Our client is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on innovative therapeutics to treat life-threatening diseases. They have asked us to assist them in their search for a VP, Discovery Biology.

Major tasks and responsibilities include:

• Builds and leads the Discovery Biology organization within R&D.
• Manages and mentors junior and senior scientists with expertise across multiple disease areas and scientific backgrounds including microbiology, immunology, and computational biology.
• Develops and executes R&D preclinical discovery and early development strategies to generate proof-of-concept data packages that support the elucidation and prioritization of therapeutic targets, disease indications and patient populations.
• Delivers data packages to inform therapeutic lead design and drug mechanisms of action.
• Oversees the R&D strain library and platforms.
• Collaborates with R&D Leadership to develop lead design strategies, recommend new indications for evaluation, and advance screening and modeling technologies.
• Ensures timely publication of research papers and maintains association with scientific and professional organizations to enhance the company’s reputation.
• Ensures optimal operational performance and synergies across various research areas.
• Oversees alignment of objectives, deliverables and resources with other internal R&D organizations and project leads.
• Defines project objectives, deliverables, budgets, and identifies project risks and contingency plans.
• Ensures awareness of CSO of project’s scientific progress, risks and contingencies.
• Effectively collaborates with colleagues across the corporate enterprise to support successful clinical translation, development of corporate strategy, execution of corporate objectives, and external innovation and business development workstreams.
• Participates as a member of R&D Senior Leadership on activities to enhance the company’s culture and synergy.
• Ensures the highest caliber of internal staff through hiring, mentorship, and appropriate oversight, and an effective network of outside partners, collaborators, and service organizations.

We seek candidates with the following qualifications:

• A PhD or MD/PhD is required.
• Must have ten or more years of relevant scientific and technical experience (e.g. Microbiology, Immunology, Ecology, Genomics, and Computational Biology).
• Significant experience in leading research programs for drug discovery and drug pharmacology is required.
• Must have eight years of management and leadership experience.
• Must be capable of collaborating effectively with cross-functional teams in a highly integrated translational/early-stage clinical development structure.
• Scientific expertise as evidenced by publications in high-impact, peer reviewed top-tier journals, and presentations at research meetings is required.
• Requires significant experience facilitating scientific relationships with external partners and organizing external expert feedback regarding scientific and medical opportunities for therapeutic programs.
• A demonstrated track record of advancing multiple product candidates through key R&D and drug discovery pivot points is required, experience with INDs is a plus.
• Must have experience providing scientific assessment of business development opportunities as a participant in external innovation efforts and business development due diligence teams.
• Must have highly developed written, communication, and presentation skills, including the ability to effectively articulate with clarity highly technical/complex scientific data and concepts to audiences with differing scientific and technical knowledge.
• Proven ability to perform successfully under stringent timelines and with changing and competing priorities.

If interested, please apply directly to this job posting. No calls please. Include your daytime phone number and we will contact you confidentially or reply to your email.

Fairway Consulting Group is included in Hunt Scanlon’s list of Top 50 Healthcare & Life Sciences Search Firms and Forbes' list of Top 200 Best Executive Recruiting Firms.