Director, R&D Strategy & Partnerships

Role Purpose & Context

Role Summary

The Director, R&D Strategy & Partnerships is here to define and drive our R&D's future, particularly through external collaborations and smart portfolio choices. You'll be the architect of how we find, assess, and integrate new technologies from outside our four walls, making sure they align with our long-term business goals. This role sits right at the intersection of scientific discovery and commercial strategy, acting as the bridge between our labs and the wider market. If you do this well, we'll be first to market with truly disruptive tech, securing significant competitive advantage and opening up new revenue streams. If you get it wrong, we could invest millions in dead-end research or miss the next big thing entirely, leaving us playing catch-up. The challenge? Making big, risky bets on unproven science while keeping the board happy and the budget balanced. The reward? Seeing a groundbreaking technology you championed go from a university lab to a commercial success, truly changing the game for our company.

Reporting Structure

• Reports to: VP, Technology Alliances & Strategy
• Direct reports: Roughly 3-8 direct reports (could be managers or lead specialists)
• Matrix relationships: Head of Research Alliances, Director of Technology Scouting, Senior Director, R&D Portfolio Management,

Key Stakeholders

Internal:

• VP, Technology Alliances & Strategy
• CTO/CSO and their leadership team
• Heads of Product Development
• Head of Legal & IP
• Head of Commercial/Sales
• Finance Director

External:

• University Research Heads
• Government Lab Directors
• Strategic Technology Partners
• Key Industry Consortia
• Potential Licensing Partners

Organisational Impact

Scope: This role directly shapes the long-term R&D portfolio, influencing where significant capital and human resources are allocated. It's about ensuring our R&D efforts aren't just scientifically sound, but strategically aligned to deliver future business growth and maintain our competitive edge. Getting this right means we're investing in the right technologies at the right time, securing our future. Getting it wrong could mean wasted investment and missed market opportunities.

Performance Metrics

Quantitative Metrics

1. Metric: Speed of Technology Commercialisation
2. Desc: Reducing the time it takes for a technology to move from early-stage research (e.g., TRL 3) to a market-ready product or licensed technology.
3. Target: Increase speed by 20% year-on-year for projects under your strategic guidance.
4. Freq: Annually, reviewed quarterly against a baseline.
5. Example: If a typical tech transfer took 5 years, you'd aim to get similar projects to market in 4 years, by, say, streamlining the Stage-Gate process or securing earlier commercial partners.
6. Metric: Value of External Funding/Partnerships Secured
7. Desc: The total financial value (grants, licensing deals, joint venture investments) brought into the organisation through strategic partnerships and alliances you've initiated or overseen.
8. Target: Secure external funding/partnerships valued at over £5M annually.
9. Freq: Quarterly and annually.
10. Example: Negotiating a £2M grant for a collaborative research project with a university, plus a £3M licensing deal for a new material developed through a strategic alliance.
11. Metric: R&D Portfolio Balance (Risk/Reward)
12. Desc: Ensuring a healthy mix of projects across different risk profiles – balancing incremental improvements with high-risk, high-reward, truly disruptive research.
13. Target: Achieve a portfolio balance where at least 30% of resources are allocated to high-risk, high-reward projects, with clear milestones for de-risking.
14. Freq: Quarterly portfolio reviews.
15. Example: Shifting budget from 80% incremental to 70% incremental / 30% disruptive, demonstrating how the higher-risk projects are progressing through TRL assessments and de-risking experiments.
16. Metric: Strategic Alliance ROI
17. Desc: The return on investment from our major R&D alliances, considering both direct financial contributions and strategic benefits (e.g., IP generation, market access).
18. Target: Demonstrate a positive ROI for all major strategic alliances within 3 years of initiation.
19. Freq: Annually, as part of strategic review.
20. Example: A partnership that cost £1M in annual contributions but resulted in £5M in new IP value and accelerated product launch by 18 months, showing a clear strategic and financial win.

