Senior Consultant – Group RTO & University Strategic Partnerships

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PNO Innovation is looking for a Senior Consultant to support the implementation of its Group RTO & University Strategy. This Group-level role focuses on building and coordinating long-term strategic partnerships with leading Research & Technology Organisations (RTOs) and research-intensive universities across Europe, ensuring internal alignment and contributing to scalable commercial outcomes linked to European R&I funding.

What are you going to do?

Your mission is to translate PNO Innovation’s Group RTO and university strategy into concrete, structured collaboration models. You will act as a senior interface between PNO teams and key RTO and university partners, ensuring effective coordination across countries and sectors while supporting a steady pipeline of high-quality European funding opportunities.

Support the development and operational management of strategic partnerships with selected RTOs and universities
Act as a senior counterpart for research managers, programme managers and European funding leads
Contribute to the design and coordination of multi-year collaboration frameworks and proposal pipelines
Support partner matching and consortium building across European R&I ecosystems

Coordinate internal alignment across sectors, countries and delivery teams
Support the structuring, prioritisation and monitoring of RTO- and university-related proposal pipelines
Contribute to governance, coordination routines and reporting related to RTO collaborations
Support commercial discussions, framework agreements and performance tracking with key partners

Do you have any questions about this position? I’d love to tell you more about it! Please contact me.

What do we offer you?

Join a leading European innovation consultancy with over 600 professionals in 10 countries
Play a key role in a strategic, high-visibility Group initiative
Work closely with Group leadership and cross-border sector teams
Exposure to Europe’s leading RTOs and research-intensive universities

Highly international and collaborative working environment
Competitive salary range of €38,000–€45,000 gross per year, depending on experience
Remote working within Spain
Clear growth and career development opportunities within PNO Innovation

About you

5–8+ years of experience in European R&I environments or innovation consulting
Proven experience working with RTOs, universities or research-intensive organisations
Strong understanding of European and national R&I funding programmes, including Horizon Europe
Experience coordinating complex initiatives in international, matrix organisations

Strong stakeholder management, communication and coordination skills
Strategic mindset combined with hands-on operational capability
Commercial awareness and ability to support revenue-generating collaboration models
Fluent in English; additional European languages are an asset

About us

PNO Innovation is the leading innovation and funding consultancy in Europe. With our broad sector expertise, generative AI tools and more than 40 years of experience in national and European grants, we help give space to good ideas and make innovation happen.

PNO Innovation employs more than 600 professionals across offices throughout Europe: Belgium, France, Greece, Italy, The Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain and the UK. What started more than 40 years ago as a student project in the Netherlands has grown into a European industry leader with a focus on creating sustainable impact.