RECRUITMENT PACK

This document includes the following information:

 Job Description
 Person Specification
 Additional information

Making an application:
When completing the on-line application form you will be asked to answer questions to help you demonstrate how
you meet the requirements of the post. Your answers will be used at the shortlisting and interview stages of the
recruitment process. We therefore recommend that you take a copy of this recruitment pack to help with your
preparation.

NOTE: You don’t have to answer the questions in one attempt, but can save your incomplete application and
return to it at another time. You may want to draft your answers using Microsoft Word and then copy your text into
the application form. Please be aware that formatting (e.g. underline, bold, bulleting) will be lost in this process. If
you are using an Apple product you will need to use an alternative web browser to Safari such as Google Chrome.

 Links to Guidance Notes and Frequently Asked Questions can be found on the Search Results page. These
pages will open in a new window.
 We recommend that you take a copy of this recruitment pack to help with your preparation.

Our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

The diversity of our community is more than where our staff and students come from. More than 1000 of our staff
and students identify as LGBTQ+, more than 1,300 have declared a disability and many members of our community
follow a religion or belief.
We recognise the value that diversity brings and so we want to recruit, develop, retain and motivate an increasingly
diverse workforce. We also want to attract people who will be good citizens, who will contribute to the life of the
University and whose behaviour will have a positive impact on those around them.

Our Strategy sets out how we will do this through the delivery of a fair and supportive working environment for all.

The University of Essex is proud to be part of the Disability Confident scheme and is committed to supporting
diversity and equality, representative of our inclusive community. As part of our commitment to this scheme any
candidate who has a disability and meets all the essential criteria for the role will be offered an interview. We
also work in partnership with national disability organisation AccessAble who provide detailed online access
guides to many of our campus buildings and facilities which you may find useful.

Please note: We are only accepting on-line applications for this post. However, if you have a disability that makes
it difficult for you to provide us with information in this way, please contact resourcing@essex.ac.uk for help.

Closing Date: 11 June 2023

Interviews are planned for: Week commencing 03 July 2023

We are currently conducting some interviews remotely via video link. The format will be confirmed in the invite to
interview.

Expected start date: As soon as possible

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 JOB DESCRIPTION – Job ref REQ07442

Job Title and Grade: Technology Transfer Officer

Grade 8

Contract: Permanent, Full-time (Part-time working 28.8 hours per

week, 0.8FTE considered)

A job share arrangement for this post can be considered

(see General information)
Hours: Your hours of work are as required to perform the duties of
your role, for a full-time employee this is normally 36 hours
per week.

Salary: £36,333 – £43,155 per annum (pro-rata for part-time)

Department/Section: Research and Enterprise Office

Responsible to: Director Research and Enterprise

Reports on a day to day basis to: Head of Knowledge Exchange

Purpose of job: The Technology Transfer Officer is a new developmental

role that has been established to manage and grow the
commercialisation of academic research outputs to create
impact for the benefit of society and the economy. The
postholder will be part of the Knowledge Exchange Team
and is responsible for the University’s IPR, including patent
portfolio protection and will support any resultant
commercialisation activities. Applicants are expected to
have either a legal understanding of IPR and/or
commercialisation of academic IPR.

Duties of the Post:

The main duties of the post will include:

1. Being the key contact for commercialisation activities, liaising with academic inventors and
colleagues within the Enterprise team.
2. Encouraging academics to engage in innovation and commercialisation activities, providing
guidance and expertise.
3. Understanding areas of high research impact potential, while using initiative to identify
opportunities for impact and income generation through commercialisation of IPR.
4. Building on the pipeline of commercialisation projects through proactively managing new
projects from invention disclosure to deal completion whilst liaising with senior colleagues.
5. Following current University processes for the disclosure and commercialisation of IPR,
supporting process developments and leading on customer service delivery.
6. Progressing the due diligence of research outputs to determine alignment with patentability
and commercial transactions.
7. Taking an active role in the negotiation of commercial terms for licensing, co-development or
spin-out creation.
8. Identifying, analysing and developing opportunities that can follow through to the creation of
early-stage University spin-out companies, providing guidance to academic founders, working
closely with investors and producing robust business cases to support this.
9. Providing ongoing management of license and revenue share agreements to the benefit of all
parties.

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 10. Building and maintaining effective relationships with partner organisations including liaising
with patent attorneys, funding bodies, consultants, entrepreneurs and other research
organisations.
11. Engaging with external organisations and horizon-scanning for commercialisation
opportunities.
12. Navigating a complex commercialisation landscape, and analysing and applying market
research findings.
13. Utilising project management skills to ensure all IPR related opportunities are capitalised on,
alongside the relevant Knowledge Exchange Manager.
14. Taking a broad approach to commercialisation with a view to leveraging the University’s
research outputs/inventions, thinking creatively about potential commercial application(s).
15. Taking a lead role in supporting the completion and submission of relevant internal and
external funding applications, including the development of proof-of-concept.
16. Progressing and implementing a strategy for patent prosecution, aligning key technical
development milestones with commercialisation objectives.
17. Providing ongoing project appraisal and IPR audits, reporting progress and outcomes in clear
and concise documentation to University committees as required.
18. Working with Enterprise team colleagues to support the delivery and promotion of the
University’s internal accelerator training programme and Enterprise Project Fund to support
the exploitation of commercialisation opportunities.
19. Contributing to the preparation of Knowledge Exchange management information and related
annual returns (e.g., HEBCI, KEF and KE Concordat).

