ASPIRE Director of Business Development

The Director of Business Development leads the organizations business development funding strategy and external partnership efforts to advance mission impact applied research and longterm growth. Operating with a high degree of autonomy this role has organizationwide responsibility for identifying assessing and shaping funding and collaboration opportunities across federal state utility and industry channels. The Director of Business Development directly influences funding pipelines strategic partnerships and collaboration models while representing the organization externally to strengthen visibility credibility and strategic positioning within the electrified transportation and energy infrastructure ecosystem.

Working closely with executive leadership and internal program engineering research and planning teams the Director of Business Development leads the review prioritization and pursuit of funding opportunities including grants cooperative agreements sponsored research and publicprivate partnerships. The role is responsible for leading proposal development effortsfrom opportunity assessment and partner formation through strategy coordination and submissionand ensuring alignment with organizational capabilities and multiyear support of 13 year forecast planning and related program activities the Director of Business Development monitors market and sponsor trends evaluates partnership performance and outcomes and ensures external engagements translate into sustained funding strategic value and measurable mission advancement.

This position is telework eligible within the state of Utah. Telework outside of the state of Utah is subject to review and approval by the University prior to a job offer being extended.

• Develop and execute the organizations business development and partnership strategy
• Identify cultivate and manage relationships with industry utilities technology firms government entities and other partners
• Serve as the primary organizational lead for external partnerships collaboration agreements and growth initiatives
• Identify and pursue funding opportunities including sponsored research cooperative agreements and public-private partnerships
• Support proposal development and partnership structuring in collaboration with program engineering and research teams
• Align partner engagement and business development activities with organizational strategy and mission priorities
• Monitor partnership performance outcomes and strategic impact; report to executive leadership
• Advise leadership on market trends industry needs and emerging opportunities relevant to organizational capabilities
• Represent the organization at conferences advisory boards industry forums and stakeholder meetings

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelors Degree
• 8-12 years of experience in business development industry relations strategic partnerships or corporate engagement

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelors Degree in Business Engineering Public Policy Communications or related field preferred.
• Masters Degree preferred
• Business Development or strategic partnerships certifications
• Project or program management certifications (PMP CAPM)
• Demonstrated experience leading organizationwide business development and external partnership strategies with measurable growth outcomes.
• Proven ability to identify assess and pursue funding opportunities across federal state utility and industry channels including grants cooperative agreements sponsored research and publicprivate partnerships.
• Significant experience leading proposal development efforts endtoend including opportunity assessment capture strategy partner formation coordination across internal teams and submission.
• Strong track record of external representation including engagement with industry partners utilities government agencies research organizations and consortia.
• Demonstrated ability to work with high autonomy exercise sound judgment and deliver results with accountability at the organizational level.
• Experience coordinating crossfunctional proposal teams including engineering research program planning and external partners.
• Familiarity with funding mechanisms such as grants cooperative agreements sponsored research and publicprivate partnerships.
• Demonstrated success building structuring and managing strategic partnerships with industry utilities technology firms government entities and research organizations.
• Proven ability to evaluate partnership performance and translate collaborations into sustained strategic or funding value.
• Experience monitoring and analyzing market trends sponsor priorities and industry needs within the energy and electrified transportation ecosystem.
• Ability to translate external intelligence into actionable recommendations for executive leadership planning and program development.
• Experience working in researchdriven nonprofit universityaffiliated nationallab or federally funded environments.
• Familiarity with DOE DOT utility or infrastructurefocused funding programs.
• Experience supporting applied R&D pilot deployments or technology demonstration programs.

Along with the online application please attach:

1. Resume/CV to be uploaded at the beginning of your application in the Candidate Profile under Resume/CV
2. Answer the following questions within the application:
   1. Describe how you have identified and pursued complex funding opportunitiessuch as grants cooperative agreements or publicprivate partnershipsto drive organizational growth.
   2. How have you built and managed strategic partnerships across industry utilities government or research organizations to support longterm program development or applied research initiatives

**Document size may not exceed 10 MB.**

Employees work indoors and are protected from weather and/or contaminants but not necessarily occasional temperature changes. The employee is regularly required to sit and often uses repetitive hand motions. The employee is frequently required to reach with hands and arms and may lift and/or move up to 10 pounds.

The Utah State University ASPIRE Foundation is advancing the future of electrified transportation by translating worldclass research into realworld infrastructure planning and deployment solutions. Created out of a nationally recognized Utah State University research program ASPIRE builds on a strong foundation that includes a prestigious National Science Foundation Engineering Research Center award along with sustained engagement through federal grants state programs and privatesector partnerships. Since its formation ASPIRE has grown significantly in scale and scope supporting projects and collaborations internationally.

ASPIRE Foundation serves as the implementation and coordination hub for work that extends beyond academic research. The organization brings together professional staff university partners industry collaborators utilities and public agencies to address systemlevel challenges such as charging infrastructure development power and grid integration corridorscale planning and technology demonstration and deployments. ASPIRE is known for its ability to integrate technical analysis planning and realworld testing to move concepts to reality and tackle challenges for deployable solutions.

With an experienced professional team and deep university and industry relationships ASPIRE Foundation operates as a trusted technical partner within the intelligent electrified transportation ecosystem. Its work emphasizes rigor collaboration and practical outcomessupporting infrastructure readiness workforce development and longterm system resilience. Joining ASPIRE offers team members the opportunity to help shape infrastructure and energy systems and contribute to complex and interdisciplinary efforts that will shape the next generation of mobility.

Founded in 1888 Utah State University is Utahs premier land-grant public service university. As an R1 research institution Utah State is dedicated to advancing knowledge and serving the public good through innovative research and scholarly activities that are grounded in reciprocal engagement with local regional and global communities. USU prepares students to be active civically engaged leaders who are prepared to address critical societal challenges. Dedicated to providing a high-quality and affordable education USU remains a leader in research discovery and public impact.

USU enrolls over 29800 students both online and in person atlocations throughout the state.Utah States 30 locations include a main campus in Logan Utah residential campuses in Price and Blanding and six additional statewide campuses along with education centers serving every county. USU educates students from all 50 states and more than 80 countries. For over 100 years USU Extension has served and engaged Utahns serving every county in the state.

Competing at the NCAA Division I level USU is a proud member of the Mountain West Conference and will join the Pac-12 Conference beginning in the 2026-2027 season.The Aggies long-standing tradition of athletic and academic excellence is exemplified by recent Mountain West regular-season and tournament championships in womens volleyball three consecutive Mountain West tournament titles in womens soccer conference championships and a first-ever conference championship for gymnastics reflecting USUs commitment to perseverance and achievement.

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