BD Strategy Operations & Excellence Lead

Ipsen Pharma (SAS); Paris; Hybrid; EUR 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Ipsen Pharma (SAS) is seeking a BD Strategy Operations & Excellence Lead to drive the GPEI Operations pillar and complex strategic initiatives. You will collaborate with executives across R&D, Legal, Finance, HR, and Business Operations to deliver value through structured, cross-functional programs and robust governance.

The role requires a senior, globally oriented leader with a track record in life sciences, strategy consulting, and stakeholder management.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of relevant work experience in life sciences, including 3–5 years in strategy consulting.
• Experience in healthcare environment, drug development, regulatory, commercial, medical and market access dynamics.
• Outstanding track record of success in past professional and academic endeavours.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with ability to develop solutions and recommendations.

Responsibilities

• Lead and own the operating model for GPEI Operations with autonomy.
• Evolve and govern deal-making and alliances processes; maintain playbooks and dashboards.
• Define and monitor KPIs and executive dashboards; ensure timely communications to Leadership.
• Track compliance with partnering data usage and governance.
• Lead cross-functional strategic projects and provide risk-based recommendations to leadership.
• Collaborate with EVPs/VPs to develop and monitor strategic priorities and roadmaps.

Skills

Strategic thinking

Executive communication

Project leadership

Stakeholder management

Problem solving

Education

Scientific degree (PhD, PharmD, MD) or equivalent

Job description

Title

BD Strategy Operations & Excellence Lead

Company

Ipsen Pharma (SAS)

About Ipsen

Ipsen is a mid-sized global biopharmaceutical company with a focus on transformative medicines in three therapeutic areas: Oncology, Rare Disease and Neuroscience. Supported by nearly 100 years of development experience, with global hubs in the U.S., France and the U.K, we tackle areas of high unmet medical need through research and innovation. Our passionate teams in more than 40 countries are focused on what matters and endeavor every day to bring medicines to patients in 88 countries. We build a workplace that champions human-centric leadership and fosters a culture of collaboration, excellence and impact. At Ipsen, every individual is empowered to be their true selves, grow and thrive alongside the company’s success. Join us on our journey towards sustainable growth, creating real impact on patients and society! For more information, visit us at https://www.ipsen.com/ and follow our latest news on LinkedIn and Instagram.

Job Description

SUMMARY OF THE POSITION

The Ipsen Global Partnering department includes the Business Development and Strategic Alliances Group activities. The department mission is to strengthen Ipsen products pipeline, by identifying, engaging, and leading key partnerships and alliances with other pharmaceutical/biotech companies to drive innovation and fuel Ipsen growth in Oncology, Rare Disease and Neuroscience. The Strategy & Operations department aims at supporting at best GPEI & Friends team (i.e. Global Partnering, External Innovation and all departments involved in BD / M&A activities within Ipsen) by bringing structure, excellence and transversality in the management of deals and partners for Ipsen. The BD Strategy Operations & Excellence Lead will be part of the Ipsen Global Partnering team and will report to the VP Strategy & Operations Head, Global Partnering. This role has a global scope with cross-functional /enterprise-wide impact. In this role, the selected candidate will be accountable for continuing the Ipsen Global Partnering transformation towards excellence and ensuring the successful delivery of key corporate objectives related to GPEI. Specifically, the BD Strategy Operations & Excellence Lead will drive autonomously the GPEI Operations pillar, as well as the VC management, and drive ad hoc strategic projects (transformation initiatives, operational business improvement initiatives, highly strategic presentation…). To be successful, the incumbent will have to collaborate with key cross-functional stakeholders within Ipsen such as R&D, Legal, Value & Access, Finance, HR, Business Operations…

