Associate Director, R&D Project Finance

Essential Functions/Responsibilities

• Integrated Project Financial Management
• Drive alignment and integration of financial planning and reporting across R&D projects into a single, coherent project and portfolio-level financial view
• Financial Control, Governance & Integrity
• Provide portfolio-level oversight of financial control across R&D projects, ensuring alignment of spend with contracts, policies, and accounting standards
• Maintain a robust control environment, ensuring consistency, compliance, and audit readiness across R&D Project Finance
• Performance Insight & Scenario Analysis
• Deliver clear, decision-ready financial insights across R&D projects, including forecasts and full lifecycle cost views, key cost drivers and trends, and risks and opportunities
• Support scenario modelling and financial analysis by providing accurate, integrated project-level financial data and assumptions
• Ensure modelling inputs are robust, consistent, and aligned to underlying financial drivers, enabling effective portfolio-level decision-making by R&I and Finance Business Partnering teams
• Contribute to the interpretation of modelling outputs, ensuring alignment with financial actuals, forecasts, and project-level realities
• Portfolio & Lifecycle Integration
• Ensure financial alignment across the full R&D lifecycle, connecting early development, clinical trials, CMC, and enabling activities
• Provide a single, integrated financial perspective across the R&D portfolio, supporting consistent planning, prioritisation, and decision-making
• Systems, Data & Financial Interpretation
• Act as subject matter expert for R&D Project Finance systems (e.g. Oracle), ensuring effective use of structured financial data as the primary source of truth
• Interpret and challenge system-generated outputs, ensuring alignment between operational activity and financial reporting
• Translate system-based planning and reporting into meaningful financial insight and decision support
• Process Standardisation & Continuous Improvement
• Drive standardisation and continuous improvement of project finance processes across the R&D organisation
• Enhance consistency, transparency, and scalability of financial management practices, supporting efficient and reliable delivery of outputs
• Identify opportunities to improve processes and ways of working, reducing manual effort and increasing consistency across projects and teams
• Technology, Analytics & AI-Enabled Insight
• Support the evolution of R&D project finance through improved use of financial systems, automation, advanced analytics and emerging AI capabilities
• Apply these capabilities in practical ways to improve forecasting accuracy and consistency, enhance identification of risks, trends, and anomalies and strengthen the quality and timeliness of financial insight
• R&D Project Governance & Leadership
• Act as senior Finance lead across R&D project governance forums, ensuring financial alignment to portfolio decisions and priorities
• Provide leadership across Clinical Trial Finance and Early Development Project Finance teams, ensuring, consistency of approach, visibility of performance, and high-quality financial support across the full project lifecycle
• Team Leadership & Capability Development
• Lead and develop the R&D Project Finance team, ensuring high-quality, consistent, and structured outputs
• Ensure alignment to enterprise standards and continuous development of team capability

Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Substantial experience in accounting and/or finance related positions
• Experience in pharmaceutical or biotech is essential
• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, or a related field
• MBA or advanced degree is a plus
• Advanced financial modeling and analytical skills
• Ability to work independently with minimal supervision
• Proficiency in Microsoft Excel and applicable financial systems and software applications
• Knowledge of Oracle is a plus
• In-depth knowledge of accounting principles, financial statement analysis, and management reporting
• Excellent communication, presentation, and interpersonal skills
• Strong stakeholder relationship management skills
• Strong attention to detail, problem-solving abilities, and a results-driven mindset