Sales Officer

Cancer Research Institute Ghent (CRIG); Gent; Remote; EUR 42,000 - 62,000; Part time

Benefits offered by this job

80% part-time contract for MSc holders

60% part-time contract for PhD holders

36 days holiday leave (annual)

Bicycle allowance

Eco vouchers

Job summary

Ghent University, through its CESPE and Core Facilities, seeks a Sales Officer to act as the main commercial contact for the Drug Product Development, NanoMedicine Core, and HighTru facilities. You will manage industry inquiries, build relationships, and drive new collaborations.

You will develop proposals, negotiate agreements, and coordinate across academic units to advance a broad platform offering while monitoring market trends and pricing strategies.

Qualifications

• Education MSc in pharmaceutical sciences or related field; PhD an asset.
• Commercial experience in business development, account management, CRO/CDMO sales, or BD pipeline is advantageous.
• Strong scientific communication to translate capabilities to industry value propositions.

Responsibilities

• Act as the single commercial contact for industry across three Ghent University Core Facilities.
• Create a central CRM overview of all industrial interactions.
• Identify market needs and generate qualified leads in Belgium, Benelux and beyond.
• Prepare tailored proposals, negotiate terms, and coordinate with scientific teams through to contract finalisation.
• Map and cross-sell services across facilities to potential clients.
• Monitor pricing, competitor activity, and R&D trends to advise facility managers.

Skills

CRM

Lead generation

Proposal writing

English proficiency

Negotiation

Education

MSc in pharmaceutical sciences

PhD is an asset

Tools

CRM software

Proposal templates

Job description

ABOUT GHENT UNIVERSITY

Ghent University is a world of its own. Employing more than 15,000 people, it is actively involved in education and research, management and administration, as well as technical and social service provision on a daily basis. It is one of the largest, most exciting employers in the area and offers great career opportunities. With its 11 faculties and more than 80 departments offering state-of-the-art study programmes grounded in research in a wide range of academic fields, Ghent University is a logical choice for its staff and students.

ABOUT CESPE AND CORE FACILITIES

The Centre of Excellence in Sustainable Pharmaceutical Engineering and Manufacturing (CESPE) at Ghent University drives innovation in (bio)pharmaceutical production, uniting 15+ research groups and numerous industry partners to advance sustainable, resilient, and efficient manufacturing technologies. The CESPE Innovation Accelerator in The Nucleus building on Eiland Zwijnaarde provides a state-of-the-art environment and infrastructure for research. The Nucleus also hosts two of Ghent University’s Core Facilities (CF) – Drug Product Development core facility (DPD CF), focusing on innovations in pharmaceutical technology and engineering, and HighTru core facility, Belgium’s unique open-access academic high-throughput experimentation (HTE) facility. Core Facilities are organisational units within the university that provide access to infrastructure and equipment, along with the necessary expertise and services. To complement each other’s capabilities, the two facilities have partnered together with a third CF: the NanoMedicine Core (NMC) at the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences. NMC specialises in nucleic acid delivery systems, by providing end-to-end services for lipid nanoparticle (LNP) development: production, physico-chemical and biological evaluation. The combined infrastructure thus includes a wide range of equipment used for automated chemical synthesis, drug product manufacturing, spectroscopic analysis, physico-chemical and material characterisation, and biological evaluation.

To support the market uptake of all 3 core facilities and expand the use of the available equipment by actors outside of the Ghent University, CESPE is looking for a Sales Officer. In this role, you will collaborate on a daily basis with the CESPE General Manager and Core Facility & Lab Managers.

JOB DESCRIPTION: SALES OFFICER

As Sales Officer, you will serve as the single commercial point of contact across three Ghent University Core Facilities: the Drug Product Development core facility (DPD), the NanoMedicine Core (NMC), and the HighTru core facility.

Your key responsibilities will be:

• Single point of contact for industry: Act as the central contact for all industrial inquiries across DPD, NMC, and HighTru, ensuring a consistent and professional interface with external partners.
• Customer relationship management (CRM): Create a central CRM overview of all ongoing and potential industrial interactions across the three facilities, enabling systematic relationship continuity.
• Lead generation and market outreach: Proactively identify market needs and generate qualified leads through networking, sector intelligence, (international) conference presence, and targeted outreach to pharma and biotech companies in Belgium, Benelux, and beyond. For HighTru, building new markets for novel capabilities will be necessary, which requires going beyond just managing existing relationships.
• Proposal preparation and deal closure: Support the conversion of leads into larger collaborations by preparing tailored proposals, negotiating terms, and coordinating with scientific teams throughout the process, from initial discussions to contract finalisation..
• Platform cross-selling: Systematically map what each industrial contact already uses across the three facilities, identify adjacent services relevant to their pipeline, and introduce them to the full platform offering. This includes coordinating across multiple autonomous academic entities with distinct leadership.
• Market intelligence: Act as the platform's market intelligence function by regularly consolidating observations on pricing, competitor activity, emerging client needs, and R&D trends, and translating these into actionable recommendations for facility managers to support cost model updates, service portfolio decisions, and investment priorities in an anticipatory manner. .
• Communication and reporting: Coordinate quotations, reporting templates, and marketing materials; liaise with relevant Business Developers within Ghent University for institutional business development support.

Desired education and professional experience:

• Education: You hold an MSc in pharmaceutical sciences, biochemistry, chemistry, biomedical sciences, or a related discipline. A PhD degree is an asset but not required. Knowledge of nanomedicines, formulation science, or synthetic chemistry is a strong advantage. A basic understanding of the technologies is required to communicate effectively with potential clients.
• Commercial experience: You have demonstrated experience or a strong interest in business development, account management, CRO/CDMO sales, or building a BD pipeline from early stage is an advantage. You are able to structure proposals, negotiate agreements, and close deals. Ideally, you maintain a continued connection to industry (e.g., part-time industry employment alongside this position).
• Scientific communication: You can translate complex scientific capabilities into industry-relevant value propositions and are confident presenting at scientific and business forums.
• Relationship management: You have a proactive, persistent follow-up culture and CRM discipline. You are able to maintain and develop relationships across long sales cycles with procurement managers, R&D leads, and scientific staff alike.
• Regulatory awareness: Basic familiarity with the pharmaceutical regulatory context (IND, GMP, ICH Q guidelines) is a plus, given the GMP-adjacent nature of some services that CF’s offer.
• Language skills: You are fluent in English (C1 level or equivalent). Dutch is a strong advantage for Belgian industrial engagement.
• Ecosystem knowledge: You have knowledge of or experience with the inner workings of universities and industrial actors such as pharmaceutical and biotech companies. An existing relevant network is a major plus.
• Communication and teamwork: You are a strong communicator, both verbal and written, and a team player who can work independently in a structured manner within a complex academic environment. You have a proactive "get things done" attitude.

WHAT WE OFFER

• We offer you an 80% part-time contract for MSc degree holders and 60% part-time contract for PhD degree holders.
• Your contract will start on 31/12/2026 at the latest.
• All Ghent University staff members enjoy a number of benefits, such as a wide range of training and education opportunities, 36 days of holiday leave (on an annual basis for a full-time job) supplemented by annual fixed bridge days, bicycle allowance and eco vouchers. Click here for a complete overview of all the staff benefits (in Dutch).

As Ghent University maintains an equal opportunities and diversity policy, everyone is encouraged to apply for this position.

MORE INFORMATION

For more information about this vacancy, please contact Willem Dhooge ( [e-mail] ) Important: do NOT send your application by email, but apply online.