Reports To: Head, Portfolio Strategy & Business Operations
About This Role: The Senior Director of Business Development (Search & Evaluation) will lead the scouting, identification, and prioritization of external partnership and in-licensing opportunities that advance the company’s rare-disease strategy.
This role will focus on sourcing and assessing innovative programs – particular with the U.S and China innovation ecosystems – and coordinating cross-functional evaluations to advance high-value opportunities to the deal development stage in accordance with the corporate BD decision making process.
The ideal candidate combines strategic thinking, scientific depth, market awareness, and cross-functional leadership to connect external innovation with internal portfolio and growth priorities.
This is a strategic role, tightly integrated with Corporate Business & Portfolio Development (B&PD), to guarantee global alignment prioritization, valuation and transaction execution.
What You’ll Do:
- Scouting and Identification
- Proactively source differentiated external innovation across prioritized therapeutic and technology areas.
- Maintain deep knowledge of market trends, emerging technologies and competitive landscapes to anticipate emerging opportunities and white space areas.
- Build and nurture relationships with biotech and pharma companies, VCs, incubators and academic institutions, with a focus on the US and China markets.
- Evaluation & Analysis
- Drive initial opportunity evaluation, including scientific, clinical, regulatory, and commercial assessment, in close collaboration with internal functional experts and ensuring alignment with B&PD evaluation frameworks and governance.
- Lead cross-functional assessment teams (R&D, Regulatory, Medical, Commercial, Finance, Legal) to evaluate strategic fit, technical feasibility and value potential.
- Translate opportunity assessments into clear business cases and present recommendations to Corporate B&PD, executive leadership and the Board of Directors.
- Cross Functional & Corporate Partnership
- Serve as the interface between US and Corporate BD, aligning on search priorities, evaluation criteria and portfolio strategy.
- Build organizational understanding of China’s innovation flow, licensing dynamics, partnership ecosystems and regulatory environment.
- Partner with Corporate BD on due diligence and contribute to validation and risk assessments to advance opportunities to transaction discussions.
- Support Corporate BD in negotiation and execution of transactions, providing scientific, clinical and commercial insights to inform deal structures and decisions.
- Provide regular and structured reporting on asset pipeline, scouting status, and recommendations to Corporate B&PD.
- Strategic & Organizational Impact
- Contribute to the evolution of the company’s growth strategy by identify external innovations that address unmet needs or strengthen existing capabilities.
- Develop and execute business development strategies aligned with corporate goals.
- Represent the company at relevant events and leverage network to build and expand relationships with biotech/pharma companies, academic institutions, and investors.
- Up to 35-45% domestic and international travel for conferences, partner meetings, and site visits.
Who You Are:
The ideal candidate combines strategic thinking, scientific depth, market awareness, and cross-functional leadership to connect external innovation with internal portfolio and growth priorities. This is a strategic role, tightly integrated with Corporate Business & Portfolio Development (B&PD), to guarantee global alignment prioritization, valuation and transaction execution.
Required Skills:
- 5-10 years of experience in business development, search & evaluation, corporate strategy, investment banking, or venture scouting within the biotech/pharma industry.
- Advanced scientific or business degree (e.g. PhD, PharmD, MBA) preferred.
- Strong scientific literacy and deep understanding of drug development, regulatory pathways, and commercialization in rare diseases.
- Proven ability to source, evaluate and prioritize external opportunities, integrating scientific and business perspectives to develop strategic recommendations.
- Experience leading or contributing to cross-functional due diligence and business case development.
- Deep familiarity with global biotech innovation ecosystems, ideally with experience in China or other major emerging biotech hubs.
- Excellent relationship building and communication skills and demonstrated ability to work collaboratively with both scientists and management.
- Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial environment.
- Collaborative and culturally agile across global & international teams.
Preferred Skills:
- Strong analytical skills; experience with financial modeling and valuation a plus.
Additional Information:
The base compensation range for this role is: $275,000.00-$320,000.00. Compensation is determined through an analytical approach utilizing a combination of factors including, but not limited to, relevant skills & experience, job location, and internal equity.
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