Partnering Initiatives - Specialist BD Manager - Defence
Acknowledgement of Country
CSIRO acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the land, sea and waters, of the area that we live and work on across Australia. We acknowledge their continuing connection to their culture and pay our respects to their Elders past and present. View our vision towards reconciliation
Child safety
CSIRO is committed to the safety and wellbeing of all children and young people involved in our activities and programs. View our Child Safe Policy.
The opportunity
- Join Team CSIRO and make the impossible possible!
- Lead partnering discussions to scale opportunities for CSIRO.
- Identify market paths and stakeholders in Defence and National Security
The Business Development (BD) Manager – Defence and National Security (Partnering Initiatives) will work across boundaries, engaging researchers during the planning, evaluation, and validation of research opportunities to identify appropriate paths to market and impact, optimal business models, and the partners and stakeholders to engage for success.
As the BD Manager – Defence and National Security (Partnering Initiatives) you will undertake early partnering discussions leading to better outcomes by clarifying (and working to align) partners’ drivers for engagement, scaling opportunities (recruiting additional capability/capacity from within CSIRO or through partners as appropriate), and manage relationships.
Please note, to be successful for this role, you must be eligible to obtain and hold a security clearance at NV2 level.
Your duties will include:
- Implement a Partnerships and Business Development strategy to foster CSIRO’s organisational strategy, and to drive impactful innovation and science in the areas of defence and national security.
- Through inspiring leadership, articulate the value of early engagement with partners to optimise the scope, scale, business model, and impact of research partnerships up to the level of defence and national security ecosystem stakeholders, to span CSIRO boundaries and empower the P&BD team and wider organisation.
- Inspire and lead at the research portfolio level, partner with researchers across boundaries to grow the scale of CSIROs partnering and business development activities including research partnerships with universities, industry and government up to ecosystem level stakeholders.
- Represent CSIRO in engagements with relevant stakeholders and engage strategically with priority industry and government relationships in the defence and national security ecosystem.
- Working collaboratively with Research and Enterprise Unit colleagues, ensure optimised business and commercial outcomes are negotiated and managed for all relationships, including strategic partnerships and coalitions.
- Develop and implement business development plans and partnerships that align with CSIRO short-term requirements and long-term strategy to drive business growth and research impact.
Location: All CSIRO Sites in Australian major cities considered
Salary: AU$157,833 - AU$174,631 plus up to 15.4% superannuation
Tenure: Indefinite
Reference: 99155
To be considered you will need:
- A relevant degree in conjunction with demonstrated achievement in senior advisory and managerial roles in the defence and national security research domain, ideally with postgraduate managerial qualifications in Defence Contracting, Project Management, or Law.
- A minimum of five years experience in the defence and/or national security sector (as a uniformed member or contractor), and familiarity with defence standards, ASDEFCON contracts and defence procurement boards.
- Superior business acumen, including in the functioning of publicly funded research organisations, scaling, business modelling, and successfully negotiating multi-stakeholder partnerships with industry, government, and other research institutions, how industry (large and small) adopts technology, and technology commercialisation pathways including licensing and venture creation.
- A history of establishing and leading cooperative teams, and a record of leadership which encourages new ideas, builds trust and supports the development of emerging skills. Recognised by piers and CSIRO leadership as a skilled team builder and leader.
- A demonstrated history of demonstrating and enforcing professional and respectful behaviours and attitudes aligned to CSIRO values in a complex working environment with both internal and external clients/partners and colleagues.
- Superior relationship management, interpersonal, coaching, systems thinking, communication, negotiation and consultative skills at all levels but particularly in relation to advising and guiding senior business leaders and influencing organisational and/or external bodies such as government on key business decisions.
- Demonstrated history of anticipating and successfully managing complex problems in ambiguous situations, particularly in a defence and national security context.
- A significant record of innovation, creativity and opportunity origination plus the ability & willingness to incorporate and/or promote the inclusion of novel ideas and approaches into projects of all sizes and scale.
For full details about this role please review the Position Description
Eligibility
Applications for this position are open to Australian Citizens, the successful candidate will be required to obtain and maintain a security clearance at the Negative Vetting Level 2. Australian Appointment to this role is subject to provision of a national police check and may be subject to other security/medical/character requirements.
Flexible working arrangements
We work flexibly at CSIRO, offering a range of options for how, when and where you work.
Diversity and inclusion
We are working hard to recruit people representing the diversity across our society, and ensure that all our people feel supported to do their best work and feel empowered to let their ideas flourish.
About CSIRO
At CSIRO Australia's national science agency, we solve the greatest challenges through innovative science and technology. We put the safety and wellbeing of our people above all else and earn trust everywhere because we only deal in facts. We collaborate widely and generously and deliver solutions with real impact.
CSIRO is committed to values-based leadership to inspire performance and unlock the potential of our people.
Join us and start creating tomorrow today!
How to apply
Please apply on-line and provide a cover letter and CV that best demonstrate your motivation and ability to meet the requirements of this role.
