About the Role

You will provide varied administrative support across enterprise and business development activity, helping to coordinate projects, programmes, enquiries and services.

The role will include maintaining systems and records, supporting consultancy and commercial projects, coordinating meetings and events, providing project and financial administration, and gathering information to support monitoring, reporting and KPIs. You will also support Venture Development activity, including providing a first response to student and graduate start-up enquiries and signposting to appropriate support.

Regular reception and business centre cover across the Lincoln campuses is an important part of the role, providing a professional first point of contact and supporting the effective operation of our enterprise facilities. This will include providing planned and short-notice cover when required.

About You

We are looking for someone with strong administrative and organisational skills who can confidently manage a varied workload and work with minimum day-to-day supervision.

You will be comfortable working with systems and data, coordinating activities and events, and communicating professionally with colleagues, students, graduates, businesses and external partners.

Strong IT, communication and relationship-management skills are essential, alongside attention to detail, a proactive approach and the ability to use your initiative to resolve day-to-day issues. You will also be flexible and comfortable balancing administrative responsibilities with regular reception and business centre support.

What We Offer

The University offers a supportive and collaborative environment where you will have the opportunity to:

•    Develop your skills and experience across enterprise and business development

•    Support activity across Business Development, Venture Development and the wider Enterprise & Innovation team

•    Work with businesses, academics, students, graduates and external partners

•    Access a wide range of staff development opportunities and employee benefits

If you would like an informal conversation about the role, please contact Laurel Kavanagh at LKavanagh@lincoln.ac.uk.

In support of our commitment to developing colleagues by providing opportunities for internal movement and promotion, applications for this opportunity will only be accepted from people who are currently employed by the University of Lincoln, our current students, and any currently engaged agency workers who have been with us for more than 12 weeks. We actively encourage applications from all colleagues across the University with the relevant skills and experience.

Closing Date: 07 Sep 2026

Department: Internal Only Vacancies

Salary: £25,949 per annum
Please note, this post is permanent and full-time at 37 hours per week.

About the Role

You will lead the day-to-day operation of Sparkhouse and Think Tank, ensuring the centres are professionally managed, commercially sustainable and provide a high-quality environment for businesses to develop and grow.

You will be responsible for facilities and tenant management, occupancy and income generation, budgets, compliance and service standards, alongside overseeing business incubation and Student Enterprise activity. Working within the Enterprise & Innovation team, you will lead and develop staff, build strong relationships with businesses and partners, and use commercial and operational insight to improve performance and services.

About You

We are looking for someone with experience of operationally managing facilities or business premises, combined with experience of business support, incubation and working with start-ups or growing SMEs.

You will have strong commercial acumen, with experience of managing budgets, generating income and delivering against targets. You will also be an effective leader and relationship builder, with strong organisational, influencing and customer service skills.

What We Offer

The University offers a supportive and collaborative environment where you will have the opportunity to:

•    Lead and develop enterprise facilities and incubation activity

•    Support entrepreneurs, students, graduates and growing businesses

•    Build strong networks across the business and innovation community

•    Access a wide range of staff development opportunities and employee benefits

Closing Date: 04 Sep 2026

Department: Administrative and Professional Services

Salary: £38,784 per annum
Please note, this post is permanent and full-time at 37 hours per week.

We are also open to applicants who are earlier in their business development career but can demonstrate strong transferable skills and the potential to grow into the full scope of the role. For the right candidate, we may consider offering the post as a supported development opportunity, with appropriate training, mentoring and a structured development plan.

This is not an intellectual property or technology transfer role. We are looking for someone who can understand complex propositions, identify potential markets and start productive conversations with external organisations.

You do not need previous experience of working in a university. You may currently work in technology, software, engineering, science, healthcare, professional services, innovation or another knowledge-led sector.

You will work with researchers and subject-matter experts to understand what they have developed, the problem it could solve and who might benefit from it. You will then research relevant markets, identify suitable organisations and lead early business development conversations.

Our specialist Research Commercialisation team will lead on intellectual property assessment, commercial strategy, licensing and contracting. Your role will be to identify opportunities, develop the market and build the relationships needed to move them forward.

Contract and working arrangements

The role will involve travel to meet prospective customers, licensees and partners and to attend relevant industry events. The salary is dependent on candidate experience.

What you will do

You will:

• build trusted relationships with researchers and technical specialists across the University;
• identify ideas, technologies and research outputs with potential commercial application;
• help turn complex or early-stage ideas into clear commercial propositions;
• research markets, customer needs, competitors and potential applications;
• identify and approach prospective customers, licensees and commercial partners;
• lead exploratory business development discussions and test market interest;
• gather external feedback to help shape and position opportunities; and
• work closely with colleagues in intellectual property, contracts and commercialisation.

Some opportunities may already be well developed. Others may begin as a prototype, piece of software, specialist method, dataset or early-stage idea whose potential application has not yet been fully explored.

What you will bring

You will be a proactive and commercially curious business development professional who is comfortable working with unfamiliar or technical subject matter.

You will bring:

• experience of identifying and developing new commercial opportunities;
• confidence approaching prospective customers, partners and decision-makers;
• strong relationship-building, listening and influencing skills;
• the ability to understand complex ideas and communicate their value clearly;
• experience of researching markets and customer needs;
• sound commercial judgement and an opportunity-focused approach;
• the ability to manage several developing opportunities at different stages; and
• the ability to work collaboratively with technical, legal and specialist colleagues.

Experience of universities, research commercialisation, intellectual property or licensing would be useful, but it is not essential. We are primarily interested in the strength of your business development experience and your ability to apply it within a research and innovation environment.

What you will gain from the role

This role offers unusually broad exposure for a business development professional.

You will work across a wide range of sectors, technologies and emerging ideas rather than focusing on a single established product, service or market. One day you may be exploring the potential application of a new technology; the next, identifying customers for software, a specialist method, a research tool or another innovative output.

You will gain experience of working with opportunities at a much earlier stage than in many traditional business development roles. You will help uncover possible applications, test whether there is market interest, identify prospective customers and shape how opportunities are presented externally.

You will also work closely with specialists in intellectual property, licensing, contracts and commercialisation. Although you will not be responsible for those areas, you will gain valuable insight into how new ideas are assessed, protected and taken towards market.

The role will give you:

• exposure to different industries, technologies and commercial models;
• experience of working with researchers and technical experts;
• involvement in opportunities from early identification through to external market engagement;
• experience of identifying customers, licensees and development partners;
• insight into intellectual property, licensing and research commercialisation;
• opportunities to build networks across business, research and innovation; and
• the chance to make a visible contribution to the University’s commercialisation activity.

This is a strong opportunity for someone who wants to broaden their business development experience and build a distinctive profile at the intersection of industry, innovation and research.

Closing Date: 06 Sep 2026

Department: Administrative and Professional Services

Salary: per annum
Please note, this post is fixed-term for 2 years and full-time at 37 hours per week.