Business Development Specialist-Wisconsin Reading Center

University of Wisconsin; Madison (WI); Hybrid; USD 54,000 - 66,000; Part time

Job summary

University of Wisconsin–Madison is seeking a Procurement Specialist III for the Wisconsin Reading Center within the School of Medicine and Public Health. The role involves budgeting, creating complex bids, negotiating contracts, and developing fee-for-service agreements for sponsor studies.

You will liaise with investigators, CROs, and internal teams to ensure timely, compliant procurement and contract processes.

Qualifications

• Attention to detail is essential for budgeting, contracting, and reporting.
• Advanced Excel skills required for complex analyses and dashboards.
• Strong communication, negotiation, and stakeholder management abilities.
• Financial and analytical skills including budgeting, bidding, and income forecasting.

Responsibilities

• Implements reporting protocols to measure cost savings, supplier performance, and risk mitigation.
• Prepares business cases, proposes strategic sourcing, and drafts programs for stakeholders.
• Guides inquiries on commodities and services based on established standards.
• Drafts and communicates procurement outcomes to suppliers and leadership.
• Leads supplier research, market analyses, and recommendations for options.

Skills

Attention to detail

Advanced Excel Skills

Communication skills

Financial and Analytical skills

Education

Bachelor’s Degree preferred, business/finance/healthcare administration

Tools

Smartsheet

Power BI

Tableau

Job description

Current Employees: If you are currently employed at any of the Universities of Wisconsin, log in to Workday to apply through the internal application process.

Job Category:

Academic Staff

Employment Type:

Terminal (Fixed Term)

Job Profile:

Procurement Specialist III

Job Summary:

The Wisconsin Reading Center is a core imaging laboratory that works with sponsors (pharmaceutical, camera, and research) on Ophthalmology eye imaging. The incumbent will work directly with investigators, sponsors, Clinical research organizations (CRO), and research teams to prepare and negotiate budgets and contracts. This incumbent will help with business development for the Wisconsin Reading Center. The role will work with sponsors on non-disclosure agreements, create complex bids for potential studies, and develop fee-for-service agreements to submit for legal review. The position will review all billing, both internal and external before processing with finance. Candidates must feel comfortable in a timeline-driven role, be self-motivated, and be highly detail-oriented with excellent organizational skills. This position interacts with many different teams and customers and assists in identifying and implementing quality process improvements to ensure that processes are efficient and timely.

• It is anticipated that this position will be remote and requires work be performed at an offsite, non-campus work location.
• This position has the possibility to be extended or converted to an ongoing appointment based on need and/or funding.

Why Join Us?

This position offers remote work with the requirement to be on-site once a quarter on designated days. We provide flexible work schedules, comprehensive benefits, and professional development. Our team is passionate about making a positive impact on eye disease, and we are looking for individuals who share that commitment.

Travel Expectations

It is required that employees come to Madison, WI on predefined dates. It will be the employee's responsibility to cover expenses for this trip.

Working Conditions

There could be occasional night and weekend events.

Key Job Responsibilities:

• Implements required reporting protocols with suppliers to allow measurement of cost savings, reduction, avoidance, supplier management, and risk mitigation programs and strategies

• Prepares and disseminates business cases to appropriate audiences, proposes strategic sourcing, and authors programs to stakeholders and institutional leadership

• Answers questions and provides guidance regarding specific commodities and service areas to various individuals and groups based on set materials or standards

• Drafts, submits, and communicates outcomes of procurement requests to suppliers, stakeholders, and institutional leadership

• Leads and executes the research of suppliers to understand available products and services, assesses market conditions, identifies supply options, and makes recommendations

• Prepares and disseminates business cases to reduce costs using data analytics and dashboard tools

• Leads the development of complex solicitations requiring creative approaches to evaluation of third party sourcing options in compliance with regulatory requirements

• Leverages national indexes, peer information, vendor information, sales data, and subject matter experts to support development of category strategies

• Establishes and maintains bid and proposal records to comply with record-keeping requirements

• Serves as primary point of contact to external stakeholders, maintains contracts, and negotiates purchase prices to obtain timely and meaningful contract sourcing results

Department: School of Medicine and Public Health, Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Wisconsin Reading Center.

Wisconsin Reading Center (WRC) is a core retinal image reading lab within the University of Wisconsin-Madison Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences (DOVS). The WRC was founded on the enduring principles of intellectual honesty, quality, relevance, innovation, and staff satisfaction. Incepted in 1970 to support the seminal NIH-funded trials of laser treatment for diabetic retinopathy (DR), the WRC has broadened its scope to the evaluation of many retinal diseases, including dry AMD, atrophic AMD, neovascular AMD, DME, retinal vein occlusion, posterior uveitis, inherited retinal disease, AIDS-related ocular disease, and cataract.

Compensation:

The starting salary/hourly wage for the position is $60,000 annually; but is negotiable based on experience and qualifications.

Employees in this position can expect to receive benefits such as generous vacation, holidays, and sick leave; competitive insurances and savings accounts; retirement benefits. For more information, refer to the campus benefits webpage.

• SMPH Faculty /Academic Staff Benefits Flyer 2026

Required Qualifications:

• Attention to detail
• Advanced Excel Skills
• Communication skills such as active listening, clear verbal and written communication, and adapting to various communication styles
• Strong Financial and Analytical skills with budgeting, bidding, and predicting income

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience with sponsor relationship building
• Experience in contract negotiation and management
• Experience in dashboards such as Smartsheet, Power Bi, or Tableau
• Experience with clinical trials, such as reading protocols
• Experience in business development

Education:

Bachelor’s Degree preferred; focus in business, finance, or healthcare administration. Six (6) years of relevant professional experience may be considered in lieu of a bachelor's degree.

Contact Information:

Beth Reuter, [e-mail], 608-263-3680

Relay Access (WTRS): 7-1-1. See RELAY_SERVICE for further information.

Institutional Statement on Diversity:

Diversity is a source of strength, creativity, and innovation for UW-Madison. We value the contributions of each person and respect the profound ways their identity, culture, background, experience, status, abilities, and opinion enrich the university community. We commit ourselves to the pursuit of excellence in teaching, research, outreach, and diversity as inextricably linked goals.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison fulfills its public mission by creating a welcoming and inclusive community for people from every background - people who as students, faculty, and staff serve Wisconsin and the world.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison is an Equal OpportunityEmployer.

Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to, including but not limited to, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, age, pregnancy, disability, or status as a protected veteran and other bases as defined by federal regulations and UW System policies. We promote excellence by acknowledging skills and expertise from all backgroundsand encourage all qualified individuals to apply. For more information regarding applicant and employee rights and to view federal and state required postings, visit the Human Resources Workplace Poster website.

To request a disability or pregnancy-related accommodation for any step in the hiring process (e.g., application, interview, pre-employment testing, etc.), please contact the Divisional Disability Representative (DDR) in the division you are applying to. Please make your request as soon as possible to help the university respond most effectively to you.

Employment may require a criminal background check. It may also require your references to answer questions regarding misconduct, including sexual violence and sexual harassment.

The University of Wisconsin System will not reveal the identities of applicants who request confidentiality in writing, except that the identity of the successful candidate will be released. See Wis. Stat. sec. 19.36(7).

The Annual Security and Fire Safety Report contains current campus safety and disciplinary policies, crime statistics for the previous 3 calendar years, and on-campus student housing fire safety policies and fire statistics for the previous 3 calendar years. UW-Madison will provide a paper copy upon request; please contact the University of Wisconsin Police Department.