Executive Director Business Alliances

Role Summary

Executive Director, Business Alliances responsible for steering BioNTech's oncology collaborations with large pharmaceutical companies, biotech firms, and academic partnerships. Location options include Cambridge, MA or Berkeley Heights, NJ; full-time.

Responsibilities

• Managing long-term complex alliances and developing relationships with strategic partners. Serve as a primary point of contact and establish a high level of trust with partner and within BioNTech to enable alliance operational execution.
• Establish BioNTech as a partner-of-choice through a solution-based and relationship-focused alliance management aimed at achieving mutually beneficial outcomes. Represent BioNTech’s interests while maintaining collaborative long-term and constructive relationships with partners.
• Serve as thought leader for alliance execution and relationship management with BioNTech senior leadership.
• Provide to partner an open and continuous channel of communication to ensure partner perspectives are heard and well represented internally within BioNTech.
• Foster constructive interactions with BioNTech’s R&D, commercial, manufacturing, medical affairs, finance, legal, and project management alliance team members.
• Ensure alliance governance is established and function efficiently consistent with the contract including JSC, JDC, JCC and JMC forums. Manage and direct alliance governance activities to ensure contract compliance.
• Express influence over alliance teams without authority as needed to facilitate and drive timely and decisive alliance decision-making through scenario planning and consensus building to maximize the value of the alliance to the organization.
• Lead alliance issue management by proactively recognizing potential alliance risks and conflicts at an early stage and proactively managing issues to resolution while maintaining and fostering a collaborative working relationship with the partner. Anticipate areas of potential conflict with alliance teams and propose risk mitigation approaches. Taking the lead on issues that require alliance consensus by gaining internal alignment and driving to resolution with partner.
• Support the evolution of alliances by leading complex negotiations with existing alliance partners. This includes defining and validating BioNTech negotiation perimeter with key stakeholders, drafting and negotiating term sheets and contracts for expanded research and clinical activities, licensing & collaboration agreements for existing partnerships.

Qualifications

• Required: Bachelor’s degree and broad understanding of global pharmaceutical industry and a solid understanding of drug discovery, development and commercialization.
• Required: 10–12 years of direct professional experience in Alliance Management in the pharmaceutical or biotech industry. Strong preference for candidates with robust experience in Oncology alliances versus other therapeutic areas.
• Required: Experience with US large-pharma and leading global strategic co-development and co-commercialization partnerships including experience with implementation of co-promotion agreements and co-commercialization plans in US and key ex-US markets.
• Required: Deep understanding and experience in pharmaceutical sales, marketing, market access and medical affairs.
• Required: Strong leadership skills: ability to analyze complex alliance issues, make clear risk mitigation recommendations, and build consensus within alliance teams.
• Required: Strong negotiation skills: track record in negotiating and executing agreements, including handovers to the functional owner, and in managing global strategic alliances.
• Required: Proven track record in managing joint decision-making processes and complex governance (JSC, JDC, JCC) as part of Global Alliances.
• Required: Strong communication skills, including the ability to communicate clearly at C-level and facilitate complex decision-making.
• Required: Experience with intellectual property and license terms.
• Required: Financial and business acumen: understanding economic assumptions underlying contract negotiations and ability to negotiate terms of option, license, or commercial agreements.
• Required: Excellent soft skills: stakeholder management, decision-making facilitation, conflict resolution, and ability to mobilize internal resources under time constraints.
• Required: Proficiency with MS Office and ability to prepare and deliver clear, concise presentations to senior leadership.
• Required: Excellent English language skills (spoken and written).

Education

• Bachelor’s degree (required).
• Master’s or Doctorate degree in Natural Sciences and/or MBA in pharmaceutical marketing (preferred).

Additional Requirements

• Strong preference for candidates with experience in launching Oncology products in the US as part of global alliances.