Director of Ecosystem Partnerships (Inst Advancement Consultant)

Department-Specific Responsibilities

• Builds and manages strategic relationships with industry, startups, government, academic, philanthropic, and nonprofit partners while implementing existing awards and partnerships and identifying and securing new funding and partnership opportunities.
• Works closely with faculty and university leadership to develop competitive proposals, establish sustainable consortium models, and oversee the successful implementation of complex, multi-partner initiatives that expand IU's research, innovation, and economic development impact.
• Implements and manages the day-to-day operations of IU Inc., IU LAB and IU ARC consortium agreements, including potential agreements such as AnalytixIN, CatalyzeIN, and NSF Engines if awarded.
• Serve as the primary operating lead and point of contact for consortium partners, members, principal investigators, industry participants, government agencies, and external stakeholders.
• Manages consortium governance, work plans, milestones, deliverables, reporting requirements, partner communications, meetings, and performance tracking.
• Works with IU faculty, research leaders, and external partners to design, pursue, and secure new consortium agreements, collaborative grants, and public-private partnership opportunities.
• Leads or supports proposal development, including partner coordination, scopes of work, budgets, letters of support, governance structures, sustainability plans, and implementation models.
• Develops repeatable consortium models for IU Inc. and IU LAB, including membership structures, governance frameworks, intellectual property considerations, financial models, administrative fee structures, and partner engagement plans.
• Buils and manages a proactive opportunity pipeline for federal, state, industry, philanthropic, and regional ecosystem funding opportunities aligned with IU Inc. and IU LAB priorities.
• Cultivates and maintains relationships with industry partners, federal and state agencies, peer institutions, economic development organizations, nonprofit partners, and regional innovation stakeholders.
• Coordinates with IU sponsored programs, legal, finance, research administration, compliance, and academic units on budgets, administrative fees, subawards, contracts, reporting, and grant or agreement compliance.
• Helps establish a cohesive institutional strategy for consortium development, ensuring IU is better positioned to identify, compete for, win, and execute complex multi-partner opportunities.

General Responsibilities

• Leads and implements large-scale advancement initiatives with key stakeholders and leaders in the public and private sector.
• Identifies potential opportunities and cultivates relationships engaging with relevant stakeholders to develop project scope.
• Develops deep understanding of related issues, assets, and opportunities to formulate project outcomes in collaboration with unit leadership and partners.
• Stay current on emerging needs and works closely with leadership to improve operational efficiency based on industry trends.
• Matches identified needs with university academic and operational experts as well as external assets and resources.
• Manages budgets, takes on special projects, and may supervise staff in project operations.
• Serves as a primary point of contact on project needs and priorities interacting with a wide variety of constituencies.
• Develops and maintains systems for selecting, tracking, and assessing projects and their outcomes and impact.
• May provide guidance to lower-level Institutional Advancement Consultants.

Education and Experience

• Required: Bachelor's degree in related field
• Preferred: Demonstrated partnership and business development record, Negotiation and contract/IP fluency, Consortium or multi-partner program management, Stakeholder management working with universities, faculty, government agencies, industry partners, or research-driven organizations
• Work experience: 8 years experience in outreach, engagement, public relations, or related field

Skills

• Proficient communication skills
• Maintains a high degree of professionalism
• Demonstrates a high commitment to quality
• Possesses flexibility to work in a fast-paced, dynamic environment
• Sets and achieves goals with initiative
• Demonstrates a high level of accuracy, even under pressure
• Exhibits excellent judgment and decision-making skills