Corporate Relations Officer

Position Overview

CORPORATE RELATIONS OFFICER, MIT’s Schwarzman College of Computing, will serve as the principal aide to the SCC Deputy Dean and the Department Head of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS). Will be responsible for proactive and productive relationship management with member companies for a number of programs (e.g., EECS Alliance Program, Science Hub, and Break Through Tech (BTTAI)) and will perform complex client management activities to ensure the success of these initiatives. In collaboration with leadership, builds strong relationships, assists in the management of membership development and retention, administration of the corporate programs, initial sponsored research programs, student support, community building, and public engagement activities at MIT. The Corporate Relations Officer is MIT’s primary point of contact for all matters relating to the programs assigned., and other college-wide programs. Will be responsible within MIT for implementing the engagement agreements, managing MIT’s obligations under these programs, and preparing MIT’s reports on activities. This role requires extensive communication and coordination with partners and key MIT offices. The Corporate Relations Officer at MIT is integral to a team-based approach to the Program goals.

Principal Duties and Responsibilities

1. In consultation with leadership, the Corporate Relations Officer provides operational management and guidance to develop mutually beneficial relationships between MIT and corporations. 
2. Will oversee and direct a broad range of high-level projects, events, and workshops, including design, development, coordination, and implementation of operational plans, strategic planning, and select programs and policies to help attain the goals for leadership.
3. Leads the promotion of new business development by cultivating relationships with prospects and facilitating their commitment to membership. Manages membership retention activities and renewals for companies.  Proactively reach out to and maintain ongoing interactions with member companies to discuss beneficial activities and opportunities to grow the relationship.
4. Will develop and execute a comprehensive plan for engagement between MIT and external partners, including proposal solicitation and review for Research Projects, proposal solicitation, and review for gift-funded research projects and community events and workshops.  
5. Conducts new member processing and orientation, including communicating benefits, contacts, and opportunities to grow the relationship.
6. Strategically plans, develops, and oversees all aspects of organizing events, workshops, and special sessions that bring together company representatives and researchers.
7. Proactively identifies and brings developments and opportunities of potential value to the attention of member contracts (i.e., MIT workshops, lecturers, PI papers, etc.)
8. Researches and develops a thorough understanding of major business and technology issues facing member companies to learn their priorities better and provide monthly briefings to faculty leadership.
9. Leads organization of information sharing between and among the faculty and staff leadership.
10. Maintains a thorough knowledge of EECS and College research activities and accurately matches them to the needs of the member companies.
11. Proactively ensures all activities/communications/events/contacts are captured in a timely, accurate, and comprehensive fashion. Accurately maintain member records.
12. Working in collaboration with leadership will assist with program management of related programs.
13. Arrange and assist communications between the relevant representative of MIT’s Technology Licensing Office for a Project and the relevant representatives in the department to coordinate intellectual property matters.
14. Assist research teams and Principal Investigators within this program with reporting and other compliance activities, as well as coordinating among Principal Investigators regarding planned publications, open-source contributions, access, and related activities.
15. Communicate and collaborate proactively with other relevant units at MIT as appropriate, including MIT’s Office of Strategic Alliances & Technology Transfer, Office of Corporate Relations, Research Administration Services (RAS), and other units at MIT.
16. Defines project scope and schedule and identifies and resolves issues (e.g., overrunning budget or project timeline problems).
17. The Corporate Relations Officer, together with leadership, will be the primary point of contact for all matters relating to the programs.
18. Coordinate and liaise with MIT faculty members, administrative offices and departments, labs, and centers to enable activities between MIT and industry partners.
19. Communicate with external partners as contact points between parties.         
20. Serves as a generalist performing complex administrative duties, including composing correspondence independently on a wide variety of matters, including material of a sensitive and confidential nature.
21. Participates in key constituent meetings to ensure appropriate and responsive follow-up and accountability.
22. Support in discussing potential possibilities for Research Projects with MIT faculty and supporting preparation and review of Proposals.
23. Work with MIT faculty and administrative staff to help prepare Research Project Plans for review, approval, and execution. 
24. Under the direction of the faculty leadership, create and develop entrepreneurial and internship opportunities for EECS Alliance and BTTAI students.
25. Create and organize outreach activities for EECS Alliance and BTTAI students (i.e., Career fairs, career inspiration series/workshops, etc.).
26. Communicates progress towards goals to leadership on a regular basis.
27. Prepares an annual report on activities during the preceding Term Year
28. With input from the faculty Directors, oversees regular communications, including messages from the Directors, meeting invitations, as well as materials related to the business.
29. Development Communications: Collaborates with the leadership to develop collateral materials to promote fundraising opportunities.
30. Contributes to the communication plans and implements change management.
31. Must be able to attend evening and/or weekend meetings/events.
32. Other duties as assigned. 

Supervision Received

Minimal.

The position reports to SCC Deputy Dean, EECS Department Head, and SCC Assistant Dean.

Qualifications

1. Bachelor’s degree in a related field required, business or related area. 
2. Minimum 3 years of experience working in development, marketing, alumni affairs or technology transfer required. 
3. Demonstrated expertise to relate effectively to faculty and manage relationships with senior industry executives or officials.
4. Proven ability to understand, communicate, and present complex business and technical information in sales, service, or government contexts; proven ability to grasp complex issues and identify solution paths.
5. Direct experience in academic research sponsored programs, including an understanding of sponsor interactions related to research or education missions, is highly desirable.
6. Strong program management skills with demonstrated ability to effectively keep teams, projects, and deliverables on track and to evaluate and revise plans and methods as needed
7. Demonstrated expertise to relate effectively to for-profit audiences the U.S. Government’s compliance requirements pertaining to the performance of fundamental research at a non-profit institute of higher education highly desirable. 
8. A degree from, knowledge of, and experience at MIT is considered a plus. 

_{* To comply with regulations by the American with Disabilities Act (ADA), the principal duties in job descriptions must be essential to the job. To identify essential functions, focus on the purpose and the result of the duties rather than the manner in which they are performed. The following definition applies: a job function is essential if removal of that function would fundamentally change the job.}