Senior Associate Director for Licensing and Strategic Transactions

SCHOOL/UNIT DESCRIPTION: Dean of Research / Office of Technology Licensing: The Office of Technology Licensing (OTL) was established in 1970 to manage the intellectual property assets of Stanford University.
OTL evaluates, markets, and licenses technology owned by the University.
OTL's mission is to encourage effective technology transfer for the public benefit as well as generating royalty income for Stanford to benefit research and education.
OTL is one of the country's most active offices in the field of technology transfer from the university to industry.
Our staff, most of whom are professionals engaged directly in licensing, manages over 3,000 active dockets.
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POSITION SUMMARY: The Office of Technology Licensing is actively seeking a highly qualified and dynamic professional to join our team as the Senior Associate Director for Licensing and Strategic Transactions.
This leadership position offers a unique opportunity to play a pivotal role in shaping the strategic direction of technology transfer and industry research transactions within Stanford university.
As the Senior Associate Director for Licensing and Strategic Transactions, you will lead and oversee all aspects of contracting for strategic alliances and other industry research collaborations, as well as licensing transactions.
Your primary responsibilities will include drafting and negotiating agreements, and developing and effectuating strategic, high visibility deals that drive innovation and enhance our institution's technological impact.
Furthermore, you will spearhead initiatives related to industry contracting operations and policies improvements, ensuring streamlined processes and adherence to best practices.
Your leadership in this area will contribute to the continuous enhancement of our technology transfer operations.
We are seeking candidates with a proven track record in both industry research negotiation and contracting and technology licensing.
If you are a forward-thinking professional with a passion for driving innovation through strategic industry collaborations, we invite you to apply for this exciting opportunity.
CORE DUTIES: Direct staff and provide leadership to achieve goals and vision of the organization.
Responsible for hiring and retaining staff, career coaching, professional development and accountable for the performance of Licensing Associates, Licensing Liaisons, and other functional groups as assigned.
Develop and direct strategic plans for organization or program(s) managed.
May develop multi-year business plans.
Identify and resolve strategic issues of substantial significance that affect the overall functioning beyond the immediate unit, consult and advise with Executive Director.
Ensure the effectiveness of the particular licensing unit’s organizational structure and programs to foster success, development of employees and appropriate use of staff resources.
Evaluate commercial assessment of new invention disclosures (initial review; meeting with inventor(s); identify industry reviews; make contact, send materials, follow up; collect evaluation information; make decisions and provide necessary notifications).
Conduct intellectual property assessment: make decisions regarding patent related activities include selection of attorney and approval of attorney bills.
Develop and implement licensing strategy (identify potential licensees, negotiate terms, draft agreements, and close the deal).
Monitor license agreements and maintain close relations with licensees (ensure compliance with diligence terms; monitor progress of licensee’s development efforts and prepare and execute amendments).
Manage portfolio of a large caseload of unlicensed and licensed cases, including financial oversight of such cases.
Responsible for managing relationships with inventors and outside entities, including potential licensees, licensees, lawyers, sponsors.
Work with the Co-Associate Director to ensure that consistency is maintained across the organization.
Advise Executive Director on programmatic and policy development for licensing activities.
May provide input to university leadership on institutional administrative policies and guidelines.
Specific job responsibilities include: Oversee the complete contract life cycle for a large and complex portfolio of multi-faceted, multi-stakeholder strategic alliance, master research and licensing transactions and related industry agreements to contractually effectuate the OTL strategic alliance and licensing program objectives, including development and implementation of contract negotiation strategies in collaboration with the Directors of Licensing and Strategic Alliances.
Mitigate IP, legal and reputational risks by developing and implementing appropriate contracting strategies and overseeing maintenance of a contracts clause library for transactions related to strategic alliances, master research agreements and licensing.
Develop and maintain positive and effective relationships with stakeholders, including department chairs, directors of translational research programs, faculty, senior campus administrators, Office of General Counsel, research sponsors, and legal counsel of external entities.
