Industry Contracts Partner

Salary: Full time starting salary is normally in the range £47,389 to £56,535 with potential progression once in post to £63,606

Role Summary

The Industry Contracts Partner will lead the negotiation and costing of research contracts with industry partners, ensuring alignment with University policy and sector best practice. Operating within a collaborative team environment, the post holder will provide expert advice on contractual risk, conduct due diligence checks, and contribute to regulatory compliance activities.

This is a pivotal role for a contracts specialist who thrives on complexity, innovation, and collaboration. It requires a deep understanding of university-industry engagement, strong negotiation skills, and the ability to manage complex and sensitive contractual issues. The post holder will be a key contact for internal and external stakeholders and will play an active role in developing resources and training to strengthen contract management across the wider research support community.

Main Duties

• Lead on the negotiation and drafting of a portfolio of industry-funded research contracts, ensuring alignment with institutional policy and relevant legislation.
• Provide expert guidance on the costing and pricing of industry contracts, ensuring full economic costing and strategic pricing policies are appropriately applied.
• Conduct and/or review due diligence and export control checks for industry partners, liaising with senior academics and external stakeholders to ensure effective risk mitigation.
• Work closely with the Business Engagement & Research Impact (BERI) team to provide a seamless commercial interface with industry partners.
• Collaborate with Research Support Managers and other colleagues within the College Hubs to ensure contracts are developed in alignment with wider research activity and operational procedures.
• Maintain up-to-date knowledge of regulatory frameworks (e.g. Export Control, National Security & Investment Act, FIRS) and support the implementation of relevant compliance activities.
• Support the Assistant Director (Contracts Policy & Compliance) in the delivery of workshops, training materials, and written guidance for research contracting to build capacity across RSSD.
• Provide authoritative advice to academic staff and senior leadership on complex contractual issues and associated risks.
• Contribute to cross-team working, resource sharing, and peer review of contract activity across the Hubs to ensure consistent standards and avoid siloed working.

Required Knowledge, Skills, Qualifications, Experience

Education and Experience

• Educated to degree level or with equivalent professional experience gained in a research-intensive or regulatory environment.
• Substantial experience of drafting, reviewing, and negotiating research-related contracts, preferably in a higher education, commercial research, or technology transfer setting.
• Proven experience of working with academic researchers and external partners (especially industry) to support collaborative research.

Specialist Knowledge

• Strong working knowledge of contract law, intellectual property rights, and terms relevant to industry-facing research agreements.
• Demonstrable experience of applying full economic costing (FEC) principles and pricing models in a research or commercial setting.  

Informal enquiries can be made to Louise Staffell l.staffell@bham.ac.uk

To download the full job description and details of this position and submit an electronic application online please click on the 'Apply' button above.

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We value diversity and inclusion at the University of Birmingham and welcome applications from all sections of the community and are open to discussions around all forms of flexible working

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