Director, R&D Strategic Partnership Management

Key Responsibilities

• Build and scale the R&D strategic partnerships team
• Shape and evolve the vision, scope, and mandate of the R&D Strategic Partnership Management function
• Establish a clear operating model, governance, and decision rights to enable speed, accountability, and transparency
• Define and standardize partnership execution practices, templates, and operating cadences, while maintaining flexibility for partnership-specific needs
• Build, lead, and scale a high-performing team of Partnership Program Managers, including hiring, coaching, and performance management
• Ensure effective hand-offs and transitions from Corporate Strategy, Business Development, and other teams as partnerships transition into execution-heavy phases
• Oversee execution of strategically important, cross-functional partnerships with significant R&D complexity and delivery risk
• Serve as the central execution leader for named partnerships, aligning stakeholders on roles, responsibilities, escalation paths, and ways of working
• Establish and lead governance forums, including executive Steering Committees, cross-functional core team cadences, and joint partner meetings
• Ensure partner commitments are clearly tracked, delivered, and escalated appropriately, closing gaps between strategic intent, contractual agreements, and on-the-ground execution
• Proactively manage dependencies, risks, and resource constraints across matrixed internal teams and external partners
• Own portfolio-level visibility through dashboards, executive readouts, and governance materials for internal and external stakeholders
• Manage interactions with senior leaders and governance forums to surface risks, tradeoffs, opportunities, and recommendations
• Influence decision-making to ensure alignment with enterprise strategy, priorities, and resource plans
• Build strong internal and external relationships to enable alignment and delivery
• Serve as the single accountable program manager to own execution, leveraging cross-functional resources
• Develop partnership governance and operating cadence across steering committees, cross-functional core team, extended and function-specific teams, and external partner forums
• Develop and manage program plans, milestones, success metrics, critical paths, and decision points aligned with executive priorities
• Translate scope, budget, timeline, and risks into actionable plans, proposals, and execution strategies
• Ensure consistent progress, follow-through, and timely escalation of issues impacting strategic outcomes
• Partner with functional leaders on risk mitigation, contingencies, and change management plans, reinforcing a high quality partner experience

Qualifications / Success Profile

• MBA, PhD or other advanced degree preferred; technical or scientific background strongly preferred with strong business acumen
• 12+ years of experience in strategic program management within life sciences, healthcare, or regulated industries
• Proven leader of people and of a portfolio of partnerships, with experience scaling teams while managing strategic partnerships with significant complexity and enterprise visibility
• Demonstrated ability to translate strategic intent into executable plans and sustain momentum across multiple workstreams
• Effective in matrixed organizations, influencing stakeholders at all levels, including senior executives
• Strong written and verbal communicator; skilled at executive-level synthesis, facilitation, and decision framing
• Outcome-oriented, adaptable, and comfortable operating amid ambiguity; anticipates and proactively addresses risks early
• Ownership mindset with a strong sense of urgency and personal accountability; brings structure to complexity without adding unnecessary overhead
• Experience with project and program management tools (e.g., MS Project, Smartsheet, PPM platforms), PMP or equivalent certification preferred