Position and hierarchical reporting
Senior Manager Business Development. Reporting to the Director, in the start-up phase to the Chairman of the Supervisory Board
Location
Turin with flexibility to travel (50%)
Role
The Business Development Manager will be responsible for identifying and developing industry partners and new growth opportunities for the Institute, as well as overseeing strategic relationships and innovative initiatives aimed at expanding the Foundation’s activities.
Description AI4I
Based in Turin, Italy, the Italian Center for Artificial Intelligence plays a key role in the study and dissemination of applied AI techniques and methodologies in various productive sectors, starting with automotive and aerospace.
The Institute aims to create an integrated research and innovation infrastructure that, through investment from public and private partners, can develop knowledge and expertise on AI, expanding the Institute areas of activity to other industries, from advanced mechanics to healthcare, to financial services.
Responsibilities
- Making the Institute an attractive hub for investment in research and technology development in the field of artificial intelligence.
- Generating and managing the Institute strategy on the industrial collaborations and contracts front, developing leads and research contracts with private counterparts, in collaboration with AI4I research units.
- Ensuring portfolio management of collaborations and industrial contracts and partner retention (Client Management).
- Defining the Foundation’s go-to-market strategy, both concerning the business model to be developed and pricing schemes, and intellectual property rights (IP) management.
- Reading market trends and feedback from industry targets to develop new strategic and revenue-generating opportunities for the Institute.
- Developing and maintaining an extensive network of collaborations between the Institute and leading national and international companies and research centers working in the field of artificial intelligence.
- Identifying potential lines of service and product development (potential innovative start-ups included) of the Institute internal expertise, and related industrial research projects and ensure their implementation.
- The selected person will have business management responsibilities, covering all reporting, scheduling and forecasting functions related to the performance of the role.
Main stakeholders
- The role will initiate the Institute activities, interacting with all major administrative and scientific functions. Interaction with the management and the Institute research units forms an essential basis for the design of AI4I’s market strategies.
- In addition, the role will be responsible for establishing scientific and technological collaboration relationships with leading national and international companies, as well as activating research projects and lines of industrial development.
- In addition, the role will have constant liaison with the Chairman and the Supervisory Board, given the responsibility for strategic development activities. These include managing relationships with institutions and enterprises, supervising growth projects, and executing development strategies.
Profile
- The ideal candidate is a professional with a master’s degree in Information Engineering (IT) or related disciplines, with a strong interest in the field of artificial intelligence. The candidate, on the one hand, must have at least 5 years of experience in research and technology development in the automotive or aerospace sector, gained in national and international research centers. In addition, he/she must have solid experience in business development, including defining, evaluating and executing business strategies.
- The role will manage any issues related to: (i) Creation and management of collaborative relationships with domestic and foreign companies operating in the automotive and aerospace sectors, creating a portfolio of the Institute contracts and supporting their growth in number and value; (ii) Technical and economic evaluation of industrial research projects; (iii) Evaluation, in collaboration with the units dedicated to the construction of KPIs and indicators, of the performance of the Institute research units, with particular reference to industrial impact; (iii) Issuance of appropriate opinions and functional insights for the proper setting and execution of the Institute operational activity, with particular reference to the lines of development likely to generate industrial impact; (IV) Support to the presidency in managing relations with institutions; (V) Constant analysis of the demand for technological development in the field of AI; (VI) Search for strategic collaborations and development of projects aimed at strengthening the Institute internal competencies.
- Professional experience, including experience related to resource management and coordination, gained in professional settings of national and international relevance, is required.
Key Competencies
- Proactive personality, excellent communication and interpersonal skills, willingness to travel
- Demonstrated ability to manage both academic and corporate research projects, within domestic and foreign universities and research centers; proven experience in applied research, preferably in the automotive and aerospace sectors, with particular reference to the application of AI techniques and methodologies.
- Mastery of technical concepts and tools in the field of artificial intelligence, gained through application experience, preferably in the automotive or aerospace sectors;
- Experience gained in business management and development, business plan drafting and implementation, and budget preparation, evaluation, and management;
- Experience gained in dynamic (start-up) environments, ideally in the automotive or aerospace sectors;
- Ability to manage the administrative component of business development activities, with particular reference to financial reporting, customer opportunity management, and contractual closures.
- Ability to manage relations between business and public administration, in the context of co-investment of industrial and research projects presented by national and international companies.
Personal Characteristics
- Strategic vision and team management skills;
- Professional with a solid scientific and technological background, highly motivated to contribute to the strategic development of the Foundation through the definition and effective implementation of key operational processes related to the area of Business Development and Strategic Partnerships of the institution.
- Proactivity and a result-oriented approach, ability to establish collaborative relationships, solution-finding orientation
- Ability to manage and implement processes and activities related to the areas of expertise mentioned above with effective autonomy.
- Accuracy and analytical skills.
- Communication and problem-solving skills.
- Ability to organize activities and manage priorities.
- Aptitude for working in multicultural and challenging environments.
- Excellent knowledge of English.