Main Responsibilities

• Lead and own the operating model and lead with autonomy GPEI Operations
• Evolve and maintain the operational processes related to deal making and alliances management, document them and upgrade them according to team’s and Ipsen’s needs (inc. maintenance of Deal Process playbook)
• Define and govern performance management framework, KPIs and executive dashboards.
• Track compliance with the use of the partnering database
• Lead process, track deliverables, highlight risks to timeline execution, and prepare core communications for Leadership.
• Drive strategic transformation notably by leading key projects (e.g. Global and cross-functional), as needed.
• Provide strategic challenge and risk-based recommendations to support leadership decisions
• Adapt in an “agile” way to keep in perspective the big picture and effective implementation of plans and strategies
• Work with EVPs and VPs, to develop, align and monitor Strategic Priorities and Roadmap
• Create decision frameworks for prioritization of initiatives, resources and governance topics.
• Translate analysis into clear options for decision, notably by identifying strategic risks, trade-offs and options, and propose mitigation scenarios, as well as anticipating key leadership questions
• Lead strategic cross-functional workstreams without formal authority, ensuring alignment across different involved partners: GP, EI, DD&I, NPPS, M&A, Finance, Legal…
• Act as a catalyst for alignment between senior stakeholders, functions and external partners.
• Autonomously collaborate with senior leaders and colleagues across the group.
• The incumbent is exposed on a regular basis to EVPs/SVPs levels, hence needs to be capable of interacting autonomously at that level.

Technical Competencies

Strategic thinking, including but not limited to complex problems solving, structured analytical reasoning, organizational skills, good planning, prioritization, and time management Executive-level strategic problem solving Result-oriented and bold mindset, creativity and out of the box thinking. Ability to identify risks, build and implement mitigation plan proactively Enterprise-level stakeholder management Strong executive communication and storylining Project Leadership Business development acumen and/or Financial analyst experience Scientific, and/or pharmaceutical operations knowledges Team-spirit and collaborative mindset tackling challenges as a group with the ability to work alone to produce deliverables as part of a larger team AI-enabled productivity and analytics mindset

Knowledge & Experience

• Business school and / or Scientific degree (PhD, PharmD, MD...), or similar relevant degree(s)
• 10+ years of relevant work experience in life sciences, including at least 3 to 5 years of successful experience in strategy consulting
• Consulting experience and knowledge of healthcare environment, ideally including a general understanding of drug development, regulatory processes, commercial, medical and market access dynamics
• Outstanding track record of success in past professional and academic endeavours

Skills & Attributes

• Strong social agility required to influence outcomes, working with all levels of the organization, particularly senior leadership
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills, with comfort preparing research to facilitate development of solutions that address critical business needs
• Communication and interpersonal and facilitation skills necessary to drive alignment, including experience of preparing and delivering presentations
• Ability to interface with technical and scientific experts, colleagues across functions and company senior leadership
• Proven ability to scope, lead, develop, and manage projects
• Experience of People Management (consulting or other) and playing active role in coaching and upskilling team Members (transversally and/or hierarchically)

Languages (essential)

English (excellent written and spoken)

Languages (preferred)

French

Hybrid Work

#LI-Hybrid Nous nous engageons à créer un lieu de travail où chacun se sent écouté, valorisé et soutenu, où nous incarnons « The Real Us*. La valeur que nous accordons aux différentes perspectives et expériences motive notre engagement en faveur de l'inclusion et de l'égalité des chances. Lorsque nous intégrons des modes de pensée diversifiés, nous prenons des décisions plus réfléchies et découvrons des solutions plus innovantes. Ensemble, nous nous efforçons de mieux comprendre les communautés que nous servons. Cela signifie que nous voulons également vous aider à donner le meilleur de vous-même lorsque vous postulez à un poste chez nous. Si vous avez besoin d'aménagements ou d'aide pendant le processus de candidature, veuillez en informer l'équipe de recrutement. Ces informations seront traitées avec soin et n'auront aucune incidence sur le résultat de votre candidature. *Soyons nous-même At Ipsen, each employee makes a real impact. Our teams are passionate about what they do because they care about making a difference in patients’ lives. We invest in our employees to support life-changing projects that create positive impact for patients and society.

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