Strategic Partnerships Development Manager

Strategic Partnerships Development Manager – Global Tech / Research Rate: £51.92 per hour (PAYE)
Duration: 12 months
Schedule: Hybrid (Tue–Thu in office)
Location: UK

Role Overview Responsible for building, negotiating, and managing high?value research and technology partnerships. Works across complex internal and external ecosystems to deliver efficient contracting, strong partner relationships, and meaningful research impact. This is not a sales role.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end partner engagement: scoping, negotiation, contracting, integration, issue resolution, and handover to delivery teams.
• Manage a large portfolio (25–80+ agreements per year) across universities, research institutes, and industry partners.
• Negotiate complex contract terms including IP, data use, open-source, service agreements, and research collaboration frameworks.
• Conduct industry and academic research to identify new partnership opportunities and support product/research strategy.
• Build trusted relationships with external partners and internal stakeholders (research, legal, science, people & culture, policy).
• Track partnership performance, forecast activity, and support organisational reputation and impact goals.
• Drive operational efficiency in a fast?paced environment with 600+ internal stakeholders.
• Provide guidance to internal teams on partnership best practices, contract strategy, and research?relevant considerations.

Required Skills & Experience

• Strong background in business development, strategic partnerships, or research operations within tech, AI, or university/research environments.
• Proven experience negotiating commercial or research agreements.
• Ability to work with and influence C-level, senior researchers, and cross?functional teams.
• Bachelor’s degree required; PhD/postgraduate in AI, computer science, science, engineering, or related fields preferred (or equivalent industry expertise).
• Experience with Salesforce or similar CRM tools.
• Ability to manage high?volume, high?complexity workflows with exceptional organisation and critical thinking.

Core Competencies

• Stakeholder & relationship management
• Deal/contract negotiation
• Opportunity & pipeline management
• Project planning & coordination
• Data analysis & reporting
• Navigating complex organisational systems
• Clear written & verbal communication
• Research & industry literacy (AI, science, technology)