Executive Director of Corporate Partnerships, Perelman School of Medicine

About the role

The Executive Director (ED) for Corporate Partnerships for the Perelman School of Medicine (PSOM) will be the School’s go-to person to help faculty build relationships with external research partners and funders (e.g., industry, government, venture capital firms) and proactively identify, cultivate, and pursue promising opportunities that align with PSOM priorities.

Responsibilities

• Create and maintain a prioritized list of target companies and agencies; identify key decision makers and understand their priorities
• Develop long-term relationships with external decision makers and identify areas where PSOM’s portfolio can support companies’ /agencies’ short- and long-term strategic goals
• Conduct scientific and commercial due diligence to evaluate partnership, licensing, and investment opportunities
• Represent PSOM in external meetings, industry conferences, and strategic forums; identify relevant high-profile external events (e.g., JP Morgan Healthcare Conference) where PSOM presence is important
• Work with PSOM faculty, researchers, trainees, and administration as well as executives from industry to advance these mutual research interests and to foster new relationships with corporations, non-profits, investors and government agencies
• Build a deep understanding of PSOM faculty and programmatic research strengths to facilitate the aforementioned outreach activities and effectively respond to the wants and needs of the government and private sector
• Proactively identify opportunity areas in PSOM’s research portfolio; work with faculty to understand how their activities could potentially bridge into external interests
• Steward potential partnership opportunities, working with PCI and PSOM colleagues to position PSOM as a preferred industry partner
• Collaborate closely with external engagement peers at other schools (e.g., School of Engineering and Applied Sciences) to share best practices and align the University’s overall industry research partnership strategy

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in a relevant scientific, medical, or technical discipline, and 7-10 years of related experience, or equivalent combination of education and experience required.
• PhD, MD, ScD, or equivalent terminal degree in a relevant scientific, medical, engineering, or other technical discipline. 10+ years of progressively responsible experience in business development, corporate strategy, alliance management, venture creation, or investment analysis within the biotech, pharmaceutical, healthcare, or related industries.
• Demonstrated experience managing complex research / commercialization alliances, licensing technologies, or supporting new venture creation and incubation
• Proven track record in deal structuring, execution, and negotiation of strategic partnerships, preferably with multinational corporations
• Research experience in academia and biopharma, or a related industry
• Academic research administration experience / worked directly with academic researchers
• Experience engaging with multiple areas within biomedical research, e.g., therapeutics, diagnostics, medical devices, instrumentation, digital health
• Product development experience, e.g., FDA regulatory pathways, drug development
• Extended professional network across biopharma and related sectors including key decision makers, e.g., pharma executives, VC investors
• Experience in investor ecosystems, including deal evaluation, investment analysis, and private equity

Qualifications

• Strong alignment with Penn’s mission and culture, with a passion for driving positive real-world impacts for human health
• Strategic, entrepreneurial attitude and ability to proactively seek out new opportunities
• Project ownership mindset with the ability to manage inbound requests, drive projects end-to-end in close collaboration with PCI and PSOM partners, and orchestrate cross-functional teams to deliver partnerships
• Scientific credibility and ability to engage with faculty and industry R&D leaders
• Deep understanding of research and development lifecycles (e.g., drug discovery, diagnostics, health technologies, etc.)
• Partnership mindset, comfortable with sourcing and developing opportunities that can be handed off to colleagues
• Exceptional relationship-building and stakeholder management skills across academic and industry environments; able to effectively interface across campus, including with faculty, administration, tech transfer teams, and senior leadership
• Strong executive communication skills (i.e., able to translate complex scientific research into clear, compelling opportunities)