Qualitative Metrics

1. Metric: Executive & Board Confidence
2. Desc: How much the C-suite and Board trust your strategic recommendations and portfolio insights.
3. Evidence: You're proactively invited to strategic planning sessions, your opinions are genuinely sought on major R&D investments, and there's minimal pushback on your portfolio recommendations. They'll ask you to present directly to the board on R&D strategy.
4. Metric: Strength of External Partnerships
5. Desc: The depth and quality of our relationships with key external research organisations and technology partners.
6. Evidence: Our partners see us as a preferred collaborator, actively seeking out new projects with us. We're getting early access to cutting-edge research and co-developing IP. You'll have direct, trusted relationships with key decision-makers at partner organisations.
7. Metric: Impact on IP Strategy
8. Desc: Your ability to influence and shape our intellectual property strategy through strategic partnerships and technology scouting.
9. Evidence: Legal and IP teams regularly consult you on patent filing strategies for new technologies. Your insights lead to the identification of new patentable areas or the defence of existing ones, strengthening our 'IP Moat'.
10. Metric: Organisational Foresight
11. Desc: Your ability to anticipate future technological trends and market shifts, positioning our R&D for long-term success.
12. Evidence: Your strategic recommendations consistently identify emerging technologies or market needs 2-3 years before they become mainstream. We're proactively investing in areas that later prove critical, rather than reacting to competitors.

Primary Traits

• Trait: Strategic Storyteller
• Manifestation: You can take a complex, multi-year R&D roadmap, full of scientific jargon and technical risks, and distil it into a compelling narrative for the CEO. You'll present a clear vision to the Board, explaining not just 'what' we're doing, but 'why' it matters for the company's future. You're able to simplify without dumbing down, making sure everyone from a lab technician to a finance exec understands the big picture.
• Benefit: At this level, you're guiding significant investment decisions. If you can't articulate a clear, convincing strategy for our R&D portfolio, we risk losing funding, misaligning with business goals, or failing to attract the right partners. Your ability to tell that story is what gets buy-in for the next big thing.
• Trait: Master Negotiator & Relationship Builder
• Manifestation: You're comfortable in a room with a university Vice-Chancellor, a corporate lawyer, and a venture capitalist, all with different agendas, and you can find common ground. You'll negotiate complex multi-million-pound licensing deals or joint venture agreements, always looking for a win-win, but knowing when to walk away. People trust you, both internally and externally, because you're fair, honest, and you deliver.
• Benefit: Our biggest R&D breakthroughs often come from external partnerships. Without someone who can build and maintain these high-stakes relationships, and negotiate favourable terms, we'll miss out on critical technologies, talent, and funding. This isn't just about being friendly; it's about securing our future through smart alliances.
• Trait: Decisive Visionary
• Manifestation: You can see the forest *and* the trees. You'll define a multi-year vision for our R&D partnerships, but you're also able to make tough 'Go/No-Go' decisions on individual projects or alliances when the data isn't perfect. You're not afraid to pivot or even kill a project if the strategic landscape changes, even if it's been a pet project for some time. You provide clarity and direction when others are still debating.
• Benefit: R&D is inherently uncertain. We need someone who can not only paint a compelling picture of the future but also make the hard calls today to ensure we're allocating resources effectively. Indecision at this level costs millions and can put us years behind the competition.

Supporting Traits

• Trait: Politically Astute
• Desc: You understand the internal power dynamics and can navigate them without getting bogged down. You know who to talk to, when to push, and when to hold back to get strategic initiatives approved.
• Trait: Resilient Under Pressure
• Desc: You can handle the stress of multi-million-pound decisions, tough negotiations, and the occasional strategic setback without losing your cool. You'll bounce back from a failed alliance or a de-funded project, learning from it and moving forward.
• Trait: Intellectually Rigorous
• Desc: You have a deep understanding of scientific principles and can critically evaluate complex research proposals, challenging assumptions and ensuring the underlying science is sound. You're not just managing; you're contributing to the intellectual debate.

