Assistant Director of Contracts

Required Education: MA

Physical Requirements: Sitting for extended periods of time; repetitive motion related to computer work. Shift Monday – Friday 8:00am – 5:00pm

Job Summary: The Assistant Director of Contracts provides strategic and operational leadership for the technology commercialization contracting function within UK Innovate and the Office of Technology Commercialization. This position leads the development, negotiation, and execution of complex intellectual property and commercialization agreements and serves as a senior institutional advisor on contract structure, commercialization strategy, risk allocation, and emerging contracting models. The Assistant Director oversees the Contracts Team and is responsible for establishing contracting standards, developing agreement templates and negotiation strategies, managing contract workflows and performance expectations, and supporting the professional development of contracts staff. The position works closely with Commercialization Managers, University leadership, the Office of Legal Counsel, the Office of Sponsored Projects Administration, and other University offices to structure transactions that advance commercialization objectives while appropriately managing institutional legal, business, and compliance risks. In addition to leading complex license, option, inter-institutional, collaboration, consortium, data use, material transfer, and other commercialization-related agreements, the Assistant Director provides leadership for the University’s commercialization agreement compliance program and lifecycle management of executed agreements. The position also develops contractual and operational frameworks for new commercialization initiatives, advises University stakeholders on intellectual property and commercialization matters, and represents Technology Commercialization in cross-functional and University-wide initiatives involving innovation, research data, industry engagement, and emerging technologies. This position is well suited for an experienced contracting professional who can combine sophisticated contract negotiation and intellectual property knowledge with program leadership, sound business judgment, process improvement, and the ability to develop practical solutions for complex and nontraditional commercialization transactions. Skills / Knowledge / Abilities superb organization and MS Word skills Does this position have supervisory responsibilities? Yes Preferred Education/Experience JD preferred. Experience with agreements preferred. Deadline to Apply Deadline to Apply 11/09/2026 Our University Community We value the well-being of each of our employees and are dedicated to creating a healthy place for everyone to work, learn and live. In the interest of maintaining a safe and healthy environment for our students, employees, patients and visitors, the University of Kentucky is a Tobacco & Drug Free campus. The University follows both the federal and state Constitutions as well as all applicable federal and state laws on nondiscrimination. The University provides equal opportunities for qualified persons in all aspects of institutional operations and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, ethnic origin, religion, creed, age, physical or mental disability, veteran status, uniformed service, political belief, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, marital status, genetic information or social or economic status. Any candidate offered a position may be required to pass pre-employment screenings as mandated by University of Kentucky Human Resources. These screenings may include a national background check and/or drug screen. Posting Specific Questions

• Have you worked with agreements before, and in what capacity? (Open Ended Question)
• Have you worked with data management software for archiving and managing documents? Yes