Senior Director, Search and Evaluation, Neuroscience, R&D

Boston, Massachusetts        ·       Full time

Job ID: R0081055
Date posted: Nov. 09. 2022
Location: Boston, Massachusetts

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Job Description

We are seeking a scientific leader who is passionate about innovation in Neuroscience, inclusive of rare neurological and neurodegenerative disorders, to join Takeda’s Search and Evaluation (S&E) group as Senior Director, S&E, Neuroscience, covering discovery through commercial stage assets and technology. Takeda has grown to be a leader in Neuroscience through bold decisions in growing our internal pipeline as well as through business development. We aim to expand our leadership in Neuroscience by leveraging external innovation and building strong scientific networks.

The Senior Director, S&E, Neuroscience role resides within Takeda’s R&D Center for External Innovation organization (CEI) and supports the company’s business objectives in Neuroscience. This person directly contributes to the development of the Neuroscience R&D strategy and thereby to the success of the portfolio. The S&E Lead is responsible for proactively scouting external innovation opportunities ranging from academic research and discovery platforms to development stage and commercial products that is consistent with strategy and geared to augment Takeda’s Neuroscience portfolio and capabilities. By assembling teams of internal SMEs, the S&E Lead will conduct or oversee technical due diligence activities to ensure an understanding of the potential risks and mitigations of investment opportunities.

By effectively synthesizing the risks and merits of potential investment opportunities, this person will enable enterprise decision-making to ensure that Takeda’s Neuroscience discovery, platform capabilities and clinical and commercial pipelines are fit for future challenges and opportunities.

Major Duties and Responsibilities:

• Conduct search and evaluation of in-licensing opportunities emanating from academia, VC, biotech and peer-pharma, including early research projects, new modality platforms, pre-clinical and clinical stage assets and Life Cycle Management (LCM) opportunities
• Triage opportunities on behalf of, and in partnership with, CEI’ s strategic investment organization (Takeda Ventures) Business Development (BD) and/or Global Business Development (GBD), Commercial and the Therapeutic Area Leadership team.
• Lead Due Diligence process to drive a detailed scientific evaluation of potential opportunities and deliver recommendations to key governance bodies in conjunction with the CEI or Global BD Lead
• Point of contact with the external partner regarding scientific-related matters
• Work collaboratively with the BD Lead within CEI or GBD prior to and during negotiation of any non-binding term sheet (NBTS) or definitive agreement
• Collaborate with BD Lead for the preparation and presentation of business case and other materials for senior management briefings with support from R&D functions
• Work with key internal partners and cross-functional teams to ensure effective communication, efficient decision-making, to support completion of transactions in a timely manner
• Directly contributes to the development of the Neuroscience R&D strategy and leads the development of the external innovation strategy, to be enabled through BD collaborations and licensing, and strategic investments.
• Represent Neuroscience R&D strategic priorities to senior management of the external life sciences community
• Establish a broad network of internal and external partners and maintain a high level of external visibility
• Represent Takeda’s scientific excellence and capabilities through a deep understanding of the portfolio to ensure Takeda is considered partner of choice
• Demonstrate expertise in industry trends in Neuroscience, including awareness of competitor datasets in Takeda areas of strategic focus
• Actively engage in relevant talent recruitment efforts to help grow the Boston BD team

Leadership and Behaviors

The Senior Director of Search and Evaluation will be a critical thought partner with the Takeda Neuroscience Leadership Team in generating the company’s overall Neuroscience Therapeutic Area strategy and the BD strategy for Neuroscience, in collaboration with CEI BD and Takeda Ventures. 

The Senior Director of Search and Evaluation must efficiently synthesize and compare/contrast numerous external opportunities and efficiently identify those that are consistent with Takeda’s business goals and champion such opportunities within the organization.

The Senior Director must act successfully as an ambassador to potential external collaborators to ensure Takeda is perceived as a “Partner of Choice” while clearly communicating Takeda’s areas of strategic interest and the company’s evaluation and governance processes.

The Senior Director is the accountable person to drive due diligence team performance and support final team recommendations. To do so, he/she must understand Takeda’s wider business priorities and actively seek collaboration across the organization’s complex matrix structure.

The Senior Director of Search and Evaluation will have excellent written and verbal communication skills and provide the strategic and scientific rationale for proposed research or development partnerships and investment proposals succinctly and effectively to senior management.

Basic Requirements:

• PhD or MD and minimum of 15 years in industry and 10 years in Neuroscience

Qualifications:

• Experience in global pharmaceutical R&D
• Strong scientific understanding of drug discovery and development
• Ability to interact and communicate effectively with senior executive teams
• Proven innovation driven leadership abilities in a biopharma environment with knowledge of pre-clinical and clinical R&D
• A strong background of building successful internal/external partnership and collaborative relationships in a biopharma organization, demonstrating cultural sensitivity and awareness
• Demonstrated ability to lead and influence experienced professionals
• Ability to think critically, creatively and to anticipate and solve problems
• Ability to navigate and be successful in a fast-paced, highly matrixed work environment
• Comfortable with ambiguity

This position is currently classified as “hybrid” in accordance with Takeda’s Hybrid and Remote Work policy

Base Salary Range: $195,000.00 to $278,000.00, based on candidate professional experience level.  Employees may also be eligible for Short Term and Long-Term Incentive benefits as well. Employees are eligible to participate in Medical, Dental, Vision, Life Insurance, 401(k), Charitable Contribution Match, Holidays, Personal Days & Vacation, Tuition Reimbursement Program and Paid Volunteer Time Off.   

What Takeda Can Offer You:

• 401(k) with company match and Annual Retirement Contribution Plan
• Tuition reimbursement Company match of charitable contributions
• Health & Wellness programs including onsite flu shots and health screenings
• Generous time off for vacation and the option to purchase additional vacation days
• Community Outreach Programs

Discover more at takedajobs.com

No Phone Calls or Recruiters Please.

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EEO Statement

Takeda is proud in its commitment to creating a diverse workforce and providing equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, parental status, national origin, age, disability, citizenship status, genetic information or characteristics, marital status, status as a Vietnam era veteran, special disabled veteran, or other protected veteran in accordance with applicable federal, state and local laws, and any other characteristic protected by law.

Locations:                            Boston, MA

Worker Type:                     Employee

Worker Sub-Type:            Regular

Time Type:                          Full time

Please click here to apply.