Oversee OTL responses to requests from other Stanford contracting units for guidance on intellectual property terms in research and clinical trial contracts.
Coordinate with the Office of Sponsored Research, Office of Development and other OTL staff to ensure ancillary research agreements required for successful functioning of licenses and alliances are negotiated and executed in a timely manner.
Advise OTL and campus leaders on policy and programmatic development related to research and licensing transactions and serve on relevant campus committees.
Network with industry and non-profit executives, peers in academic institutions, and professional associations for both licensing and contracting to develop beneficial relationships and gain a broader understanding of industry-academic relationships outside of Stanford.
Other duties as may be assigned.
MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS: Education & Experience: Bachelor’s degree in a scientific or engineering discipline and fifteen years of relevant experience or combination of education and relevant experience.
Strongly Preferred Experience: J.
D.
or equivalent legal experience.
10+ years of intellectual property licensing and corporate R&D contracting, or directly related experience.
3+ years of training and managing licensing or corporate contracting staff.
Successful track record of both solo and team-based licensing and research contracting negotiations involving both small and large global companies with total deal sizes of at least $10M.
Knowledge, Skills and Abilities: In-depth understanding and expertise in industry research contract drafting and negotiation, licensing transactions, and technology transfer processes, including proven ability to independently develop and implement complex contracting strategies.
Advanced knowledge of legal aspects related to intellectual property, contracts, and licensing agreements.
Knowledge of industry trends, market dynamics, and emerging technologies.
Strong negotiation and communication skills, with a demonstrated ability to secure favorable terms in industry contracts.
Strategic thinking and problem-solving abilities to navigate complex technology transfer scenarios.
Leadership skills to drive collaborative efforts within cross-functional teams.
Proven ability to independently develop and implement industry contracts strategies.
Exceptional customer relationship skills, consensus building skills and political acumen with proven ability to cultivate and maintain strong collaborative relationships with faculty and other internal stakeholders, build outside professional relationships, and represent the university externally.
Proficiency in overseeing industry contracts operations and implementing policy improvements for enhanced efficiency and effectiveness.
Certifications and Licenses: None.
PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS*: Frequently perform desk-based computer tasks, seated work and use light/ fine grasping.
Occasionally use a telephone, stand, walk, twist, bend, stoop, squat, write by hand, sort, and file paperwork or parts.
Rarely lift, carry, push, and pull objects that weigh up to 10 pounds.
WORKING CONDITIONS: May have occasional extended or weekend work hours during peak business cycles.
WORK STANDARDS: Interpersonal Skills: Demonstrates the ability to work well with Stanford colleagues and clients and with external organizations.
Promote Culture of Safety: Demonstrates commitment to personal responsibility and value for safety; communicates safety concerns; uses and promotes safe behaviors based on training and lessons learned.
Subject to and expected to comply with all applicable University policies and procedures, including but not limited to the personnel policies and other policies found in the University’s Administrative Guide, https://adminguide.
stanford.
edu.
The expected pay range for this position is $195,000 to $225,000 per annum.
Stanford University provides pay ranges representing its good faith estimate of what the university reasonably expects to pay for a position.
The pay offered to a selected candidate will be determined based on factors such as (but not limited to) the scope and responsibilities of the position, the qualifications of the selected candidate, departmental budget availability, internal equity, geographic location and external market pay for comparable jobs.
At Stanford University, base pay represents only one aspect of the comprehensive rewards package.
The Cardinal at Work website (https://cardinalatwork.
stanford.
edu/benefits-rewards) provides detailed information on Stanford’s extensive range of benefits and rewards offered to employees.
Specifics about the rewards package for this position may be discussed during the hiring process.
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Enjoy free commuter programs, ridesharing incentives, discounts and more! The job duties listed are typical examples of work performed by positions in this job classification and are not designed to contain or be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all duties, tasks, and responsibilities.
Specific duties and responsibilities may vary depending on department or program needs without changing the general nature and scope of the job or level of responsibility.
Employees may also perform other duties as assigned.
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