Associate Director of Business Development, HS&T

LINK, Center for Advancing Partnerships, the Virginia Tech Office of Health Sciences and Technology (HS&T), and the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute (FBRI) are seeking an Associate Director of Business Development to support partnerships (including industry, government, and philanthropic) for Virginia Tech’s biomedical sciences/health sciences research enterprise. LINK, a jointly funded center between Advancement and the Office of Research and Innovation, supports university-wide strategic initiatives, program partnerships, and the university’s $550+ million research enterprise and associated technology commercialization activities. The Office of the Vice President for Health Sciences and Technology builds relationships across the university community and with the Virginia Tech’s health care partners at Carilion Clinic and Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C., to address today’s major health care challenges. Headquartered on the Health Sciences and Technology Campus in Roanoke, the office supports research conducted by world-class scientists at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC and across Virginia Tech's Faculty of Health Sciences. Central to the HS&T program is the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at Virginia Tech Carilion (VTC) on the Roanoke campus that has grown its research portfolio to well over $240M in the institute’s first fifteen years. This position is key to the presidential university initiative to deliver innovative solutions that address health challenges affecting millions through advanced research and development programs across VT’s Blacksburg, Roanoke, and greater Washington, D.C. metro area.

The Associate Director of Business Development will serve as the primary interface between a defined portfolio of external partners and the university, as well as support external engagement related to key strategic activities of FBRI and HS&T. This person will identify, nurture and expand relationships through research-based partnerships, connections to research centers, institutes and programs, faculty expertise, facilities and equipment, facilitated working sessions and co-creation activities, fundraising, networking events and other university activities and programs.

Reporting to the Executive Director of LINK and embedded within the Office of the Vice President for Health Sciences and Technology, the Associate Director of Business Development will:

• Nurture and expand relationships with prospective external partners, often with senior leaders, serving as the primary point of contact for a portfolio of opportunities.
• Work closely with the HS&T and FBRI faculty, executive leadership, and Advancement colleagues in Blacksburg, Roanoke, and the greater Washington D.C. metro area to engage external partners, making links between collaborator interests/market needs and university opportunities, research, and students.
• Lend industry, government, market, and/or technical domain analysis, insight, and experience to identify possible opportunities and value drivers to inform and support cultivation and engagement strategies.
• Develop intelligence around and connections to VT faculty and research interests, capabilities, and activities, identifying opportunities that have relevance; organize working sessions, and effectively connect and shepherd the relationships.
• Landscape, identify, shape, and solicit opportunities, through a variety of mechanisms, including organizing working sessions and co-creation activities with members of the faculty and staff.
• Schedule and host visits to VT campuses that reflects the breadth of university offerings, driving toward tangible opportunities and outcomes.
• Maintain knowledge of technology, research, and recruiting needs of the life science and biomedical industry.
• Assist in crafting applications, proposals, white papers, status reports and corporate report cards.
• Assist in formulating collaboration strategies and opportunities, as well as research contract and gift agreement review and processing.
• Assist in developing marketing initiatives and stewardship programs with external partners.
• Serve as liaison to HS&T/FBRI leaders, faculty, researchers, and staff as well as other colleges or departments where opportunities overlap.

• Master’s degree or Bachelor’s degree and related industry experience equivalent.
• Experience in business development, alliance management, corporate partnerships, client management, and/or innovation/partnerships function.
• Previous experience in developing strategies using data analytics, technical/domain knowledge, and/or competitive/market intelligence to guide decision making.
• Track record of professionalism, with strong communication skills (both written and oral) and ability to work with and support a wide range of constituents, e.g., clients, customers, teams, donors, and volunteers.
• Ability to analyze data (e.g., market, technical, customer) and lend technical expertise to establish priorities, and develop and implement strategies with increasing complexity.
• Evidence as a self-starter who can work independently, as well as be a team contributor in a complex and fast-paced organization.
• Willingness to travel.

• Technical, research, or industry background in science, healthcare, or biomedical-related domains.
• Proven evidence of business/revenue growth and/or partnership development in a technical capacity.
• Evidence of productive relationships and facilitation with administrators, key business leaders, faculty, staff, institutional boards, and/or donors.
• Previous business development, business model innovation experience, developing strategies, and using data analytics, competitive/market intelligence, technical/domain knowledge, and information to guide decision making.

Exempt: Not eligible for overtime

Regular

Salary Information

$120,000 - $140,000

40+

February 9th, 2026

Unable to Sponsor Work Visas

Regional and national travel required for the purposes of conducting field research, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship, which may include overnights and weekends.

Must have the ability and willingness to travel utilizing standard, commercial, and/or personal modes of transportation.

Routine Travel or Telework – (50% or more travel)

Safe Driving Record

The successful candidate will be required to have a criminal conviction check.

Dedicated to its motto, Ut Prosim (That I May Serve), Virginia Tech pushes the boundaries of knowledge by taking a hands-on, transdisciplinary approach to preparing scholars to be leaders and problem-solvers. A comprehensive land-grant institution that enhances the quality of life in Virginia and throughout the world, Virginia Tech is an inclusive community dedicated to knowledge, discovery, and creativity. The university offers more than 280 majors to a diverse enrollment of more than 36,000 undergraduate, graduate, and professional students in eight undergraduate colleges, a school of medicine, a veterinary medicine college, Graduate School, and Honors College. The university has a significant presence across Virginia, including Blacksburg, the greater Washington, D.C. area, the Health Sciences and Technology Campus in Roanoke, sites in Newport News and Richmond, and numerous Extension offices and research institutes. A leading global research institution, Virginia Tech conducts more than $650 million in research annually.

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