Primary Motivators

1. Motivator: Shaping the Future of Technology
2. Daily: You'll spend your days identifying nascent technologies, forging partnerships to bring them in-house, and defining the strategic roadmap that turns scientific breakthroughs into commercial reality. You're literally building tomorrow's products.
3. Motivator: Driving High-Impact Business Outcomes
4. Daily: Your decisions directly influence multi-million-pound investments, new revenue streams, and our overall competitive position. You'll see your strategic choices translate into tangible business growth and market leadership.
5. Motivator: Building and Leading High-Performing Teams
6. Daily: You'll mentor and develop a team of bright, ambitious liaison specialists, empowering them to excel and grow their careers. You'll create a culture of strategic thinking and collaborative excellence.

Potential Demotivators

Honestly, this isn't a role for someone who needs every project to go perfectly or who shies away from conflict. You'll often be caught between the pure science ambition of the labs and the commercial realities of the business. You'll spend significant time in meetings, sometimes feeling like a referee. The 'urgent' strategic initiative you championed last quarter might get deprioritised by a new executive's mandate. You'll have to make tough decisions to de-fund projects that brilliant scientists have poured years into. If you prefer a clear, linear path where every effort yields a predictable result, you'll struggle here. This role is about navigating ambiguity and making high-stakes decisions with incomplete information.

Common Frustrations

1. The 'Valley of Death' for early-stage research – getting promising tech past the initial funding gap is a constant battle.
2. Political casualties: seeing a strategically sound project get killed due to internal politics or a sudden shift in corporate focus.
3. The sheer volume of complex legal and IP negotiations – they're essential, but can be incredibly slow and frustrating.
4. Managing the expectations of both scientists (who want unlimited resources for pure research) and business leaders (who want immediate ROI).
5. The challenge of building a truly balanced R&D portfolio when everyone has their own agenda and 'pet projects'.

What Role Doesn't Offer

1. A quiet, heads-down analytical environment – you'll be interacting constantly.
2. Complete creative freedom without commercial constraints – every strategic choice needs a business case.
3. Guaranteed success for every initiative – many high-risk bets won't pay off, and you need to be okay with that.

ADHD Positives

1. The constant variety of strategic challenges, new technologies, and external partners can be highly engaging and stimulating, preventing boredom.
2. The need for rapid, high-level synthesis of complex information and quick decision-making can play to strengths in pattern recognition and intuitive leaps.
3. The ability to hyperfocus on critical negotiations or strategic analyses when the stakes are high can be a significant asset.

ADHD Challenges and Accommodations

1. The sheer volume of meetings, often requiring sustained attention, could be draining. We can support with flexible meeting schedules and encouraging short, focused sessions.
2. Managing multiple, long-term strategic initiatives requires robust organisational systems. We can provide access to advanced project management tools and executive assistants to help with tracking.
3. The political navigation and subtle social cues in high-stakes negotiations might be challenging. We can offer coaching and explicit feedback on communication styles.

Dyslexia Positives

1. Often excel at 'big picture' strategic thinking, seeing connections and patterns that others miss, which is crucial for R&D portfolio management.
2. Strong verbal communication and storytelling skills are common, which is vital for presenting complex strategies to executives and external partners.
3. High resilience and problem-solving abilities developed from navigating a world not designed for them are invaluable in a challenging strategic role.

Dyslexia Challenges and Accommodations

1. Extensive reading and writing for board reports, legal documents, and strategic proposals could be demanding. We encourage the use of text-to-speech software, dictation tools, and offer support for proofreading and editing.
2. Complex forms or detailed administrative tasks might be frustrating. We can streamline processes and provide administrative support where possible.
3. Reliance on visual aids and clear, concise summaries for presentations is already a best practice here, which supports this work style.

Autism Positives

1. Exceptional ability to deep-dive into complex data, identify logical inconsistencies, and develop rigorous strategic frameworks for R&D.
2. A strong sense of integrity and direct communication style can build trust in high-stakes negotiations, especially when dealing with facts and figures.
3. The focus on specific technological domains and deep expertise can be a significant strength in evaluating potential partnerships.

Autism Challenges and Accommodations

1. The role involves extensive, often nuanced, social interaction and political navigation. We can provide clear expectations for communication, offer pre-meeting briefs, and support with a mentor to help interpret social dynamics.
2. Sudden changes in strategic direction or partner priorities can be disruptive. We aim for transparency and early communication on strategic shifts, and can provide structured support for adapting to change.
3. Sensory considerations in meeting environments. We can offer quiet workspaces, noise-cancelling headphones, and ensure meeting rooms are set up to minimise distractions.

