeholder management skills.
Desirable
- Experience working in a research driven working environment.
- Ability to translate the commercialisation vision into a set of instruments, and to implement, evaluate and review the resulting activities.
- Ability to decide on the appropriate action, issue directives and monitor subsequent performance. Use dynamic and measured judgment where appropriate.
- A willingness to innovate and implement change.
Skills & Competencies
- Excellent verbal communication and interpersonal skills.
- Proven facilitation, collaboration and influencing skills.
- Ability to operate with high flexibility in a constantly evolving team environment.
- Proven ability to prioritise own workload and work to exacting deadlines.
- Strong team player.
- Experience in using standard CRM tools.
Application InformationIn order to assist the selection process, candidates should submit a Curriculum Vitae and a Cover Letter (1x A4 page) that specifically address the following points in their application.
- Candidates must have at least 5 years of experience in Commercial Development. Applicants should clearly address this experience and how they obtained their knowledge in their application.
- An ability to define and implement a commercialisation vision is essential. The applicant should give examples of their involvement in commercialisation and what the applicant learned from the process.
- Illustrate, through past examples, their appreciation of the challenges and issues of translating IP arising from academic research into commercial realities.
Note:
- Please note: Candidates who do not address the application requirements above in their cover letter will not be considered at the short list stage.
- Candidates should note that the interview process for this appointment may include the delivery of a presentation and may include a test of practical skills.
The School of Computer Science & Statistics, Trinity College DublinThe School of Computer Science and Statistics comprising the five academic disciplines of Computer Systems, Information Systems, Intelligent Systems, Software Systems and Statistics was established in July 2005 from a merging of two long-established departments. With 61 full- time academic staff and over 75 research staff, the School is internationally recognized for the quality of its research and teaching at all levels. The School’s academic and research staff work towards solving important scientific problems in their areas of expertise and the School continues to play a significant role in the development of Ireland as a “knowledge economy” through the generation of intellectual property and by training a cohort of postgraduate researchers who will assume future leadership positions in Irish industry.The School offers a wide range of undergraduate and postgraduate degree programmes on which approximately 815 students are registered this year. In addition, the School offers opportunities for higher degrees by research and there are currently over 200 registered research students in the School.For further information, please visit our website at: http://www.scss.tcd.ie/Discipline of Intelligent SystemsThe goal of the Intelligent Systems Discipline is to advance state-of-the-art use of intelligence in systems by tackling theoretic and engineering challenges through novel applications. The Discipline’s main focus is on computational issues related to perception; cognition; decision; and interaction by, and between, systems and their human users. These are explored through a variety of novel applications in the health informatics, entertainment, e-learning and telecommunications management domains. The Discipline’s key research areas are: knowledge representation and reasoning; semantic modelling; personalisation, machine learning; knowledge engineering; visualization and user interaction; linguistic analysis; vision and graphics.Knowledge and Data Engineering Research Group (KDEG)KDEG, established in 1986, has a renowned worldwide reputation in the research of knowledge driven adaptive information systems, and user centric knowledge engineering. The group applies its research to enable next generation systems and applications services in personalisation, semantic systems integration, intelligent management of distributed systems and networks. It is recognised as one of the leading research groups in the area of dynamic personalisation of multimedia content and services. http://kdeg.cs.tcd.ie/Learnovate CentreThe objective of Learnovate is to greatly enhance the competitive advantage of Irish Learning Technology industry by partnering Industry with leading research groups in Ireland, namely, CNGL/Knowledge and Data Engineering Group in Trinity College Dublin University which will host the Centre, Insight in University College Dublin and National University of Ireland Galway and TSSG in Waterford Institute of Technology. The Centre seeks to greatly enhance the competitive advantage of Irish Learning Technology industry by enabling collaboration between industry with leading research groups in Ireland.Hosted within Trinity College’s Technology & Enterprise Campus, Learnovate provides a unique and invaluable industry-led entity enabling the delivery of innovative Learning Technology research and development from the research providers to industry in Ireland. Learnovate is evolving into a globally recognised centre of innovation for its market-focused approach to applied Learning Technology research for the benefit of, and with direct relevance to, Irish industry. For further information, see: http://www.learnovatecentre.orgTrinity College Dublin, the University of DublinFounded in 1592, Trinity is at the nexus of tradition and innovation, offering undergraduate and postgraduate programmes across 24 schools and three faculties: