• Drive the SPARK global initiative at UQ and accelerate the journey from discovery to patient impact.
• Be part of a prestigious global network collaborating with Stanford and international partners to deliver industry informed education and mentorship
• Join Australia’s leading university-based commercialisation company

UniQuest is Australia’s leading university commercialisation company. We partner with researchers at The University of Queensland (UQ) to create impact through the commercialisation of UQ’s intellectual property. Our track record includes the licensing of Australia’s blockbuster vaccine Gardasil^®, and the acquisitions of our start-up companies Spinifex and Inflazome for two of the highest value exits for Australian biotech start-ups from University research. 

Do you want to lead on the design, implementation and management of the prestigious SPARK Global Program at The University of Queensland (UQ), delivered through its commercialisation company UniQuest. SPARK Stanford began as a pilot in 2006 in the School of Medicine at Stanford University to bridge the gap between academic science and patient therapies. Over time, the initiative proved highly effective leading other universities to become SPARK Global partners and adopt Stanford’s curriculum of industry-informed education, mentorship and project acceleration.

This is your chance to combine your biotechnology/innovation expertise, program delivery and ecosystem-building skills. In this role you’ll shape UQ’s translation ecosystem and lead a globally recognized innovation program—moving discoveries from bench to bedside, faster.

Key Highlights:

• Lead the design and implementation of the SPARK UQ/UniQuest program.   
• Create engaging, inclusive, effective learning culture for the project teams.
• Operate at the forefront of research translation and industry engagement to accelerate impact.
• Fixed-term (2 years) part time (3 days per week) role with UniQuest

About the Role:

You will:

• Lead the final stages of SPARK Global Program design for the UQ environment,
• Launch and run the SPARK UQ/UniQuest program including recruitment of mentors and guest speakers, and
• Work with UniQuest’s Life Sciences Team to find therapeutic and vaccine project teams for the first cohort.

About You:

• Passionate about biopharmaceutical industry, working with others and fostering an entrepreneurial mindset.
• Experience in project management, operational implementation, delivery of overall program and review.
• Excellent advocacy, networking and stakeholder management skills.
• Awareness of university policies and procedures and exposure to commercialisation in an academic environment.

Why Join Us?

UniQuest is Australia’s leading university commercialisation company. Through SPARK UQ and UniQuest, we are building the commercialisation pipeline and enhancing the experience of the researcher journey of translation and industry engagement. Be part of a team that values innovation, collaboration, and real-world outcomes.

Our Benefits

We offer a purpose driven role within a collaborative and supportive working environment, excellent benefits including salary packaging, flexible work, purchase leave options to name a few.

This is a fixed-term contract for two years. The role is based at UniQuest’s offices on The University of Queensland’s St Lucia campus, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.

For a copy of the Position Description please visit the Careers page on our website:

Program Manager - SPARK UQ - UniQuest

For your application to be considered please apply via SEEK.

Applications close 9am Tuesday 3 February 2026.

The Company

UniQuest is the commercialisation company of The University of Queensland (UQ). We partner with researchers to create impact through the commercialisation of UQ’s intellectual property (IP). Since 1984, UniQuest has facilitated more than 125 start-up companies built on UQ IP - a milestone unsurpassed by any other Australian university. These companies have gone on to raise more than A$950 million to take UQ technologies to market. UniQuest’s track record across all industry sectors includes the start-up company, PERKii®, the world’s first non-fermented, low-calorie drink containing microencapsulated probiotics, the blockbuster HPV vaccine Gardasil® and start-up companies Spinifex Pharmaceuticals and Inflazome, which were acquired in two of the highest value university start-up exits in Australian history. Products containing UQ IP licensed by UniQuest have generated gross product sales of more than A$50 billion to date, significantly contributing to global impact.

The University of Queensland (UQ) is one of Australia’s leading teaching and research universities and ranks among the world’s top universities according to several key independent rankings. More than 56,000 current students study at UQ, which has won more national teaching awards than any other Australian university. UQ’s research has global impact, delivered by an interdisciplinary community of more than 1500 researchers across our six faculties, eight globally recognised research institutes and 100+ research centres.