Director of Partnerships and Alliance Management - Office of Innovation and Strategic Outreach

Location: St. Louis

Location St. Louis, MO 63110

Scheduled Hours
40

Position Summary The Director serves as the operational leader responsible for the coordination, execution, governance, and management of strategic partnerships across Washington University School of Medicine. Working in partnership with the head of OSPA, who provides strategic leadership and external relationship development, the Director ensures partnership opportunities are effectively evaluated, implemented, and managed throughout their lifecycle.

Reporting to the head of the OSPA, the Director oversees the day-to-day management of partnership activities, alliance operations, and strategic projects that advance the School's research, translational, innovation, and clinical missions.

The Director serves as the primary coordinator for partnership intake, opportunity assessment, deal development support, alliance management, and implementation of institutional partnership models. Working closely with faculty, department leadership, research administration, technology management, legal, finance, advancement, and external organizations, the Director ensures partnerships are effectively executed and deliver measurable value to the institution.

This position requires an individual who excels at managing complexity, building relationships across diverse stakeholder groups, and driving cross-functional initiatives from concept through execution.

Job Description Primary

Duties & Responsibilities:

Partnership Development & Opportunity Management Coordinates intake, assessment, and prioritization of partnership opportunities.

Evaluates strategic fit, institutional value, resource requirements, and stakeholder alignment.

Supports development of business cases and partnership recommendations for leadership review.

Maintains visibility across active and emerging opportunities within the partnership portfolio.

Deal Development & Negotiation Support Coordinates internal stakeholders during partnership development and negotiation processes.

Assesses operational, scientific, financial, and organizational implications of proposed agreements.

Supports development of collaboration structures, governance frameworks, milestone plans, and operating models.

Partners with research administration, legal, finance, and technology management teams to facilitate agreement execution.

Alliance & Program Management Serves as alliance manager for selected strategic institutional partnerships.

Coordinates partnership governance processes, including steering committees, executive reviews, escalation pathways, and performance assessments.

Monitors milestones, deliverables, governance activities, and funding commitments.

Coordinates communication between internal stakeholders and external partners.

Identifies and resolve operational challenges that may impact partnership performance.

Maintains and report on the institutional partnership portfolio, including opportunity pipeline, active engagements, partnership performance, resource utilization, and strategic impact metrics.

Capability Development & Partner Enablement Works with institutional cores, centers, institutes, and shared resources to develop externally facing partnership offerings.

Supports creation of repeatable partnership models and engagement frameworks.

Assists in packaging institutional capabilities for industry engagement and strategic collaborations.

Strategic Project Execution Leads cross-functional projects assigned by the head of the OSPA.Develops project plans, timelines, deliverables, and stakeholder communication strategies.

Prepares executive reports, briefing materials, and partnership analyses.

Additional Responsibilities Operates within a lean and highly collaborative organizational structure. Contributes flexibly…