Partnership Development Manager

Brock University is located on the traditional territory of the Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabe peoples, many of whom continue to live and work here today. This territory is covered by the Upper Canada Treaties and is within the land protected by the Dish with One Spoon Wampum Agreement.

We are one of Canada’s outstanding comprehensive universities, where excellence and innovation thrive! Brock has been proudly recognized as a Hamilton-Niagara Top Employer for eight consecutive years. Brock continues to earn recognition as one of Canada’s Best Employers and one of Canada’s Best Employers for Diversity in 2026. For the second consecutive year, Forbes, in partnership with Statista, also named Brock one of Canada’s Top Employers for Company Culture. At Brock, you will find a welcoming, inclusive community and an exciting range of meaningful career opportunities.

Ignite new possibilities for your career. Break through at Brock.

Post End Date:

About the Role:

Reporting to the Associate Director, Partnership Development, the Partnership Development Manager is responsible for managing Brock University's research partnership and business development outreach across priority sectors. The role conducts market intelligence, develops operational plans, establishes outreach strategies, manages the partnership opportunity pipeline, and leads engagement efforts with industry, government, and community partners.

The Partnership Development Manager is accountable for lead generation performance, partnership engagement outcomes, and coordinating of internal input to advance prospective opportunities within established portfolio priorities.

The Partnership Development Manager will:

• Proactively identify and pursue partnership leads with industry, government, and community organizations;

• Manage and maintain a pipeline of prospective partners, projects, and funding opportunities, identifying potential opportunities aligned with established institutional priorities and research strengths;

• Conduct initial qualification of prospective opportunities using established criteria, including partner readiness, funding potential, timeline, organizational capacity, and potential institutional value, and identify opportunities requiring further strategic assessment;

• Develop preliminary partnership concepts that connect identified partner needs with relevant Brock expertise, capabilities, researchers, and resources;

• Coordinate the handoff of qualified opportunities to the Research Partnerships Officer by documenting partner needs, researcher fit, preliminary scope, funding considerations, timelines, and agreed next steps, while remaining involved in relationship development as appropriate;

• Track, and report on lead generation activity, prospect engagement, opportunity quality, and lead-to-file conversion rates to support continuous improvement in business development activity;

• Represent Brock professionally at conferences, trade shows, networking events, industry forums, community meetings, and other external engagement activities to identify prospective partners and opportunities;

• Develop and maintain professional relationships to support prospect identification and lead development activities;

• Develop and implement partnership-focused presentations, promotional materials, outreach campaigns, and partner engagement initiatives;

• Oversee the integrity, completeness, and ongoing maintenance of partnership-development records, outreach activity, partnership interactions, and prospect information within the CRM system;

• Identify emerging partner needs, competitive developments, and ecosystem trends and communicate findings and recommendations to Partnership Development leadership;

• Develop and monitor outreach plans, lead-management practices, and performance measures in consultation with the Associate Director, aligned with established portfolio priorities and targets;

• Deliver agreed targets for quantified pipeline growth, partner engagement, and progression to active files, contributing to the team's research revenue objectives; and

• Coordinate cross-functional input from researchers, research administrators, commercialization staff, and other relevant units to assess and develop prospective partnership opportunities.

Please note: Occasional evening, weekend work, and travel for business development activities, partner meetings, conferences, and community events will be required.

Key Skills and Experience:

• Undergraduate Degree in a relevant discipline (e.g., Business Administration, Research Management, Sciences, Engineering), equivalent combination of education and experience would be considered;

• Valid G class driver’s license with an acceptable drivers’ abstract;

• Experience in business development, sales, account management, or corporate/alliance development;

• Experience representing an organization at trade shows, conferences, or industry events (e.g., sector-specific conferences relevant to Brock's priority partnership areas);

• Demonstrated experience proactively developing new relationships and converting initial contacts into qualified opportunities;

• Strong commercial instincts for identifying and qualifying viable partnership opportunities with industry, government and community partners and developing a diverse pipeline of prospects;

• Familiarity with research partnership agreement and institutional approval processes, including recognizing matters requiring specialist review or escalation;

• Working proficiency with CRM systems for accurate, timely lead-data entry;

• Excellent relationship-building and outbound-networking skills

• Familiarity with funding agencies and grant application processes relevant to university-industry and university-government partnerships;

• Understanding of research and innovation environments, with the ability to learn Brock's research capabilities and translate partner needs into potential collaborative opportunities;

• Strong verbal and written communication skills suited to a first-contact, relationship-opening context;

• Ability to represent the institution credibly and enthusiastically at external events;

• Ability to prioritize outreach effort across multiple sectors and contacts with limited time and resources; and

• Resourceful in identifying new avenues for prospecting when existing channels are saturated or slow.

Preferred or Asset Skills:

• Experience operating in or selling into a research, technology, defense, advanced manufacturing, or SME/regional-industry environment; and

• Experience developing pipeline reports and using CRM data to inform outreach priorities and performance improvement.

Salary and Total Rewards:

• Job Grade M, Salary Scale ($74,235 - $118,776);

• Target Hiring Range: $74,235 - $85,000*

• This is a permanent position that includes:

• • Health & Dental Benefits: Comprehensive extended health, dental, and vision coverage.

• • Pension Plan: Enrollment eligibility in the Brock University Pension Plan.

• • Vacation: Up to 3 weeks per year, in addition to university holidays.

• • Flexible Work Arrangements: Hybrid work schedule available.

• • Professional Development: Eligibility for the Brock Tuition Waiver Program.

*The final salary is based on experience, internal equity, and budget considerations within the target hiring range.

We are committed to offering flexible work arrangements where possible as outlined in our Flexible Work Arrangement Policy. As a student-centered organization, all employees are required towork on campus as needed.

Brock University is committed to creating a respectful and equitableworkplace. We strive to foster a culture of diversity and inclusion in our work and learning environments. We welcome applications from all qualified individuals and actively encourage applications from women, people with disabilities, members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, Indigenous Peoples, people who identify as Black, African and/or Caribbean, as racialized and/or as from ethnic and cultural minority groups, and other underrepresented demographic groups at Brock and in the Niagara region. Brock also recognizes intersectionality and the interconnected identities, histories, and experiences of these aforementioned groups.

We are committed to inclusive and barrier-free recruitment,and we accommodatethe needs of applicants throughout all stages of the recruitmentprocess, as outlined in ourEmployment Accommodation Policy and consistent with the requirements of the Ontario Human Rights Code.Please contact [email protected] if you require a disability related accommodation so we can ensure your participation needs are met.

Brock University does not use AI Technology at any stage of the recruitment process.

We appreciate all applications received. Candidates that are selected for an interview will be contacted.

Learn more about Brock University by visiting www.brocku.ca.