Applications close
Sunday 10 August 2025, 11:00pm AEST
Acknowledgement of Country
CSIRO acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the land, sea and waters, of the area that we live and work on across Australia. We acknowledge their continuing connection to their culture and pay our respects to their Elders past and present. View our vision towards reconciliation
Child safety
CSIRO is committed to the safety and wellbeing of all children and young people involved in our activities and programs. View our Child Safe Policy.
The opportunity
- Join Team CSIRO and make the impossible possible!
- Lead partnering discussions to scale opportunities for CSIRO.
- Identify market paths and stakeholders in Defence and National Security
The Business Development (BD) Manager – Defence and National Security (Partnering Initiatives) will work across boundaries, engaging researchers during the planning, evaluation, and validation of research opportunities to identify appropriate paths to market and impact, optimal business models, and the partners and stakeholders to engage for success.
As the BD Manager – Defence and National Security (Partnering Initiatives) you will undertake early partnering discussions leading to better outcomes by clarifying (and working to align) partners’ drivers for engagement, scaling opportunities (recruiting additional capability/capacity from within CSIRO or through partners as appropriate), and manage relationships.
Please note, to be successful for this role, you must be eligible to obtain and hold a security clearance at NV2 level.
Your duties will include:
- Implement a Partnerships and Business Development strategy to foster CSIRO’s organisational strategy, and to drive impactful innovation and science in the areas of defence and national security.
- Through inspiring leadership, articulate the value of early engagement with partners to optimise the scope, scale, business model, and impact of research partnerships up to the level of defence and national security ecosystem stakeholders, to span CSIRO boundaries and empower the P&BD team and wider organisation.
- Inspire and lead at the research portfolio level, partner with researchers across boundaries to grow the scale of CSIROs partnering and business development activities including research partnerships with universities, industry and government up to ecosystem level stakeholders.
- Represent CSIRO in engagements with relevant stakeholders and engage strategically with priority industry and government relationships in the defence and national security ecosystem.
- Working collaboratively with Research and Enterprise Unit colleagues, ensure optimised business and commercial outcomes are negotiated and managed for all relationships, including strategic partnerships and coalitions.
- Develop and implement business development plans and partnerships that align with CSIRO short-term requirements and long-term strategy to drive business growth and research impact.
Location: All CSIRO Sites in Australian major cities considered
Salary: AU$157,833 - AU$174,631 plus up to 15.4% superannuation
Tenure: Indefinite
Reference: 99155
To be considered you will need:
- A relevant degree in conjunction with demonstrated achievement in senior advisory and managerial roles in the defence and national security research domain, ideally with postgraduate managerial qualifications in Defence Contracting, Project Management, or Law.
- A minimum of five years experience in the defence and/or national security sector (as a uniformed member or contractor), and familiarity with defence standards, ASDEFCON contracts and defence procurement boards.
- Superior business acumen, including in the functioning of publicly funded research organisations, scaling, business modelling, and successfully negotiating multi-stakeholder partnerships with industry, government, and other research institutions, how industry (large and small) adopts technology, and technology commercialisation pathways including licensing and venture creation.
- A history of establishing and leading cooperative teams, and a record of leadership which encourages new ideas, builds trust and supports the development of emerging skills. Recognised by piers and CSIRO leadership as a skilled team builder and leader.
- A demonstrated history of demonstrating and enforcing professional and respectful behaviours and attitudes aligned to CSIRO values in a complex working environment with both internal and external clients/partners and colleagues.
- Superior relationship management, interpersonal, coaching, systems thinking, communication, negotiation and consultative skills at all levels but particularly in relation to advising and guiding senior business leaders and influencing organisational and/or external bodies such as government on key business decisions.
- Demonstrated history of anticipating and successfully managing complex problems in ambiguous situations, particularly in a defence and national security context.
- A significant record of innovation, creativity and opportunity origination plus the ability & willingness to incorporate and/or promote the inclusion of novel ideas and approaches into projects of all sizes and scale.
For full details about this role please review the Position Description
Eligibility
Applications for this position are open to Australian Citizens, the successful candidate will be required to obtain and maintain a security clearance at the Negative Vetting Level 2. Australian Appointment to this role is subject to provision of a national police check and may be subject to other security/medical/character requirements.
Flexible working arrangements
We work flexibly at CSIRO, offering a range of options for how, when and where you work.
Diversity and inclusion
We are working hard to recruit people representing the diversity across our society, and ensure that all our people feel supported to do their best work and feel empowered to let their ideas flourish.
About CSIRO
At CSIRO Australia's national science agency, we solve the greatest challenges through innovative science and technology. We put the safety and wellbeing of our people above all else and earn trust everywhere because we only deal in facts. We collaborate widely and generously and deliver solutions with real impact.
CSIRO is committed to values-based leadership to inspire performance and unlock the potential of our people.
Join us and start creating tomorrow today!
How to apply
Please apply on-line and provide a cover letter and CV that best demonstrate your motivation and ability to meet the requirements of this role.
Applications close
Sunday 10 August 2025, 11:00pm AEST
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