A cover letter is required for consideration for this position and should be attached as the first page of your resume. The cover letter should address your specific interest in the position and outline skills and experience that directly relate to this position.

As a premier, research-intensive academic medical center, the University of Michigan Medical School is world renowned with more than $700 million in external research funding. The Medical School Office of Research proudly supports our internationally recognized investigators pursuing innovative science to improve the health and wellbeing of our patients, the citizens of Michigan, and beyond. The Medical School Office of Research (OoR) team is constantly striving to enhance the research enterprise, including maintaining an investigator-focused infrastructure, facilitating and diversifying investigators' avenues for funding, and streamlining research processes.

Fast Forward Medical Innovation (FFMI) is a program under the OoR. FFMI is 'fast forwarding' medical innovation at the University of Michigan Health System, nurturing commercialization, entrepreneurship and industry partnerships with the ultimate goal of translating research more quickly and getting more products to market sooner where they can have a greater impact on patients. Fast Forward Medical Innovation offers a holistic approach to biomedical innovation at the University of Michigan, including:

• Accelerating innovation and commercialization of research from idea to impact for devices, diagnostics, therapeutics and health information technology.
• Collaborating with commercial partners via novel partnership models.
• Enhancing medical education by inclusion of innovation and entrepreneurship at all levels.

Michigan Medicine improves the health of patients, populations and communities through excellence in education, patient care, community service, research and technology development, and through leadership activities in Michigan, nationally and internationally.  Our mission is guided by our Strategic Principles and has three critical components; patient care, education and research that together enhance our contribution to society.

FFMI's Business Developments teams' specific mission is to foster and drive strategic partnership activities between external organizations and UM Medical School researchers, as well as UM campus. To that end, the team provides a wide variety of services including strategic partner analysis, partner targeting and engagement, faculty engagement, partner proposal development, as well as follow-up and implementation. These services provide a bridge between industry, private foundations, and governmental communities and people and resources at the Medical School.

The Business Development Professional is the primary interface between external entities interested in partnering with the UM Med School and the Med School's faculty and other resources. This person is the key link between UM Med School and strategic partners across the entire spectrum of partnership activities including prospecting and strategic partner targeting, initial engagement, ongoing development of partnership programs and activities, structuring collaboration deals to bring industry research revenues into the university, as well as post-deal implementation and management.

Characteristic Duties and Responsibilities

• Serve as the Med School's primary point of contact for external inquiries and requests from both external and internal constituents
• Conduct business analyses to determine strategies for partner targeting
• Manage a portfolio of external relationships
• Manage key UM Med School faculty relationships
• Schedule and host corporate visits to campus
• Drive proposal development, follow-up and deal implementation
• Participate and potentially help drive portions of the team's strategic planning process
• Partner with other schools, colleges and institutes at UM
• Partner with "community" organizations (economic development, business and support organizations)

Related Duties and Responsibilities

• Maintain knowledge of University faculty and research interests, capabilities and activities, particularly those of the Medical School and related to healthcare
• Maintain knowledge of technology, research, and recruiting needs of the industry

Supervision Received:

Direct supervision is received from the Senior Director of Business Development

• Bachelor's degree in science or business. 

• Master's Degree in Business Administration
• PhD, MD, MBBS in medicine or life science
• 5 years of experience in healthcare or life science
• Familiarity with the research enterprise at a large research university sufficient to understand and navigate the variety of interested stakeholders, underlying economics, and the unique interests of a university
• Working knowledge operationalizing research projects
• Working knowledge/experience in commercialization of life science technologies

Based on interviews, recent performance appraisals and reference feedback ideal candidate will have:

• Demonstrated ability to perform work reliably under pressure, with tight deadlines, independently and as part of a team environment
• Strong organizational skills and ability to effectively prioritize tasks
• Excellent interpersonal and customer service skills
• Demonstrated leadership skills
• Flexibility to meet changing work demands
• Ability to interface effectively with a wide variety of people
• Ability to communicate effectively in both written and oral format
• Experience delivering presentations to audiences at several levels
• Demonstrated follow-through of tasks
• Fluency with computer software including Microsoft office, Teams, Outlook, Zoom

Positions that are eligible for hybrid or mobile/remote work mode are at the discretion of the hiring department. Work agreements are reviewed annually at a minimum and are subject to change at any time, and for any reason, throughout the course of employment. Learn more about the work modes.

Michigan Medicine conducts background screening and pre-employment drug testing on job candidates upon acceptance of a contingent job offer and may use a third party administrator to conduct background screenings.  Background screenings are performed in compliance with the Fair Credit Report Act. Pre-employment drug testing applies to all selected candidates, including new or additional faculty and staff appointments, as well as transfers from other U-M campuses.

Job openings are posted for a minimum of seven calendar days.  The review and selection process may begin as early as the eighth day after posting. This opening may be removed from posting boards and filled anytime after the minimum posting period has ended.

The University of Michigan is an equal employment opportunity employer.