Key Responsibilities

Experience Levels Responsibilities

1. Level: Director/VP (L6)
2. Responsibilities: Define the multi-year strategic roadmap for R&D partnerships and external technology scouting, ensuring it aligns perfectly with our overarching corporate strategy.
3. Negotiate and close multi-million-pound strategic alliances, licensing agreements, and joint ventures with universities, government labs, and industry partners. This means digging into the legal and commercial details.
4. Lead the R&D portfolio review process, making tough 'Go/No-Go' decisions on major projects and reallocating resources (we're talking budgets over £2M) to optimise for strategic impact and risk.
5. Present the R&D strategy, portfolio performance, and key partnership updates directly to the C-suite and the Board. They'll ask hard questions, and you'll need solid answers.
6. Build, mentor, and lead a high-performing team of Research Liaison Managers and Specialists, fostering a culture of strategic thinking, accountability, and continuous improvement.
7. Act as our primary external representative for R&D partnerships, building our reputation as a partner of choice in the scientific and industrial community.
8. Drive the continuous improvement of our R&D governance processes, like Stage-Gate, to accelerate technology commercialisation and de-risk our investments.
9. Supervision: You'll be largely autonomous, with monthly strategic alignment discussions with the VP, Technology Alliances & Strategy. The focus is on outcomes and strategic direction, not day-to-day task management.
10. Decision: Full strategic authority within your domain, including budget allocation up to £5M for partnerships and project funding. You'll have hiring and firing authority for your direct reports. Major M&A involvement and board presentations are part of the job.
11. Success: The R&D portfolio shows clear strategic direction and is delivering against key business objectives. We're securing high-value external partnerships that significantly accelerate our technology development. Your team is thriving and delivering excellent results. The C-suite and Board trust your judgment implicitly on R&D strategy.

Decision-Making Authority

• Type: Strategic R&D Partnership Initiation
• Entry: Identifies potential partners, escalates to supervisor.
• Mid: Proposes partnership, drafts initial brief, seeks manager approval.
• Senior: Leads due diligence, drafts terms, recommends to Director.
• Type: R&D Project Portfolio Funding Allocation
• Entry: Tracks project spend against budget, flags discrepancies.
• Mid: Manages budget for assigned projects, proposes minor reallocations within project.
• Senior: Manages workstream budget, recommends reallocations across related projects up to £50K.
• Type: Team Hiring & Performance Management
• Entry: Provides peer feedback, assists with onboarding.
• Mid: Mentors junior colleagues, provides input for performance reviews.
• Senior: Mentors 0-2 junior staff, provides formal input for performance reviews, participates in interviews.

Competency Requirements

Foundation Skills (Transferable)

At this level, you're expected to be a master of these skills, applying them not just to individual projects, but to shaping the entire R&D function and its external relationships. This isn't about doing the basics; it's about defining best practice and mentoring others.

• Category: Strategic Communication & Influence
• Skills: Executive-level presentation skills (Board, C-suite)
• Complex negotiation and deal-making
• Cross-cultural communication for international partnerships
• Conflict resolution and consensus building at a senior level
• Storytelling with data for strategic impact
• Category: Strategic Problem-Solving & Decision-Making
• Skills: Scenario planning and risk assessment for multi-year R&D roadmaps
• Complex trade-off analysis (e.g., speed vs. IP protection)
• Decision-making under significant ambiguity and high stakes
• Root cause analysis for strategic R&D failures
• Developing innovative solutions to organisational challenges
• Category: Organisational Leadership & Development
• Skills: Building and leading high-performing, diverse teams (including managers)
• Mentoring and coaching senior professionals
• Organisational design and change management within R&D
• Budget management and resource allocation at a functional level
• Fostering a culture of innovation and accountability
• Category: Adaptability & Resilience
• Skills: Navigating significant shifts in corporate strategy or market conditions
• Leading through periods of high uncertainty and change
• Maintaining composure and effectiveness in high-pressure situations
• Learning from strategic failures and applying lessons at an organisational level
• Championing new approaches and technologies across the organisation

Functional Skills (Role-Specific Technical)

You'll need a deep, strategic understanding of these R&D specific methodologies and tools. Your job isn't just to use them, but to define how they're used across the department and ensure they deliver strategic value.

