Global Director of Research Commercialisation (Business and Enterprise)

Welcome to HWU

Thank you for your interest in the role of Global Director of Research Commercialisation at Heriot-Watt University.

The Global Director of Research Commercialisation leads the Business and Enterprise Directorate, one of two directorates reporting to the Deputy Principal (Research and Innovation), working alongside the Research Engagement Directorate. The Directorate spans all Heriot-Watt campuses: Edinburgh, the Scottish Borders, Orkney, Dubai and Malaysia.

The role exists to deliver one central change: moving the University from a reactive, transactional approach to research commercialisation to a systematic, mission-aligned commercial capability that converts the University's research strengths, including its Global Research Institutes (GRIs), into measurable economic, societal and financial impact. The postholder will build an entrepreneurial, agile and commercially confident function that takes ownership of its strategic remit and focuses the University’s effort where it creates the greatest value.

Research commercialisation is defined here as consultancy, contract research, intellectual property licensing, spin-out and venture creation, strategic industry partnerships, and working in partnership with Estates & Facilities Real Estate SMEs on the commercial development of the Research Park.

Hear more about the role from our University Secretary and Vice-Principal (Governance and Operations) and Deputy Principal Research and Innovation.

About

Our Heritage and Scottish Roots

Founded in 1821 as the Edinburgh School of Arts, Heriot-Watt was the world’s first Mechanics Institute, born out of the Scottish Enlightenment and the Industrial Revolution, with a mission to educate working people for technical and scientific jobs. Our founding mission, and character of the University across the years has been to make education accessible and deliver tangible benefit to industry and society.

Over the years, we have grown from a technical college to a global university with a reputation for excellence in science, engineering, business, and design.

As we look forward, we reflect on our origins and build on this heritage which sets the foundations for our future and Strategy 2035.

Heriot-Watt University today

Heriot-Watt University is a charity registered in Scotland, with a distinctive multinational operation through its campuses in the UK, UAE and Malaysia, as well as through collaborative activity with partners around the world and its Virtual Campus. Heriot-Watt University Malaysia is a Private Higher Education Institution and subsidiary company of the Heriot-Watt Group; Heriot-Watt University Dubai is a branch entity; and Oriam – Scotland’s National Performance Centre for Sport – is also a subsidiary company, along with Heriot-Watt Trading.

A Distinctive University; A Sustainable Future

Growing from these Scottish roots in the 19^th century, the University remains renowned for employability, for access and inclusion; and for its applied research impact and global reach. The University has an exceptional track record in transnational education with a globally connected delivery model, enabling students to ‘Go Global’ and learn through global teaching teams across campuses and cultures.

The University’s staff and students are the bedrock of its reputation, and it is their achievements in teaching, learning and research, underpinned by our values as a community, that makes the University what it is today. These values – to Inspire; Belong; Celebrate and Collaborate – help us stay true, with respect for one another; understanding and valuing diversity.

We have an exceptional partnership with our students and, as a university community, we care most about the transformational value of education which is accessible and research which impacts on real world challenges and benefits society.

We are thought leaders in sustainability and see that future prosperity depends on us curating a future with institutional, environmental, economic and human factors in mind. As we look forwards in Strategy 2035, we are sharpening our focus and building on these strengths and characteristics.

Our Institutional Impact Statement is the anchor for our strategy, defining our purpose as follows:

WE ARE FUTURE SHAPERS. Our Purpose is to develop leaders to build an equitable, sustainable, and enriching society. Our community will leverage its global presence and focused expertise to provide applied learning and research to transform lives and address real-world challenges.

Strategy 2035

Our strategy focusses on applied learning for life and employability, with research that addresses real world challenges. We are partners, collaborators, entrepreneurs and innovators. We care about sustainability, about developing and educating people who will lead out and make a difference in the world.

Role description

Job Posting Title: Global Director of Research Commercialisation (Business and Enterprise)

Salary Range: Grade 10 - Competitive

Reporting to: Deputy Principal (Research and Innovation)

Key Accountabilities

Strategy and leadership

• Own the University’s global research commercialisation strategy, aligned to Strategy 2035 and to the Global Research Institutes.
• Run the Directorate across all campuses within the Strategy 2035 globally integrated research and innovation business model.
• Set and deliver ambitious multi-year targets for industry income, consultancy, licensing, equity value and spin-out creation, benchmarked against UK HE Business and Community Interaction (HE-BCI) survey data, the Scottish Funding Council's Knowledge Exchange and Innovation Fund (KEIF) framework and international comparators.

Industry partnerships and revenue

• Build a strategic partnerships capability spanning market foresight, bid-building and delivery oversight, forming bespoke teams within the Directorate and drawing in Research Engagement colleagues where opportunities span research and commercial elements.
• Grow consultancy and contract research as revenue streams that deepen industry engagement.
• Support the development of a coherent, integrated international account management so that global partners experience Heriot-Watt as a single university, whichever campus they engage first.

