Introduction
At IBM, work is more than a job – it’s a calling: To build. To design. To code. To consult. To think along with clients and sell. To make markets. To invent. To collaborate. Not just to do something better, but to attempt things you’ve never thought possible. Are you ready to lead in this new era of technology and solve some of the world’s most challenging problems? If so, lets talk.

Your Role and Responsibilities
The Intellectual Property Project Manager professional empowers IBM sellers, business development executives and executives with dedicated support and delivery of key projects and deal business process/deal cycle support with a particular focus on impeccable execution. They will provide executive sales and business development project management support to our Sales and Business Development leaders and our organization to drive improvement and optimization of our processes and seller tools to increase the productivity of our team. They will take feedback for improvements to the deal cycle, process and tools and lead process improvements with our sales and support teams.

Our sales teams include: Intellectual Property, Semiconductor Business Development, Research Business Development and Quantum Global Sales

Mission: Fuel the growth of the world’s best sales force to acquire and apply the deep technology, sales and industry skills to deliver value for all of IBM’s clients through innovation and operational excellence.

1. Deal Business Process SME
– Ownership of deal business processes within the IP organization:
– Quantum, Semiconductor, Brands (SW/Infrastructure), Patents, Research BD
– General IP Deal structures, end-to-end facilitation
– Work closely with our Finance team to discover and drive business process improvements.
– Support our BDE teams regarding correct selection and usage of business processes, and any BD questions / support required during the deal lifecycle.

2. Ongoing Audit Readiness
– Be the “point person” for any IBM internal audit activities (typically on a four-year cycle).
– Maintain an audit-ready posture for our business, during inter-cycle periods.

-Deal approvals
-Deal review processes
-SOX controls (jointly, with the Business Controls team)
-Other Key Control Indicators (jointly, with the Business Controls team)
-Separation of Duties validation (jointly, with the Business Controls team)
-NDAs and CDAs (jointly, with the Legal / Contracts teams)
-Financial reporting (jointly, with the Finance team)

3. IP Team and Executive Team Support (Ad-Hoc)
– Become a key business management consultant to the IP executive team.
– Be recognized as an “idea” leader in the IP business, and a problem solver for the team.
– Look for opportunities to help improve ongoing management practices within the IP business.
– Be available to provide ad-hoc deal support, end-to-end deal cycle support, contract, pricing and execution support.
– Respond to and handle any ad-hoc requests that align with your skill set (and in some cases, as a stretch opportunity), with a great attitude, work ethic and “we do not accept defeat” perspective.

About the IBM Intellectual Property Team
IBM’s Intellectual Property Team is missioned with both defending IBM’s vast array of patents and other IP assets, as well as driving a significant amount of IBM’s net income through licensing or selling IBM IP. This team works closely with our clients to identify opportunities to advance their business objectives by leveraging assets from IBM Research and IBM brands, worldwide. The team is comprised of both seasoned IBM sales and offering development professionals as well as experienced executives who have a deep understanding of IBM’s patent and product portfolios. By constantly re-inventing the IP business through innovative offering and deal models, the IP team consistently delivers business results that directly influence IBM shareholder EPS and are a critical fixture of the financial objectives for IBM’s lines of businesses and IBM Senior Executives.

Required Technical and Professional Expertise

• Understanding of business development cycle and business processes including the ability to concisely and clearly document and explain various business processes
• The ability to unlayer and simplify process complexity
• The ability to work collaboratively across teams and to negotiate critical decisions to consensus
• Proficiency with MS Office, especially Excel and Word
• Able to clearly articulate messages for both colleague and executive consumption
• Attention to detail and ability to learn complex business processes
• Extremely organized, efficient time management skills, prompt and responsive to all requests
• Be innovative – have a track record of quickly identifying problems and designing and delivering solutions

Preferred Technical and Professional Expertise

• Prior experience in business development, sales support role or sales organization
• Experience with IBM internal tools, processes and systems