Technical Competencies

• Skill: Technology Readiness Level (TRL) Assessment & Management
• Desc: Defining and overseeing the application of TRLs across the R&D portfolio to provide a consistent framework for technical and commercial risk assessment. You'll use this to guide investment decisions and external partnership strategies.
• Level: Expert
• Skill: Stage-Gate (or Phase-Gate) Governance Design & Optimisation
• Desc: Designing, implementing, and continuously optimising the R&D Stage-Gate process to accelerate commercialisation while managing risk. You'll be accountable for the effectiveness of this critical governance framework.
• Level: Expert
• Skill: IP Landscaping & Strategic Freedom-to-Operate (FTO) Analysis
• Desc: Directing and interpreting advanced IP landscaping and FTO analyses to inform major R&D investment decisions, identify white space for innovation, and shape our overall IP strategy. This is about protecting our future.
• Level: Advanced
• Skill: Technology Transfer & Commercialisation Strategy
• Desc: Developing and executing strategies for bringing new technologies to market, whether through internal product development, strategic licensing, joint ventures, or spin-outs. You'll own the pathways.
• Level: Expert
• Skill: Complex Cooperative Agreement Structuring (CRADA, MTA, JV)
• Desc: Leading the negotiation and structuring of complex legal agreements for R&D collaboration, ensuring favourable terms and alignment with strategic objectives. This involves working closely with our legal team.
• Level: Advanced

Digital Tools

• Tool: Jira / Confluence / Smartsheet (or similar PPM tools)
• Level: Strategic
• Usage: Leading the selection, configuration, and integration of enterprise-level R&D portfolio management tools to ensure strategic oversight and reporting across all projects and partnerships. You'll define the dashboards for the C-suite.
• Tool: PatSnap / Anaqua (or similar IP Management platforms)
• Level: Strategic
• Usage: Developing the enterprise IP data strategy, selecting and integrating IP management platforms, and reporting on the strength and defensibility of our IP portfolio to the board and executive team.
• Tool: Tableau / Power BI (or similar Data Viz tools)
• Level: Strategic
• Usage: Designing the executive-level dashboarding strategy for R&D, ensuring data visualisations tell a compelling story about portfolio health, strategic alignment, and partnership value for C-suite and board presentations.
• Tool: Diligent Boards / Nasdaq Boardvantage (or similar Board Portals)
• Level: Expert
• Usage: Managing the entire R&D section of the board portal, anticipating board questions, and ensuring absolute data integrity for all strategic R&D reporting presented to the Board of Directors.

Industry Knowledge

• Area: Global R&D Funding Landscape
• Desc: Deep understanding of major public and private funding sources, grant programmes, and venture capital trends relevant to our industry, informing strategic partnership decisions.
• Area: Competitive Technology Landscape
• Desc: Comprehensive knowledge of current and emerging technologies, key players, and disruptive innovations in our sector and adjacent markets. You're always looking around the corner.
• Area: Intellectual Property Law & Strategy
• Desc: A strong working knowledge of patent law, trade secrets, and IP strategy, sufficient to lead complex negotiations and shape our IP portfolio with the legal team.

Regulatory Compliance Regulations

• Reg: GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation)
• Usage: Ensuring all R&D data sharing agreements with external partners comply with GDPR, particularly when dealing with personal data in research studies or clinical trials. You'll be accountable for data integrity in partnerships.
• Reg: Export Control Regulations (e.g., ITAR, EAR)
• Usage: Understanding and ensuring compliance with export control laws for technology transfer and international research collaborations, especially for dual-use technologies. This is critical for our global partnerships.
• Reg: Industry-Specific Research Ethics & Governance
• Usage: Establishing and enforcing ethical guidelines and governance frameworks for all R&D activities and partnerships, ensuring compliance with relevant industry standards and best practices (e.g., clinical trial regulations, animal welfare).

