Head of Search & Evaluation, Cardiovascular, Renal, & Metabolism

Role Summary

Location: Cambridge, MA USA or Basel Switzerland

The Strategy & Growth Corporate and Business Development team is seeking a new Head of Search & Evaluation, Cardiovascular, Renal, & Metabolism (CRM) to drive and champion business growth through global and regional BD&L deals by seeking, negotiating and closing collaborative external agreements across the BD&L disciplines. This individual will ensure smooth functioning of the attributed alliances.

Responsibilities

• Define Search & Evaluation (“S&E”) strategy & Search Priorities in close alignment with the business strategy (research, development and commercial) as defined by the TAL for all external opportunities throughout the value chain in a core Therapeutic Area (TA), i.e. early target discovery/technology development in BR, all stages of clinical development, and commercial opportunities.
• Lead, educate, instruct, and guide a team of S&E professionals responsible for sourcing and vetting opportunities for a core TA to deliver on the S&E strategy by being agile, creative, and accountable, and by implementing both a proactive and responsive approach to S&E while aiming at fast turnarounds
• Serve as the Corporate & Business Development representative on the enterprise-wide TA leadership team (TAL) for Cardiovascular, Renal, & Metabolism (CRM).
• Brings creative and appropriate deals to the TAL and drives meaningful discussions and outcomes on the TAL
• Communicates discussions and decisions back to the C&BD team
• Proactively identify external growth opportunities along the RDC continuum within a core TA
• Conduct S&E activities with a creative, deal-type agnostic mindset to bring forward new ideas that could help us achieve our enterprise-level growth goals
• Thinks beyond ‘single asset deals’ (portfolio swaps, co-commercialization deals, strategic equity investments and acquisitions)
• Strengthens the front-end of the BD process for opportunities in their area:
• Efficiently screen inbound opportunities and conduct triage, including robust discussion of S&E generated, proactively sourced, opportunities as appropriate
• Ensures documenting of all incoming opportunities and all declines / next steps via a newly implemented system
• Is the face of Novartis to the external world for their core TA
• Is the point of contact for all new business opportunities that come to Novartis in their core TA
• Contribute to ‘rebranding’ NVS as the partner of choice and increases visibility and attractiveness of NVS as partner:
• Defines and implements a new approach to S&E: proactive, fast (‘sense of urgency’), agile, humble, responsive & accommodating
• Supports the change of mindset: Instills a sense of urgency and pride with the team and implements high challenge / high support culture
• Contribute to an increased level of engagement with the Biotech community, including interactions between BR President & Biotech CEOs, VCs, etc
• Ensure appropriate representation of NVS at major partnering and scientific conferences relating to their core TA
• Attract, educate and develop talent within their S&E team and fosters collaboration with other C&BD sub-teams and the wider NVS organization

Qualifications

• Education: Advanced degree in the life sciences (preferably PhD or MD/PhD)
• Languages: English essential, other languages (EU27, CN, JP) are considered a plus.
• Experience & Skills:
  • Pharmaceutical industry experience (adding to a minimum of 10 years) with focus on R&D, early-stage commercialization and Business Development (of which ≥ 5 years in BD&L related roles)
  • Additional experience in Biotech or as a Pharma Project Team Leader or strategy lead is preferable, particularly in Cardiovascular, Renal, & Metabolism.
  • A deep understanding of pharmaceutical & medical science and drug development with an excellent instinct for truly transformational innovation, and an understanding of commercialization
  • Deep knowledge of BD&L with a proven track record in opportunity prioritization, evaluation and deal making
  • Exhibit an entrepreneurial spirit to generate new ideas and ways of working
  • Ability to lead without formal authority in a matrix environment
  • Organizationally savvy – manages and communicates effectively with different audiences using compelling arguments, manoeuvres comfortably through people-related organizational dynamics and uses expert influencing skills to achieve superior business outcomes
  • Ability to effectively manage difficult situations and drive towards constructive resolution
  • Strong ethical values, bridging different opinions and generating consensus to achieve a common goal