Partnership Development Manager

Brock University; St. Catharines; On-site; CAD 75,000 - 115,000; Full time

Job summary

Brock University is seeking a Partnership Development Manager to lead the university's research partnership and business development outreach across priority sectors. Reporting to the Associate Director, Partnership Development, you will manage the partnership opportunity pipeline and engage with industry, government, and community partners.

Occasional evening, weekend work, and travel for business development activities will be required to advance opportunities and partnerships, ensuring

Qualifications

• Undergraduate Degree in a relevant discipline (e.g., Business Administration, Research Management, Sciences, Engineering), or equivalent.
• Valid G class driver's license with an acceptable drivers' abstract.
• Experience in business development, sales, account management, or corporate/alliance development.
• Experience representing an organization at conferences, trade shows, or similar events.

Responsibilities

• Proactively identify and pursue partnership leads with industry, government, and community organizations.
• Maintain a pipeline of prospective partners, projects, and funding opportunities aligned with established priorities.
• Qualify prospective opportunities using established criteria, including partner readiness, funding potential, timeline, organizational capacity, and potential institutional value.
• Develop preliminary partnership concepts that connect identified partner needs with Brock's expertise, researchers, and resources.
• Coordinate the handoff of qualified opportunities to the Research Partnerships Officer with partner needs, researcher fit, scope, funding, timelines, and next steps.
• Track lead generation activity, prospect engagement, opportunity quality, and lead-to-file conversion rates.
• Represent Brock professionally at conferences, trade shows, networking events, industry forums, and community meetings.
• Develop and maintain professional relationships to support prospect identification and lead development activities.
• Develop and implement partnership-focused presentations, promotional materials, outreach campaigns, and partner engagement initiatives.
• Oversee the integrity, completeness, and maintenance of partnership-development records and CRM data.
• Identify emerging partner needs, competitive developments, and ecosystem trends and communicate findings to leadership.
• Develop outreach plans, lead-management practices, and performance measures in alignment with portfolio priorities.
• Deliver targets for pipeline growth, partner engagement, and progression to active files to support revenue objectives.
• Coordinate cross-functional input from researchers, research administrators, and commercialization staff to assess and develop opportunities.

Job description

Brock University is located on the traditional territory of the Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabe peoples, many of whom continue to live and work here today. This territory is covered by the Upper Canada Treaties and is within the land protected by the Dish with One Spoon Wampum Agreement.

We are one of Canada's outstanding comprehensive universities, where excellence and innovation thrive! Brock has been proudly recognized as a Hamilton-Niagara Top Employer for eight consecutive years. Brock continues to earn recognition as one of Canada's Best Employers and one of Canada's Best Employers for Diversity in 2026. For the second consecutive year, Forbes, in partnership with Statista, also named Brock one of Canada's Top Employers for Company Culture. At Brock, you will find a welcoming, inclusive community and an exciting range of meaningful career opportunities.

Ignite new possibilities for your career. Break through at Brock.

This job advertisement is to fill an existing vacancy in the Administrative Professional (Employee Group)

About the Role:

Reporting to the Associate Director, Partnership Development, the Partnership Development Manager is responsible for managing Brock University's research partnership and business development outreach across priority sectors. The role conducts market intelligence, develops operational plans, establishes outreach strategies, manages the partnership opportunity pipeline, and leads engagement efforts with industry, government, and community partners. The Partnership Development Manager is accountable for lead generation performance, partnership engagement outcomes, and coordinating of internal input to advance prospective opportunities within established portfolio priorities.

The Partnership Development Manager will:

• Proactively identify and pursue partnership leads with industry, government, and community organizations
• Manage and maintain a pipeline of prospective partners, projects, and funding opportunities, identifying potential opportunities aligned with established institutional priorities and research strengths
• Conduct initial qualification of prospective opportunities using established criteria, including partner readiness, funding potential, timeline, organizational capacity, and potential institutional value, and identify opportunities requiring further strategic assessment
• Develop preliminary partnership concepts that connect identified partner needs with relevant Brock expertise, capabilities, researchers, and resources
• Coordinate the handoff of qualified opportunities to the Research Partnerships Officer by documenting partner needs, researcher fit, preliminary scope, funding considerations, timelines, and agreed next steps, while remaining involved in relationship development as appropriate
• Track, and report on lead generation activity, prospect engagement, opportunity quality, and lead-to-file conversion rates to support continuous improvement in business development activity
• Represent Brock professionally at conferences, trade shows, networking events, industry forums, community meetings, and other external engagement activities to identify prospective partners and opportunities
• Develop and maintain professional relationships to support prospect identification and lead development activities
• Develop and implement partnership-focused presentations, promotional materials, outreach campaigns, and partner engagement initiatives
• Oversee the integrity, completeness, and ongoing maintenance of partnership-development records, outreach activity, partnership interactions, and prospect information within the CRM system
• Identify emerging partner needs, competitive developments, and ecosystem trends and communicate findings and recommendations to Partnership Development leadership
• Develop and monitor outreach plans, lead-management practices, and performance measures in consultation with the Associate Director, aligned with established portfolio priorities and targets
• Deliver agreed targets for quantified pipeline growth, partner engagement, and progression to active files, contributing to the team's research revenue objectives
• Coordinate cross-functional input from researchers, research administrators, commercialization staff, and other relevant units to assess and develop prospective partnership opportunities

Please note: Occasional evening, weekend work, and travel for business development activities, partner meetings, conferences, and community events will be required.

Key Skills and Experience:

• Undergraduate Degree in a relevant discipline (e.g., Business Administration, Research Management, Sciences, Engineering), equivalent combination of education and experience would be considered
• Valid G class driver's license with an acceptable drivers' abstract
• Experience in business development, sales, account management, or corporate/alliance development
• Experience representing an organization at