Director, Search & Evaluation - Oncology

Role Summary

The Director, Search & Evaluation will be a key member of the Oncology S&E team, responsible for coordinating due diligence and presenting assessments of individual partnering opportunities to therapeutic area leadership and senior governance committees as well as contributing to Oncology and BD strategy initiatives. This is a high-visibility role in a high-energy, entrepreneurial environment, offering the opportunity to contribute significantly to AbbVie’s BD goals and to reinforce AbbVie’s leadership in Oncology.

Responsibilities

• Proactively search for, identify, and evaluate potential opportunities (research collaboration, in-licensing preclinical and clinical assets, platform technologies and research tools) aligned with external BD strategies for the advancement of AbbVie’s Oncology pipeline, and driving sustainable growth. Review external opportunities for scientific merit and feasibility.
• Lead the assessment of opportunities, including managing interactions with external parties, overseeing the evaluation process and timeline, developing timely recommendations and proposals for senior management, and supporting the commercial organization in assessments of opportunities.
• Lead the due diligence efforts for advanced opportunities, prepare initial technical documents and present those to senior management.
• Develop deal structures, risk mitigation and negotiating strategies in partnership with transaction teams to ensure alignment with AbbVie’s TA objectives and functional management.
• Communicate status of ongoing deals to key internal stakeholders, including preparation of opportunity assessments and summaries for executive audiences. Deliver oral and written presentations to senior management to seek approval for new opportunities.
• Build the AbbVie brand by presenting AbbVie’s Vision & Mission at key scientific and industry forums; network with external parties to raise awareness of AbbVie capabilities and BD objectives.
• Facilitate opportunity identification and assessment processes to move projects forward efficiently; provide recommendations for declining/deprioritizing ideas early and effectively.
• Create institutional memory for opportunities with clear assessments and recommendations; leverage opportunity management tools to support the growing S&E group’s operations.
• Lead/contribute to efforts for evergreen external BD strategies aligned to AbbVie’s Oncology TA strategy and portfolio goals.
• Contribute to business process improvement initiatives through R&D and BD teams in line with industry standards.

Qualifications

• PhD, MD, or MD/PhD in a Life Sciences field, preferably Oncology-related.
• 12+ years of relevant industry experience required, with 2-3 years in S&E, BD, venture capital, technology transfer, or other partnering-focused roles.
• Practical experience in at least one major area of drug development (Discovery, Preclinical Development, Clinical Development, or Regulatory Affairs) and solid foundation in BD practices, including term sheets, deal structures, valuation methods, forecasting, negotiation, and project management.
• Demonstrated project management and leadership skills to lead cross-functional teams in evaluating opportunities and producing high-quality assessments of scientific and therapeutic hypotheses, as well as preclinical and clinical data.
• Ability to drive projects to deliver timely results and follow through on commitments.
• Strong communication skills to articulate business strategies and capabilities, present recommendations clearly, and foster cross-functional consensus-building.
• Strong people leadership, interpersonal, negotiation, and influencing skills with diverse internal and external stakeholders.
• Strong networking skills to engage with a broad range of industry decision-makers and stay abreast of opportunities.
• Strong business acumen and ability to drive well-informed, fact-based decision making.

Skills

• Strategic thinking and business development acumen
• Exceptional written and verbal communication
• Cross-functional leadership and collaboration
• Negotiation and deal-making capabilities
• Strong networking and stakeholder management
• Analytical rigor and due diligence execution

Education

• PhD, MD, or MD/PhD in a Life Sciences field, preferably Oncology-related