Essential Prerequisites

• Proven track record of leading significant R&D programmes or portfolios (not just projects) for 5+ years.
• Demonstrable experience in negotiating and closing complex strategic partnerships or licensing deals worth over £1M.
• Experience managing and mentoring a team of at least 3-5 direct reports, including performance management and career development.
• A deep, practical understanding of R&D governance processes like Stage-Gate and TRL assessment, having implemented or significantly improved them.
• Experience presenting strategic recommendations and portfolio updates to C-suite executives and/or Board members.

Career Pathway Context

To thrive as a Director, you'll need to have already mastered the 'doing' and 'leading' of R&D liaison work. This role is about defining the 'what' and 'why' at a strategic level, building on years of hands-on experience and leadership.

Qualifications & Credentials

Emerging Foundation Skills

• Skill: AI-Powered Strategic Foresight & Scenario Planning
• Why: The sheer volume of global R&D data, patent filings, and scientific publications makes manual trend analysis impossible. AI tools are becoming critical for identifying weak signals, predicting technological convergence, and building robust future scenarios.
• Concepts: [{'concept_name': 'Generative AI for Scenario Generation', 'description': 'Using LLMs to explore plausible future R&D landscapes based on various inputs and assumptions.'}, {'concept_name': 'Predictive Analytics for Technology Adoption', 'description': 'Applying machine learning to forecast the adoption rates and market impact of emerging technologies.'}, {'concept_name': 'Graph Neural Networks for IP Landscape Mapping', 'description': 'Advanced AI techniques to visualise and analyse complex relationships within patent and research networks.'}, {'concept_name': 'Ethical AI in R&D Decision-Making', 'description': 'Understanding the biases and limitations of AI tools and ensuring their responsible use in strategic choices.'}]
• Prepare: This quarter: Attend an executive briefing on AI in strategic planning or technology foresight.
• Next 6 months: Experiment with commercial AI platforms (e.g., PatSnap AI, specific market intelligence tools) to generate preliminary technology trend reports.
• Next 12 months: Lead a pilot project using AI-driven scenario planning to inform a specific R&D investment decision.
• Ongoing: Engage with industry experts and thought leaders on the future of AI in R&D strategy.
• QuickWin: Start using AI tools to summarise complex market research reports or competitor analyses. It'll give you a head start on understanding the capabilities and limitations.

Advancing Technical Skills

• Skill: Decentralised Autonomous Organisations (DAOs) & Web3 for Collaborative Research
• Why: Blockchain and Web3 technologies are starting to offer new models for funding, governing, and sharing intellectual property in collaborative research, potentially disrupting traditional partnership structures.
• Concepts: [{'concept_name': 'DAO Governance Models', 'description': 'Understanding how decentralised autonomous organisations can manage research funds and IP.'}, {'concept_name': 'NFTs for IP Ownership & Licensing', 'description': 'Exploring how non-fungible tokens could represent and transfer ownership or licensing rights for research outputs.'}, {'concept_name': 'Smart Contracts for Research Agreements', 'description': 'Using self-executing contracts on a blockchain to automate aspects of research collaboration agreements.'}, {'concept_name': 'Tokenomics in Research Funding', 'description': 'Understanding how new economic models based on cryptocurrencies could incentivise research and development.'}]
• Prepare: This quarter: Read up on the basics of blockchain, Web3, and DAOs – there are plenty of online courses.
• Next 6 months: Identify 1-2 early-stage research DAOs or Web3 projects in our industry and monitor their progress.
• Next 12 months: Explore potential pilot projects for using smart contracts for simple research agreements with a trusted partner.
• Ongoing: Engage with our legal and finance teams to understand the regulatory and financial implications of these new models.
• QuickWin: Follow key thought leaders and projects in the 'DeSci' (Decentralised Science) space on social media. It's a quick way to gauge the pulse of this emerging area.