Any other duties as may be assigned from time to time by the Director of Research and Enterprise or
their nominee.

These duties are a guide to the work that the post holder will initially be required to undertake.
They may be changed from time to time to meet changing circumstances.

Terms of Appointment:

For a full description of the terms of appointment for this post please visit our website.

May 2023

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 PERSON SPECIFICATION

JOB TITLE: Technology Transfer Officer

Qualifications /Training

Essential Desirable
 Educated to degree level, or equivalent experience ☒ ☐
 Postgraduate research degree or business qualifications (e.g., CIPA,
☐ ☒
MBA)

Experience/Knowledge

Essential Desirable
 Demonstrable project management experience, preferably in
☒ ☐
technology or business development
 Evidence of working on multiple projects with differing priorities and
☒ ☐
timelines
 An understanding of the patent process ☒ ☐
 Experience of supporting transactions, preferably in relation to
☒ ☐
Intellectual Property
 Experience of supporting a portfolio of Intellectual Property assets
☒ ☐
and/or an understanding of the commercialisation process
 An understanding of developing bids or technical proposals ☒ ☐
 An understanding of developing a business case ☒ ☐
 Knowledge of an academic research and/or commercial R&D
☐ ☒
environment
 A scientific or technical understanding of one or more of the
following fields: life sciences, physical sciences, electronic ☐ ☒
engineering or informatics.
 Experience of working in or with the Higher Education sector ☐ ☒

Skills/Abilities

Essential Desirable
 Analytical skills preferably in commercial opportunity appraisal ☒ ☐
 Good communication skills both written and oral, with ability to
produce clear, concise work for use in reports and promotional ☒ ☐
literature.
 Ability to work with a wide range of people, demonstrating tact and
diplomacy and a proactive approach to problem solving and ☒ ☐
partnership development
 Excellent organisational and time management skills with attention
☒ ☐
to detail
 Ability to co-ordinate tasks with other team members and to provide
☒ ☐
mentorship for colleagues as required.
 Ability to use systems to track workflow (e.g., CRM and Inteum) ☒ ☐
 Ability to establish priorities, balance workloads and meet deadlines ☒ ☐
 Willingness to upskill and bridge any knowledge gaps in IP and/or
☒ ☐
commercialisation, as relevant
 A high level of IT skills, including experience of Microsoft Office
programmes. Microsoft PowerPoint, Excel & Word and increasingly ☒ ☐
Teams

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Other

Essential Desirable
 Ability to meet the requirements of UK ‘right to work’ legislation* ☒ ☐
 Ability to attend meetings at company / partners sites and to work
☒ ☐
outside normal office hours if required

* In accordance with Home Office guidance and the Asylum, Immigration and Nationality Act 2006 the
University of Essex has a responsibility to ensure all employees are eligible to work in the UK. Prior to
commencing employment, the successful candidate will be asked to provide documentary evidence to
this effect. For those who do not have a right to work in the UK, the University is a UKVI licensed
sponsor and may be able to provide sponsorship to successful candidates who are offered skilled
roles and meet the eligibility criteria. Further information about UK immigration requirements and
working in the UK can be found on the Home Office website www.gov.uk/skilled-worker-visa

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 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Research and Enterprise Office

You can find more information about the department on our website: http://www.essex.ac.uk/reo/

General information

This role is a permanent, full-time post however applications for part-time working 0.8FTE, 28.8
hours per week will be considered.

A job share arrangement for this role can be considered. Please provide details on your
application of which hours and days you are available to work.

Please note that continuation of a job share arrangement is dependent on there being two
people available to undertake the arrangement.

Informal enquiries may be made to Stephanie Humphries, Acting Head of Knowledge Exchange, (E-
mail: keadmin@essex.ac.uk). However, all applications must be made online.

At the time of a job offer, the possibility of hybrid working, will be discussed and
considered on an individual basis, but you will be required to be based within the
UK.

Our Strategy

Please find a link to the University of Essex Strategy webpages below:

https://www.essex.ac.uk/about/university-strategy

Pay and benefits

We advertise our salaries on a range to indicate the trajectory of progression that can be made.
Appointments are usually made at the start of the salary range. The university salary structure
includes automatic pay progression within the published grades, subject to service and
performance. In addition to this, there are performance related annual pay review schemes in place.

As an employer we offer a range of benefits and a commitment to career development and equal
opportunities in an environment that both reflects and creates a rich interaction of people, disciplines
and ideas.

 Pension scheme
 Generous holiday entitlement
 Competitive salaries
 Training and development
 Family friendly policies
 On campus childcare facilities, for more information visit www.wivenhoeparkdaynursery.co.uk
 Relocation support package for qualifying staff
 Interest free season ticket loan
 Range of optional salary exchange tax benefits (pension and bicycle schemes)

Staff communities, networks and forums

We are proud to have a number of staff Networks including: Access Forum, Black Asian and Minority
Ethnic community Staff Forum, Essex Women's Network, Global Forum, LGBTQ+ and Allies
Community and Parent's Support Network.
Our Colchester campus based Faith Centre hosts regular services, meetings and events organised by
our chaplains and faith representatives.
This document is produced by:

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Resourcing Team
People & Culture
University of Essex
Wivenhoe Park
Colchester CO4 3SQ
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0)1206 876559
Email: resourcing@essex.ac.uk
Last updated: May 2023