Vakilsearch - Head - Institutional Sales & Partnerships

Role Overview:

We are seeking a Head of Institutional Sales - Patents & IP to own and scale our patent filing revenue across India's higher education and research ecosystem.

In this role, you will lead our Go-To-Market strategy targeting private and deemed universities, IITs, NITs, IISc, state technical universities, medical and agricultural institutions, CSIR/ICAR labs, and DST/DBT-funded research centers.

This is a high-ticket, institutional enterprise sales mandate - not a student-campus partnership or startup channel role. You will sell professional legal-tech and IP services through complex institutional procurement processes (tenders, GeM, empanelment, and rate contracts) against traditional patent firms.

Key Responsibilities:

Revenue Ownership & Pipeline Generation:

- Own and execute the end-to-end sales cycle for institutional IP services, driving revenue measured strictly on realized and executed filings (not unfulfilled MoUs).

- Identify, map, and target decision-makers across target institutions, including Deans of Research, Heads of IP Cells / Tech Transfer Offices (TTOs), Registrars, and Finance Officers.

- Navigate complex institutional procurement pathways, leading responses to open tenders, government procurement portals (GeM), rate contracts, and institutional empanelments.

Value Proposition & Buyer Alignment:

- Position our IP services around the institutional buyer's true priority: accreditation, ranking frameworks (NIRF, NAAC, QS, THE), filing throughput, grant conversion, and audit-ready documentation.

- Structure commercial proposals that balance institutional fee concessions with strict internal margin thresholds.

- Collaborate with internal delivery and patent agent teams to align sales commitments with monthly drafting capacity.

Account Activation & Relationship Management:

- Build disclosure-activation programs (e.g., inventor workshops, IP awareness sessions, disclosure portals) alongside client IP cells to unblock faculty disclosure bottlenecks and ensure committed volume translates into active filings.

- Manage institutional accounts through the entire academic budget cycle to secure recurring annual contracts.

Candidate Profile & Requirements:

Required Experience:

- 8 - 12 years of total professional experience, with a minimum of 4 years directly selling services or high-value subscriptions into Indian academic, research, or government institutions.

- Proven track record of closing institutional deals at ticket sizes above 5 - 10 Lakhs.

- Direct hands-on experience navigating GeM listings, government/university tenders, and empanelment processes.

- An active, warm network of relationships with Deans of Research, IP Cell Heads, Registrars, and TTO Managers across Indian universities and research labs.

Domain Fluency & Commercial Instincts:

- Strong foundational understanding of patent lifecycles (provisional vs. complete specifications, examination timelines, FERs, PCT filings). Note: Registered Patent Agent status is NOT required.

- Deep understanding of institutional ranking scoreboards - specifically how accreditation bodies credit applications filed, published, and granted.

- High commercial discipline: ability to negotiate floor pricing, structure volume-based pricing, and turn down unviable, low-margin bulk deals.

- Operational mindset focused on conversion from signed commitments to executed inventor disclosures.

Preferred Experience Pools:

Candidates with prior sales success in the following sectors are strongly encouraged to apply:

- Academic IP/Research Data: Clarivate, Elsevier, Scopus, Springer Nature, Wiley, Turnitin, PatSeer, Gridlogics, Relecura.

- IP Services / Law Firm BD: BD roles in IP outsourcing or specialized IP law firms with demonstrated academic sector coverage.

- Scientific & Lab Equipment Sales: Academic channels of Thermo Fisher, Agilent, Bruker, Shimadzu, Waters, Bio-Rad (strong procurement and purchase-committee muscle).

- Accreditation & Ranking Advisory: NAAC/NIRF advisory practices, QS/THE India teams, or institutional media practices.

What Success Looks Like (First 90 Days):

1. Territory & Account Mapping: Complete a fully mapped and segmented universe of target institutions by filing volume, funding source, and procurement route.

2. Procurement Alignment: Complete an audit of our current GeM position and institutional empanelments, with an actionable execution plan to address gaps.

3. Pipeline Activation: Initiate 3 to 5 active, high-level conversations with decision-makers (Deans of Research, Registrars, TTO Heads).

4. Commercial Strategy: Establish an agreed-upon rate card and floor pricing structure in coordination with internal IP delivery teams.