Education Requirements

• Level: Minimum
• Req: A Master's degree (MSc, MEng, MBA) in a scientific, engineering, or business discipline.
• Alts: We'd consider exceptional candidates with a Bachelor's degree and an additional 5+ years of relevant, demonstrable leadership experience in R&D strategy or partnerships.
• Level: Preferred
• Req: A PhD in a relevant scientific or engineering field, or an MBA with a specialisation in technology management or innovation.
• Alts: Not strictly required, but it certainly helps with credibility in the scientific community and understanding complex research.

Experience Requirements

You'll need at least 16-20 years of progressive experience in Research and Development, with a significant portion (at least 8-10 years) in a leadership role focused on R&D strategy, portfolio management, or external partnerships. This isn't an entry-level leadership role; you'll need to have seen a lot, done a lot, and learned from it.

Preferred Certifications

• Cert: Project Management Professional (PMP)
• Prod: Project Management Institute (PMI)
• Usage: Demonstrates a strong understanding of project and programme governance, which is crucial for managing complex R&D portfolios and alliances.
• Cert: Certified Licensing Professional (CLP)
• Prod: Licensing Executives Society International (LESI)
• Usage: Highly relevant for leading complex technology transfer and licensing negotiations, ensuring you understand the commercial and legal nuances.
• Cert: Executive Leadership Programme
• Prod: Reputable Business School (e.g., LBS, INSEAD)
• Usage: Demonstrates a commitment to developing executive-level leadership, strategic thinking, and business acumen, which are essential for this role.

Recommended Activities

• Regularly attending and speaking at industry conferences on R&D strategy, technology transfer, or open innovation.
• Participating in executive leadership programmes or strategic negotiation workshops.
• Mentoring rising talent within the R&D organisation and external networks.
• Engaging with venture capital firms and start-up incubators to stay abreast of emerging technologies and business models.
• Publishing thought leadership pieces on R&D trends or partnership best practices.

Career Progression Pathways

Entry Paths to This Role

• Path: Senior R&D Manager / Head of R&D Programme
• Time: 5-8 years to progress to Director
• Path: Principal / Lead Research Liaison Manager
• Time: 4-7 years to progress to Director
• Path: Consultant (R&D Strategy / Innovation)
• Time: 3-6 years to transition to Director

Career Progression From This Role

• Pathway: VP, Technology Alliances & Strategy
• Time: 3-5 years

Long Term Vision Potential Roles

• Title: Chief Technology Officer (CTO) / Chief Scientific Officer (CSO)
• Time: 5-10 years
• Title: Head of Corporate Development / M&A
• Time: 5-8 years
• Title: Venture Partner / Investor (Technology Focus)
• Time: 5-10 years

How Zavmo Delivers This Role's Development

DISCOVER Phase: Skills Gap Analysis

Zavmo maps your current competencies against all requirements in this job description through conversational assessment. We evaluate your foundation skills (communication, strategic thinking), functional skills (CRM expertise, negotiation), and readiness for career progression.

Output: Personalised skills gap heat map showing strengths and priorities, estimated time to competency, neurodiversity accommodations.

DISCUSS Phase: Personalised Learning Pathway

Based on your DISCOVER results, Zavmo creates a personalised learning plan prioritised by impact: foundation skills first, then functional skills. We adapt to your learning style, pace, and neurodiversity needs (ADHD, dyslexia, autism).

Output: Week-by-week schedule, each module linked to specific job responsibilities, checkpoints and milestones.

DELIVER Phase: Conversational Learning

Learn through conversation, not boring modules. Zavmo uses 10 conversation types (Socratic dialogue, role-play, coaching, case studies) to build competence. Practice difficult QBR presentations, negotiate tough renewals, and handle churn conversations in a safe AI environment before facing real clients.

Example: "For 'Stakeholder Mapping', Zavmo will guide you through analysing a complex enterprise account, identifying key decision-makers, and building an engagement strategy."

DEMONSTRATE Phase: Competency Assessment

Zavmo automatically builds your evidence portfolio as you learn. Every conversation, practice scenario, and application example is captured and mapped to NOS performance criteria. When ready, your portfolio supports OFQUAL qualification claims and demonstrates competence to employers.

Output: Competency matrix, evidence portfolio (downloadable), qualification readiness, career progression score.