Chief Operating Officer

About the job

The Opportunity:
A superb opportunity has arisen for an exceptional Chief Operating Officer who will provide the leadership, strategic direction and coordination of the Licensing & Ventures Group, Consulting Services Groups and Operations Team.

The key responsibilities of the role are:

• In conjunction with the CEO, proactively contributing to the development of the medium and long-term strategic direction of the organisation and ensure it is effectively communicated and implemented.
• Supporting the CEO in the development of an annual budget for agreement by the Board and then in collaboration with the CEO manage the Company to deliver the annual plan under the terms of the agreed sustainable funding model.
• Leading, developing and working collaboratively with the Strategy and Business Management Team to ensure the delivery of company objectives and ensuring that the company culture is inspiring, supportive and achieves high levels of employee engagement.

About You:
Reporting to the CEO, the successful candidate’s expertise will be in leading large and diverse teams to deliver both business- and people-oriented objectives. They will have extensive commercial experience in a relevant industry, significant experience and understanding of the sector within which OUI operates and a good knowledge of the University and its activities.

The candidate must have proven ambition to achieve results, along with a commitment to integrity and sound commercial judgement and will need to demonstrate proven competence in:

• Providing great leadership, being open and energetic, with the ability to coach, empower, motivate and inspire teams to achieve world class performance and successfully leading teams through change.
• Being intellectually curious, a clear, analytical strategic thinker, an outstanding organiser with an aptitude for problem solving.
• Working effectively with key senior stakeholders both internally and externally, assertively influencing them and where appropriate showing tenacity, diplomacy and persistence in strategic business situations.
• Having broad based senior management experience which will enable you to manage specialist departments and experts from outside your individual professional discipline.
• Being bold in your approach and meticulous in thinking, and highly ambitious with the ability to think strategically in a complex environment.
• Commitment to operational excellence and continuous improvement.
• Familiarity with licensing and/or corporate law.

Our commitment to Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion:
Oxford University Innovation is an Equal Opportunities Employer and is committed to fostering an inclusive culture which promotes equality, values diversity and maintains a supportive working, learning and social environment, in which the rights and dignity of all its staff are respected, and where everyone can be themselves and are empowered to reach their full potential. This commitment is linked to and reinforces the OUI values of integrity, collaboration, and empowerment. We actively encourage applications from people of all backgrounds and cultures.
OUI is accredited with the Investors in People Silver status.

Our approach to hybrid and flexible working:
We believe that our employees are our most valuable asset, and we are committed to attracting and retaining the very best talent. We also appreciate that the UK workforce is becoming increasingly diverse and includes a high percentage of parents and individuals with caring responsibilities, as well as those whose interests and aspirations impact on their time.
We recognise the importance of helping our employees balance their work and home lives by offering flexible working arrangements that enable them to balance their work commitments with other priorities. This includes hybrid working and flexible working.

How to apply:
If you are interested in applying for this role, please download the application form from the OUI website and send it together with a copy of your CV and cover letter to Roy Bennett at roy@adlib-recruitment.co.uk. Information about our culture and working life at OUI can be found here https://innovation.ox.ac.uk/about/careers/
Salary for this role is commensurate with experience and will be discussed in detail with the successful candidate. Extensive benefits include executive rewards, 30 days holiday + 8 bank holidays, 10% pension contribution and private healthcare.

The closing date is midday Thursday 8th August 2024