Director of Business Development (Biologics)

Position Overview

Kelly® Science & Clinical is seeking a Director of Business Development for a direct‑hire opportunity supporting an innovative early‑stage biotechnology client developing advanced therapeutic platforms. In this high‑impact, highly visible role you will lead the business development and out‑licensing strategy for a growing pipeline of therapeutic assets, collaborating closely with executive leadership, scientific stakeholders, finance, and legal counsel to translate early‑stage scientific programs into commercially compelling partnership opportunities.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the end‑to‑end out‑licensing strategy for therapeutic pipeline assets, including identifying programs appropriate for internal advancement versus external partnership.
• Identify, prioritize, and cultivate relationships with prospective pharmaceutical and biotechnology partners.
• Develop the commercial rationale for each program through market assessment, competitive intelligence, positioning, and evaluation of strategic in‑licensing or technology‑acquisition opportunities.
• Create and maintain high‑quality partnering materials, including non‑confidential summaries, presentation decks, data‑room content, and financial analyses.
• Lead partner outreach, manage diligence processes, and structure and negotiate licensing, collaboration, and option agreements in partnership with internal and outside counsel.
• Build, maintain, and report on a qualified pipeline of prospective partners and active business development opportunities.
• Manage relationships with signed partners and serve as a key external commercial contact for inbound partnership and investor inquiries.
• Represent the organization at industry conferences, partnering events, and meetings.
• Monitor the competitive, therapeutic, and licensing landscape to inform business development strategy, deal positioning, and terms.
• Provide leadership with regular updates on deal activity, market intelligence, partner discussions, and strategic opportunities for board and fundraising materials.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in life sciences or a related discipline.
• Eight or more years of business development, corporate development, licensing, or strategic partnership experience within biotechnology or pharmaceutical organizations.
• Demonstrated experience sourcing, negotiating, and helping close at least one licensing, collaboration, or strategic partnership agreement.
• Working knowledge of valuation and financial modeling approaches for early‑stage biotechnology assets, including risk‑adjusted net present value and comparable transaction analyses.
• Ability to independently manage multiple priorities in a lean, virtual, and fast‑moving organization.
• Experience using AI‑enabled tools to support market research, competitive intelligence, literature and patent searches, CRM/outreach management, deal tracking, and business‑development materials.
• Strong written, verbal, presentation, and relationship‑management skills, with the ability to communicate complex science in a clear, credible, partner‑facing narrative.
• Willingness to travel periodically for partner meetings and industry conferences.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience supporting licensing or partnering activities involving advanced therapeutic platforms, biologics, cell and gene therapy, extracellular vesicles, or similar modalities.
• Experience with sell‑side, preclinical, or pre‑IND business development transactions.
• Experience assessing and prioritizing multiple therapeutic indications for a single technology platform.
• Established network of pharmaceutical and biotechnology business development and licensing contacts.
• Experience collaborating with patent counsel on intellectual property strategy and deal structuring.
• Advanced degree, such as an MBA, PhD, or JD.

Compensation

Base starting at $150,000.

Benefits

• Medical, dental, vision, and telemedicine plans.
• Term life, whole life, accident insurance, and critical illness coverage.
• Legal plan.
• Short‑term disability.
• Retirement savings plan.
• Service bonus and holiday pay plans (up to eight paid holidays per benefit year).
• Transit spending account.
• Paid sick leave as applicable.