Intellectual property, ventures and the Research Park

• Direct the University’s IP strategy (disclosure, protection, licensing and spin-out formation), capturing fair value while remaining a constructive, entrepreneur-friendly partner.
• Work with the Global Director of Estates & Facilities and the Head of Global Property Strategy to drive the commercial development of the Research Park, occupancy and revenue, and to connect it to the University’s research community, start-ups, investors and government and sovereign partners.
• Provide the commercial infrastructure that the University's entrepreneurial agenda requires, working with the Senior Associate Principal and Chief Entrepreneur, and the Converge team.

Operational leadership and people

• Lead, develop and inspire the Business and Enterprise Directorate across all campuses, building a high-performing, inclusive workforce with clear career pathways.
• Own budgets, cost and risk, and ensure compliance with research, financial, export-control and data-protection requirements across all jurisdictions.
• Embed consistent engagement and IP management across all Business and Enterprise pathways, supported by effective legal, marketing and digital (CRM and pipeline) capability.

Global integration and the GRIs

• Provide dedicated, agile business development support to each GRI, closing current gaps and operating in line with the TRADE (Talent, Research, Adoption, Data and Entrepreneurship) operating framework.
• Work with the Dubai and Malaysia campus leadership to align local economic-development priorities with the University’s global commercial strategy, including country-specific commercial vehicles where appropriate.
• Build durable relationships with sovereign innovation agencies, ministries, free zones and economic-development bodies in Scotland, the UAE, Malaysia and beyond, and attract inward investment and co-located industrial R&D.

Key Relationships

• Research Engagement Directorate: the closest working relationship, jointly managing the ideas-to-impact pipeline with clearly defined and separate accountabilities agreed with the Deputy Principal (Research and Innovation).
• Senior Associate Principal and Chief Entrepreneur, and the Converge team: partners on entrepreneurship and venture creation.
• Global Research Institute Directors and Schools: identifying commercial opportunities and providing tailored business development support for research and innovation activity.
• The Executive Director of University Operations and Global Director for Estates and Facilities: partners on the Research Park, aligning its commercial strategy with the management of the physical asset, and connecting to the wider University.
• Global Operations Executive: a member of the Executive, bringing a commercial perspective to resourcing, risk and cross-campus delivery.
• Professional Services Directorate: working with Finance, People, Legal, Estates and Marketing so the function delivers seamlessly across the University.

Person Specification

Essential

1. Substantial senior leadership experience in research commercialisation, technology transfer, corporate development or venture capital, with a track record of building or transforming a commercial function in a research-intensive setting.
2. Demonstrated ability to translate complex research into market-ready propositions and to structure, negotiate and close complex deals involving IP, equity, royalties and multi-party consortia.
3. Strong strategic and financial judgement, including budget and P&L ownership and familiarity with venture investment and equity management.
4. Excellent influencing and stakeholder skills, credible at the most senior levels of industry, government and academia, with proven leadership of multidisciplinary teams across multiple sites.
5. Outward-facing, entrepreneurial and globally minded, with personal integrity, sound judgement and commitment to the values of a globally engaged, mission-driven university.

Desirable

1. Experience at or with a top-decile research-intensive university and familiarity with REF, KEIF, HE-BCI and international equivalents.
2. Experience leading the commercial development of a research park, innovation district or comparable place-based asset.
3. A relevant higher degree.
4. Familiarity with deep-tech commercialisation and sectors such as robotics, photonics, quantum, net-zero engineering or health technologies, and experience with UKRI, Innovate UK or Catapult centres.

Key Performance Indicators

Performance will be assessed against a balanced portfolio of annual and rolling three-year measures reflecting institutional priorities first, with HE-BCI, KEIF and similar frameworks informing but not defining the scorecard. Indicative measures include growth in industrial and translational income across all campuses and GRIs; consultancy, licensing and equity value; the number, quality and follow-on investment of spin-outs and start-ups; the scale of strategic partnerships; commercial performance of the Research Park; effective joint working with the Research Engagement Directorate; and a confident, commercially oriented culture embedded across Schools and research teams.

How to apply

GDPR personal data notice

According to GDPR guidelines, we are only able to process your Sensitive Personal Data (racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, trade union membership, genetic data, biometric data, health, sex life, or sexual orientation) with your express consent. You will be asked to complete a consent form when you apply and please do not include any Sensitive Personal Data within your CV (although this can be included in your covering letter if you wish to do so), remembering also not to include contact details for referees without their prior agreement.

Due diligence

Due diligence will be carried out as part of the application process, which may include searches carried out via internet search engines and any public social media accounts.

Equality of Opportunity statement

Heriot-Watt University is committed to securing equality of opportunity in employment and to the creation of an environment in which individuals are selected, trained, promoted, appraised, and otherwise treated on the sole basis of their relevant merits and abilities. Equality and diversity are all about maximising potential and creating a culture of inclusion for all. Heriot-Watt University values diversity across our University community and welcomes applications from all sectors of society, particularly from underrepresented groups. For more information, please see our website.