No longer accepting applicants for this role at this time.

Founded in 1824 in Charleston, the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) is home to the oldest medical school in the South as well as the state’s only integrated academic health sciences center, with a unique charge to serve the state through education, research and patient care. Each year, MUSC educates and trains more than 3,000 students and nearly 800 residents in six colleges: Dental Medicine, Graduate Studies, Health Professions, Medicine, Nursing and Pharmacy. MUSC brought in more than $271 million in biomedical research funds in fiscal year 2020, continuing to lead the state in obtaining National Institutes of Health funding, with more than $129.9 million.

Director of Intellectual Property & Licensing Job Duties:

Reporting to the Chief Executive Officer of the Zucker Institute, the Director of Intellectual Property & Licensing (Dir IP & Licensing) is responsible for managing the legal activities surrounding MUSC’s portfolio of IP including directing patent prosecution and drafting and negotiating agreements with industry partners to create viable products thereof. Responsibilities for the Dir IP & Licensing role include, but are not limited to:

Cultivating and actively managing MUSC’s pipeline of inventions, patent applications, patents, copyrighted works, and tangible results.
Serving as the final decision maker regarding expenditures for new patent applications and ongoing patent prosecution, relative to the advisement of other the Zucker Institute team members.
Building, training, and managing a team of IP Specialists that will be eliciting invention disclosures, evaluating disclosures for patentability and commercial relevance, and managing the filing and prosecution of patent applications; conflict resolution for matters that are escalated by the IP Specialists and stakeholders.
Creating and managing the operating budget for IP-related expenditures.
Developing an outreach plan for the IP team and faculty as it relates to innovation activities to ensure stakeholder awareness and satisfaction and to promote a culture of innovation.
Coordinating with the commercialization and development teams to evaluate the appropriate commercialization pathway for intellectual property – via any combination of licensing, new venture formation, or corporate sponsored research.
Coordinating with the commercialization team to receive market validation on innovations supporting strategic decisions on whether to file and/or continue prosecution of intellectual property.
Coordinating with the commercialization team and patent administrator to balance recapture of past patent expenses with the mission to place technologies in the hands of industry partners, including startups.
Preparing cost / benefit proposals concerning areas of work to perform in-house, versus paying for an outside firm.
Coordinating with the VP of Commercialization on deal structure including term sheet development.

Drafting and negotiating IP-related agreements.
Collaborating with the General Counsel of the Zucker Institute to efficiently monitor license compliance.
Other duties as assigned.

Target Salary: $122,000-$195,000.

Here is the Director of Intellectual Property & Licensing Position Specification with further details.

Director of Intellectual Property & Licensing Qualifications

Technical Requirements

Graduate degree in a technical field.
Five or more years of relevant work experience managing intellectual property in the life sciences, physical sciences, or computer sciences.
Extensive knowledge of intellectual property and principles of licensing.
Significant experience in patentability assessment.
Ability to lead a team of intellectual property specialists.

Interpersonal Requirements

Strong competency in developing complex collaborations.
Experience managing a team.
Ability to communicate complex scientific concepts clearly and concisely to audiences with and without technical expertise.
Demonstrated ability to effectively enable strong collaboration and teamwork among a diverse group of internal and external stakeholders.
Exceptionally capable of simultaneously managing multiple projects at different stages in execution.
Passion for impacting patient-care through innovation.
Fearless, direct, relentless, tactful (and kind!) communicator.
“Start-up” mindset: sense of urgency and bias for action, self-motivated problem-solver with ability to thrive in (and help create!) a fast-paced, mission-driven, low-ego culture
Humble, flexible, can-do attitude, willing to jump in where needed, roll sleeves up and get the job done.
Capacity for thinking both strategically and tactically, but also biased toward action.

Director of Intellectual Property & Licensing Applicants

The Medical University of South Carolina has exclusively retained Gardner Innovation Search Partners to manage this search. Gardner Innovation Search Partners is the top technology transfer recruiter in the world, and is committed to presenting a diverse slate of candidates who possess the skills, expertise, and enthusiasm to thrive in this role.

Interested applicants should send their resume and any questions to:

Lisa Rooney, Recruiter
lisa@gardnerisp.com
(740) 251-7390

Gardner Innovation Search Partners is committed to diversity in both people and ideas. Read more about our commitment to diversity and inclusion.