JOB VACANCY: HEAD, STRATEGY, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT & RESEARCH
Duty Station: Harare, Zimbabwe
Position: HEAD, STRATEGY, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT & RESEARCH
Reports To: DIRECTOR, BUSINESS TRANSFORMATION & DEVELOPMENT
Job Type: Contract
Available Slots: 1
Application Deadline: 31 January 2024
Duration of Appointment: Fixed-term contract of five (5) years (renewable, subject to performance)
Nationality: To be eligible for appointment, candidates must be nationals of a Member State of the Organization. Nationals of unrepresented Member States namely; Cabo Verde, The Gambia, Kingdom of Lesotho, Liberia, Mauritius, Sao Tome and Principe, Seychelles, and Somalia are strongly encouraged to apply.
Job Purpose
To engage in ARIPO’s strategic and long-range goal formulation and implementation, and coordinate associated operational activities. Optimise business-focused and outcomes-based business development and research strategies to exploit current and potential business opportunities in the Intellectual Property (IP) space, to foster business growth and sustainability.
Key Result Areas
- - Corporate strategy- planning and delivery
- - Business Development
- - Research & Development
- - Performance Management
Principal Duties
1. Gather crucial data on global Intellectual Property (IP) insights, operational performance, innovation, markets, etc. from various internal and external sources to inform strategic priorities.
2. Assist directorates and departments to identify, evaluate and analyse evolving strategic priorities, and track strategic objectives and goals.
3. Provide professional input into the Organization-wide annual planning and budgeting process by distilling the Organization’s strategic goals and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) into annual activity plans.
4. Maintain a credible and robust operating performance database for ARIPO KPIs to enable comprehensive assessment of operational efficiency and management decision-making.
5. Utilize the Balanced Scorecard framework to track and report on strategy execution against KPIs and to inform relevant interventions.
6. Undertake strategy risk assessment, identify mitigation measures, and maintain the strategy risk matrix.
7. Assist in developing proposals to harness business development opportunities for the existing ARIPO Industrial Property Protocols to drive financial growth and sustainability.
8. Collaborate with relevant directorates and departments in engagements with IP stakeholders including Member States, research institutions, inventors, creators, SMEs, etc., in positioning ARIPO as the preferred regional system for the protection and commercialization of IP.
9. Develop content on publications in respect of industrial property protocols, laws, and technology commercialization and marketing of IP for the benefit of innovators, researchers, and other relevant parties.
10. Prepare IP data and analytics in the areas of innovation and socio-economic development to support decision-making.
11. Track and communicate the status of ARIPO Industrial Property Protocols quarterly.
12. Provide critical inputs for the development of model policies and guidelines for the protection of patents and innovations and commercialization of IP in the Member States.
13. Design the framework to facilitate access to and retrieval of IP or technology information from ARIPO IP information databases by Member States, Staff, Users, Patent Agents, researchers, and related parties.
14. Manage the development and production of the ARIPO Industrial Property Journal.
15. Build and manage a high-performing departmental team by providing leadership, and effective utilization of the Balanced Scorecard Performance Management System ensuring that aligned KPIs are in place for the achievement of departmental goals.
Qualification and Experience
- - Bachelor’s Degree in Business Studies/Social Sciences/Law/Sciences or related field and seven (7) years of relevant work experience.
- - Master’s in Business Administration Degree (MBA) /Master’s in Intellectual Property Degree is desirable.
Competencies and Skills required
- - Solid and demonstrated understanding of the Balanced Scorecard Framework, or any other related strategy frameworks.
- - Demonstrated expertise in project and programme planning, management, and reporting.
- - Adept at aligning strategic planning to the overall organizational business planning process.
- - In-depth understanding of innovation based on Intellectual Property, and science and technology.
- - Strategic mindset and capacity to translate strategic thinking into a compelling plan of action.
- - Strong business acumen and capability to analyze and interpret relevant data.
- - Demonstrated ability to make prudent, timely, and well-determined decisions, taking due account stakeholder interests and perceptions.
- - Strong research skills and analytical capabilities.
- - Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
- - Proficiency with the Microsoft Office suite, management information systems (MIS), and statistical analysis software.
Conditions Of Employment
- - Post Adjustment Allowance: 47.1% of base salary (this varies depending on the rise and fall in value of the United States dollar);
- - Payment of travel and removal expenses;
- - Once-off installation grant;
- - Education grant of US$9,000 per year for each eligible dependent child up to a maximum of three children;
- - Housing allowance;
- - Dependency allowance of US$1,800 per year for a dependent child;
- - Contributory medical aid scheme;
- - 30 days annual leave; and
- - Paid home leave every two years.