Corporate Partnerships Officer

University of Toronto; Toronto; On-site; CAD 97,000 - 125,000; Full time

Job summary

A prestigious Canadian University seeks a Corporate Partnerships Officer to establish and manage corporate relationships that enhance research collaborations and funding opportunities. The role requires a PhD or Master’s degree along with 3-5 years of experience in partnership development. Responsibilities include cultivating key partnerships, delivering presentations, and analyzing data to support institutional goals. This term position lasts approximately 17.5 months and contributes significantly to the university's strategic initiatives.

Benefits

Competitive salary

Professional development opportunities

Qualifications

• PhD or thesis-based Master's degree in life sciences, natural sciences, social sciences or humanities.
• 3-5 years of experience in corporate partnerships.
• Ability to work across various stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Develop and implement corporate partnerships.
• Cultivate and develop high-profile partnerships.
• Deliver presentations to promote opportunities.

Skills

Research and development

Data analysis

Excellent communication

Organizational skills

Problem-solving

Education

PhD or Master's degree in relevant field

Tools

CRM tools

Job description

About us

The Office of the Vice‑President, International (OVPI) engages with institutions and corporations in regions of strategic priority and leverages international opportunities for research, scholarship and mobility. By providing leadership on international initiatives, OVPI develops and maintains key international partnerships.

The Division of University Advancement (DUA) promotes and supports the University of Toronto by engaging a worldwide community of more than 600,000 alumni, plus many donors and friends. It focuses on doubling fundraising performance on a sustainable basis; enhancing the effectiveness and satisfaction of alumni participation and programs; building advancement capacity within and across divisions; creating an organization and culture that fosters leadership, initiative, effectiveness, and community; and contributing to an external relations strategy that elevates U of T’s image, reputation and standing along an axis of differentiation and excellence.

The Blue Door is a joint initiative of OVPI, DUA, and the Office of the Vice‑President, Research and Innovation, and Institutional Strategic Initiatives. It proactively engages global industry on ambitious partnerships across a variety of dimensions, offering partners guidance in navigating the university’s functions and the Toronto Innovation Ecosystem.

Your opportunity

The Corporate Partnerships Officer will develop, implement and steward corporate partnerships, supporting divisional priorities and institutional strategic initiatives through a client‑based approach. The incumbent will work with a team to help companies and third parties engage with a range of U of T services, including sponsoring and collaborating on research projects, supporting philanthropic initiatives, hiring student interns, and participating in executive education. This is a term position for approximately 17.5 months.

Your responsibilities will include:

• Accountability for meeting an annual financial target as a contributor to the overall international corporate team’s target.
• Cultivating ongoing, high‑profile prospective partnerships that advance strategic priorities.
• Developing marketing and partnership plans that support research needs and objectives.
• Liaising with contacts across the university and externally to identify opportunities for industry collaborations.
• Delivering presentations to external stakeholders to promote programs, opportunities and/or initiatives.
• Promoting the use of institutional resources through industry collaborations.
• Planning, executing, and following up on international business development missions to cultivate and land corporate partnerships.
• Gathering information about other research and/or technical facilities and relevant industries; liaising with academic units and stakeholders to support research funding initiatives.
• Conducting detailed analysis of grant application policy to maximize research funding. Producing detailed statistical reports and analysis on facilities utilisation, planning and revenue generation/spending to support decision making.
• Stewarding relationships with existing corporate partners to ensure ongoing accountability and further development of the partnership.
• Updating and maintaining the Blue Door web portal.
• Supporting the ongoing tracking of Blue Door corporate engagements through a client relationship management platform.

Qualifications

Essential Qualifications

• A PhD or thesis‑based Master’s degree in life sciences, natural sciences, social sciences or humanities, or a similar field; or an acceptable combination of equivalent experience.
• 3‑5 years of demonstrated experience in:
• Research and development in life sciences, natural sciences, social sciences or humanities.
• Identifying, cultivating and stewarding funded research partnerships with corporations or individuals engaged in advanced research.
• Ability to liaise successfully with faculty members and a spectrum of corporate partners, foundations, government funding agencies and NGOs.
• Ability to extract meaningful data from vast and diverse datasets.
• Outstanding ability to speak and write clearly and persuasively.
• Active listening skills to partners, donors and faculty with a technical focus, identifying areas of common interest and articulating a compelling case for the University of Toronto.
• Exceptional organisational skills and motivation of cross‑functional teams, faculty and external advocates.
• Appreciation for new technologies, interdisciplinary research and their societal role.
• Proven ability to work collegially across the university and corporate organisations, with academic administrators, principal investigators, advancement professionals and other constituencies.
• Excellent analytical skills, ability to analyse data, and creative problem‑solving.
• Excellent judgement and superior planning and time‑management skills, with the ability to execute and complete multiple tasks under pressure and within deadlines.

Assets (Non‑essential)

• Experience in business development, marketing, strategic planning or management consulting.
• Experience using commercial CRM tools.

To be successful in this role you will be:

NOTE: This is a term position until August 2027 with periodic travel to be expected 2 – 4 times per year.

Job details

Closing Date: 01/16/2026, 11:59PM ET
Employee Group: USW
Appointment Type: Budget – Term
Schedule: Full‑Time
Pay Scale Group & Hiring Zone: USW Pay Band 15 – $97,348 with an annual step progression to a maximum of $124,491. Pay scale and job class assignment is subject to determination pursuant to the Job Evaluation/Pay Equity Maintenance Protocol.
Job Category: Administrative / Managerial
Recruiter: Blythe Campbell

Lived Experience Statement

Candidates who are members of Indigenous, Black, racialised and 2SLGBTQ+ communities, persons with disabilities, and other equity‑deserving groups are encouraged to apply, and their lived experience shall be taken into consideration as applicable to the posted position.

Diversity Statement

The University of Toronto embraces diversity and is building a culture of belonging that increases our capacity to effectively address and serve the interests of our global community. We strongly encourage applications from Indigenous Peoples, Black and racialised persons, women, persons with disabilities, and people of diverse sexual and gender identities. We value applicants who have demonstrated a commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion and recognize that diverse perspectives, experiences, and expertise are essential to strengthening our academic mission.
As part of your application, you will be asked to complete a brief Diversity Survey. This survey is voluntary. Any information directly related to you is confidential and cannot be accessed by search committees or human resources staff. Results will be aggregated for institutional planning purposes. For more information, please see http://uoft.me/UP.

Accessibility Statement

The University strives to be an equitable and inclusive community, and proactively seeks to increase diversity among its members. Our values regarding equity and diversity are linked with our unwavering commitment to excellence in the pursuit of our academic mission.
The University is committed to the principles of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA). As such, we strive to make our recruitment, assessment and selection processes as accessible as possible and provide accommodations as required for applicants with disabilities.
If you require any accommodations at any point during the application and hiring process, please contact [e-mail].