Strategic Growth Manager - Health and Medical technology

Company Description

Who we are

UniServices is a wholly owned company of Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland, that directly supports the University’s ambition to be a global powerhouse of innovation, creativity, and entrepreneurship.

We achieve this through:

• Growing Research: We help researchers turn innovative ideas into impactful outcomes by identifying new market opportunities, building partnerships with industry and government, and securing funding opportunities to support the translation of knowledge to impact.
• Investing and Partnering: We manage the University of Auckland Inventors’ Fund, a $40 million pre-seed and seed investment fund that works to transform University research into high-growth global companies.
• Commercialising and protecting ideas: We help researchers disclose and protect their ideas, start companies or license technology. We help fledgling companies refine their business plans, access start-up capital and grow.

Strategic Growth Team

The Business Development team drives growth and commercialisation of research at the University of Auckland, actively supporting the University’s ambition to be a global powerhouse of innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship.

The Growth Team, a key part of the Business Development function, develops large-scale, future-focused initiatives to scale revenue and commercialisation in strategic priority areas. Through future focused visioning, market intelligence, and sector-based growth planning, the team builds a strong pipeline of high-impact opportunities aligned with emerging market needs, embracing calculated risks to drive growth and innovation.

This team collaborates closely with the University and the UniServices Partnerships Team and the Investment Team, to identify distinctive research opportunities with the greatest growth potential for funding and commercialisation. The team is responsible for the development and execution of strategic growth plans that align with the market, the refinement of value proposition to increase investment appeal, strengthening the funding pipelines and securing multi-million-dollar projects that amplify the University’s research impact.

Job Description

• Lead & deliver strategic business growth for University health & medical tech capability
• Translate research excellence into impactful partnerships
• Build a diversified, multi-million-dollar funding pipeline

The opportunity

A great permanent fulltime opportunity for a Strategic Growth Manager to lead and deliver a strategic business growth agenda for the University of Auckland’s health and medical technology capability.  Translate research excellence into impactful consulting, training, research, and education partnerships. Build a diversified, multi-million-dollar funding pipeline that spans domestic and international sources.  This role offers the chance to lead and deliver a strategic growth agenda for health, bridging research excellence with real-world impact through partnerships, consulting, training, and funded projects.

Key responsibilities:

• Forge and maintain influential relationships with senior industry and government stakeholders, both locally and globally.
• Recognise and translate University of Auckland expertise into practical applications within the health and medical technology domains.
• Develop strategic roadmaps and client-specific plans to grow the portfolio.
• Aggregate sector intelligence to inform researchers and identify scale-worthy opportunities.
• Conceptualise, articulate, and pitch compelling value propositions aligned with strategic research capabilities.
• Secure substantial external funding (targeting NZD $5–10 million annually) from a blend of government, industry, philanthropic, and international sources.
• Design and lead initiatives in high-growth collaboration areas — e.g., medical and health technology.
• Initiate and lead business development projects of strategic scale, delivering measurable impact and income growth.
• Partner with research leaders to identify and nurture new platforms or disciplines with elevated growth potential.
• Direct reporting to Director Growth and working closely across the strategic growth, partnerships and innovation, and investment UniServices’ teams.
• Collaborates closely with research leaders, university faculties and wider university stakeholders.
• External partners and stakeholders - industry, government, funders.

Qualifications

Your skills and experience:

Together with your commercial acumen, strong stakeholder management and ability to act as a trusted advisor, it is essential for you to hold:

• Degree and/or advanced degrees in health science, advanced technologies and/or business.
• Significant experience in business development, fundraising/investment and stakeholder management across complex ecosystems (private, public, higher education).
• Outstanding communication, negotiation, and entrepreneurial-style leadership.
• Demonstrated strengths in commercial acumen, strategic advisory, and cross-sector navigation.
• Proven resilience in uncertainty and multi-stakeholder environments.
• Be adept at bringing together multiple stakeholders and unfazed by uncertainties occasionally associated with operating in this sector.
• Familiarity with the health and medical technology sector is desirable.

Only applicants with the right to work in New Zealand will be considered.

Additional Information

What we offer:

Great benefits, including 5 weeks annual leave, up to 6.75% company superannuation scheme, eye-testing & glasses subsidies, access to discounts on health insurance & gym memberships, and long-service recognition.  We provide a culturally diverse team and supportive workplace with a blended approach to office and home-based work.  We offer flexible working arrangements and are committed to your ongoing professional development.

PD Strategic Growth Manager Aug 2025 SG.pdf

Please submit your application by 14 September 2025.  Note we may interview prior to the close date.

Honoa te tangata ki te tangata, te tangata ki te taiao, te tangata ki te rangahau, rangahaua ki whai hua.

(Linking people to people, people to the world around us, people to research, research that brings ideas to life.)