Associate Director of Agreements

Job Responsibilities:

• Serve as a subject matter expert and institutional resource for research, technology transfer, intellectual property, and industry engagement agreements. Support the Director of Agreements in ensuring the efficient operation of the department and advancement of organizational objectives.
• Negotiate, draft, review, and manage a broad range of agreements, including but not limited to:
  • License and option agreements
  • Material Transfer Agreements (MTAs)
  • Data Transfer (DTAs)
  • Confidentiality/Non-Disclosure Agreements (CDAs/NDAs)
  • Collaboration agreements
  • Inter-institutional agreements
  • Consulting agreements
• Partner with investigators, research staff, legal counsel, and institutional stakeholders to ensure agreements appropriately support research, technology development, intellectual property protection, compliance obligations, and commercialization objectives.
• Collaborate with external academic institutions, biotechnology companies, pharmaceutical companies, and other industry partners to facilitate productive research collaborations and technology transfer opportunities.
• Identify, evaluate, and manage commercialization and licensing opportunities related to institutional intellectual property, including assessing commercial potential, supporting technology marketing efforts, conducting business analyses, and assisting with partner outreach activities.
• Monitor and administer executed agreements to ensure compliance with contractual obligations, reporting requirements, milestones, financial terms, and other key provisions.
• Support intellectual property management activities, including coordinating with inventors, patent counsel, and institutional stakeholders regarding patent prosecution, invention disclosures, and intellectual property strategy.
• Provide guidance and educational outreach to investigators and research personnel regarding intellectual property matters, agreement processes, industry engagement activities, and institutional policies and procedures.
• Maintain comprehensive knowledge of institutional research programs and scientific priorities through regular engagement with investigators, attendance at seminars, and participation in departmental and faculty meetings.
• Contribute to the development, implementation, and continuous improvement of agreement management processes, templates, workflows, and best practices.
• Represent the institution in professional organizations, industry forums, conferences, and external activities related to technology transfer, research collaboration, intellectual property, and industry engagement.
• Perform other related duties as assigned to support the goals and objectives of the department.
• Maintains regular and predictable attendance.

Minimum Education and/or Training:

• Bachelor's Degree in a scientific discipline or business required.
• Advanced (Master's or JD) degree in scientific discipline, law, or business preferred.

Minimum Experience:

• Ten (10) years of experience in industry or academic setting required with a Bachelor's degree.
• Eight (8) years of experience in industry or academic setting required with a Master's degree.

Preferred Experience:

• Experience negotiating and managing a wide variety of research and technology transfer agreements, including MTAs, DTAs, CDAs/NDAs, collaboration agreements, consulting agreements, option agreements, and license agreements.
• Experience supporting academic medical centers, research institutions, biotechnology companies, pharmaceutical organizations, or technology transfer offices.
• Knowledge of intellectual property principles, patent prosecution processes, technology commercialization, and research compliance considerations.
• Experience working with investigators, research administration, legal counsel, and external industry partners in a highly collaborative environment.
• Demonstrated ability to manage complex negotiations involving scientific, legal, business, and operational stakeholders.
• Experience utilizing contract lifecycle management systems, technology transfer databases, or intellectual property management platforms.
• Strong understanding of research collaboration frameworks, industry engagement models, and commercialization pathways.
• Excellent written and verbal communication, analytical, organizational, and relationship management skills.

Licensure, Registration and/or Certification Preferred

• Registration to file and prosecute patents before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) preferred.