arts, humanities, and social sciences; engineering, maths and science; and health sciences. Spread across 47 acres in Dublin’s city centre, Trinity’s 17,000-strong student body comes from all 32 counties of Ireland, and 16% of students come from outside the country. Of those, 40% are from outside the European Union, making Trinity’s campus cosmopolitan and bustling, with a focus on diversity.As Ireland’s leading university, the pursuit of academic excellence through research and scholarship is at the heart of the Trinity education. Trinity is known for intellectual rigour, excellence, interdisciplinarity, and research-led teaching. Home to Nobel prize-winners such as scientist Ernest Walton and writer Samuel Beckett, Trinity draws visitors from across the world to its historic campus each year, including to the Book of Kells and Science Gallery which capture the university’s connection to both old and new.Trinity accounts for one-fifth of all spin-out companies from Irish higher education institutions, helping to turn Ireland into an innovation-intensive, high-productivity economy. That culture of innovation and entrepreneurship is a defining characteristic of our campus as we help shape the next generation of job creators.Trinity has developed significant strength in a broad range of research areas, including the 19 broadly based multi-disciplinary thematic research areas.Ireland’s first purpose-built nanoscience research institute, CRANN, houses 150 scientists, technicians and graduate students in specialised laboratory facilities. Meanwhile, the state-of-
the-art Biomedical Sciences Institute is carrying out breakthrough research in areas such has immunology, cancer and medical devices.The Old Library, which houses the Long Room, in Trinity is the largest research library in Ireland, with a collection of six million printed items, 500,000 maps, 80,000 electronic journals, and 350,000 electronic books. Some of the world’s most famous scholars are graduates of Trinity, including writer Jonathan Swift, dramatist Oscar Wilde, philosopher George Berkeley, and political philosopher, and political theorist Edmund Burke. Three Trinity graduates have become Presidents of Ireland – Douglas Hyde, Mary Robinson and Mary McAleese.Trinity is the highest ranked university in Ireland, and among the world’s leading higher education institutions.The Selection Process in Trinity
- The Selection Committee (Interview Panel) will include members of the Academic community together with an External Assessor who is an expert in the area.
- Applications will be acknowledged by email. If you do not have confirmation of receipt within 1 day of submitting your application online, please get in touch with us immediately and prior to the closing date/time.
- Given the degree of co-ordination and planning to have a Selection Committee available on the specified date, the College regrets that it may not be in a position to offer alternate selection dates. Where candidates are unavailable, reserves may be drawn from a shortlist.
- Outcomes of interviews are notified in writing to candidates and are issued no later than 5 working days following the selection day.
- In some instances the Selection Committee may avail of telephone or video conferencing.
- The College’s selection methods may consist of any or all of the following:
– Interviews
– Presentations
– Psychometric Testing
– References
– Situational Exercises - It is the policy of the College to conduct pre-employment medical screening/full pre-employment medicals.
- Information supplied by candidates in their application (Cover Letter and CV) will be used to shortlist for interview.
Equal Opportunities Policy
Trinity College Dublin is an equal opportunities employer and is committed to the employment policies, procedures and practices which do not discriminate on grounds such as gender, civil status, family status, age, disability, race, religious belief, sexual orientation or membership of the travelling community.
Pension Entitlements
This is a pensionable position and the provisions of the Public Service Superannuation (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2004 will apply in relation to retirement age for pension purposes. Details of the relevant Pension Scheme will be provided to the successful applicant.Applicants should note that they will be required to complete a Pre-Employment Declaration to confirm whether or not they have previously availed of an Irish Public Service Scheme of incentivised early retirement or enhanced redundancy payment. Applicants will also be required to declare any entitlements to a Public Service pension benefit (in payment or preserved) from any other Irish Public Service employment.Applicants formerly employed by the Irish Public Service that may previously have availed of an Irish Public Service Scheme of Incentivised early retirement or enhanced redundancy payment should ensure that they are not precluded from re-engagement in the Irish Public Service under the terms of such Schemes. Such queries should be directed to an applicant’s former Irish Public Service Employer in the first instance.Application ProcedureCandidates should submit a full curriculum vitae to include the names and contact details of 3 referees (email addresses if possible) together with a cover letter (1x A4 page) that specifically address the application procedure set out above by e-Recruitment:APPLICATIONS WILL ONLY BE ACCEPTED BY E-RECRUITMENTIf you have any query regarding this, please contact:Eimear Power, Recruitment Relationship Partner, Human Resources, House No. 4, Trinity College Dublin
Tel: +353 1 896 4849 Email: Eimear.power@tcd.ie
| URL Link to Research Centre | http://www.learnovatecentre.org |
| URL Link to School | https://www.scss.tcd.ie/ |
| URL Link to Human Resources | http://www.tcd.ie/hr/ |
