Senior Medical Director – Respiratory Translational Medicine (Early Pipeline Unit)

Role Summary

Senior Medical Director – Respiratory Translational Medicine (Early Pipeline Unit) responsibilities in COPD translational leadership and early development strategy within the GSK Early Portfolio Unit, with a focus on co-leading the COPD Disease Area Acceleration Team and driving matrix-team performance.

Responsibilities

• Provide disease-level leadership to develop causal maps of pathobiology and identify translational endpoints and biomarkers to derisk mechanisms and programmes.
• Provide translational and clinical leadership in defining and executing innovative early translational and clinical development strategies for COPD programmes in the Early Pipeline Unit; ensure study designs align with the IEP and CDP, incorporating scientific rationale, regulatory requirements, product development plan and commercial goals.
• Stay current with advancements in respiratory research, COPD, trial methodologies, and regulatory changes to maintain competitive edge.
• Contribute to regulatory interactions, including briefing documents, presentations, and responses.
• Contribute to Business Development activities, including due diligence projects.
• Champion the implementation of translational and biomarker strategies across the early respiratory portfolio.
• Co-lead the COPD Disease Area Acceleration Team (DAAT), ensuring alignment of scientific and clinical strategies with business objectives through matrix leadership of large cross-functional teams.
• Drive evaluation of therapeutic potential and clinical tractability of targets within the disease area; identify transformational opportunities for patient benefit.
• Ensure quality, on-time, and on-budget delivery of studies and programmes within the therapeutic area of the EPU; design and implement experimental medicine studies; oversee risk assessment and mitigation.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams across Advanced Pipeline Unit, Commercial, Research Technologies and Development; build networks with internal and external stakeholders; represent GSK in external collaborations and negotiations.
• Anticipate challenges and develop strategies to mitigate risks; make decisions balancing risk/benefit with clear project impact; lead writing and review of study-related documents and regulatory submissions; communicate effectively at all levels.
• Champion innovative business processes and strategies to improve clinical development outcomes.

Qualifications

• Medical degree and clinical medical specialty training board qualification/registration in Respiratory Medicine/Pulmonary Medicine/Pulmonary & Critical Care.
• Experience in the global pharmaceutical/biotechnology industry in respiratory medicine, with focus on COPD, including biology and potential therapeutic targets.
• Industry experience in respiratory/COPD clinical drug development, including translational medicine and early phase development.
• Experience planning clinical development for an asset and/or indication; experience working with multiple stakeholders on complex projects; experience leading cross-functional matrix teams in clinical development.
• Experience in translational medicine, clinical research methodology and biostatistics to design innovative, data-driven trial designs.

Education

• Preferably PhD in addition to medical degree and clinical specialty training in Respiratory Medicine/Pulmonary Medicine/Pulmonary & Critical Care.

Skills

• Strong leadership and ability to inspire cross-functional teams.
• Ability to build and maintain relationships with internal and external stakeholders.
• Creative problem solving in clinical trials and project design; experience with novel endpoints and causal inference in translation.
• Coaching, mentoring, and development experience; robust network with scientific and clinical thought leaders.
• Tech-enabled approaches in biology, translation or clinical development; strong communication and negotiation skills.

Additional Requirements

• On-site presence required (minimum two days per week) at a GSK site in the US (PA or MA) or UK (London or Stevenage).