Exec Director, Strategic BD

Syneos Health, Inc.; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Syneos Health, a leading life sciences services organization, seeks an Executive Director of Strategic Business Development to drive enterprise-level sales growth and global client engagement. The role focuses on securing high-impact opportunities, negotiating MSAs, and orchestrating cross-functional solution development within the biopharmaceutical landscape.

The successful candidate will align with therapeutic strategy, operations, and delivery teams to create client-centric growth strategies

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree in a science-related field.
• Proven experience in strategic sales, global business development, or client relationship management.
• Significant experience in the clinical trial industry.
• Deep understanding of clinical research service lines across the full drug development lifecycle.
• Demonstrated success in leading preferred provider pursuits and negotiating MSAs.

Responsibilities

• Leads global business development for high-value accounts and drives revenue growth.
• Identifies, evaluates, and pursues enterprise-level opportunities including MSAs and strategic alliances.
• Creates multi-year strategic growth plans for key global clients.
• Partners with executives to understand client priorities and pipelines.
• Navigates global procurement and contracting processes to accelerate deals.

Skills

Strategic sales

Global business development

Client relationship management

Clinical trials knowledge

Education

Bachelor’s Degree in science

Graduate Degree preferred

Tools

Salesforce

MS Office

Job description

Updated: Today
Location: Remote, LND, United Kingdom
Job ID:25107661

Syneos Health® is a leading fully-integrated life sciences services organization built to accelerate customer success. We partner with innovators at every point across the drug development and commercialization continuum, helping them navigate complexity, anticipate change and accelerate progress.

Every day we perform better because of how we work together, as one team, each the best at what we do. We bring together talented experts across a broad spectrum of business critical corporate functions. Every role plays an essential part in enabling our customers to achieve their goals. Our teams are agile, collaborative, and committed to delivering—for each other, for our customers, and ultimately for the people who rely on the services we support.

Discover what your 25,000 future colleagues already know:

Why Syneos Health

• We are passionate about developing our people, through career development and progression; supportive and engaged line management; technical and therapeutic area training; peer recognition and total rewards program.
• We are committed to building an inclusive culture – where you can authentically be yourself. Central to this is our purpose – Driven to Deliver – which captures the passion of our colleagues to show up each day and shape solutions that have the ability to dramatically impact someone’s life.
• We are continuously building the company we all want to work for and our customers want to work with. Why? Because we know that when we bring together smart colleagues from across the world, we can shape the future of healthcare, driving impact for customers and defining the pace of patient progress.

Job Responsibilities

Executive Director, Strategic Business Development

Job Summary

The Exec Director, Strategic BD is responsible for driving Enterprise-level sales growth through global account strategy, strategic partnerships, and long-term client engagement. This role focuses on identifying and securing high-impact opportunities across the biopharmaceutical landscape by navigating complex procurement environments, leading preferred provider pursuits, negotiating master service agreements (MSAs), and orchestrating cross-functional solution development. With a strong understanding of the clinical development lifecycle and deep relationships within the pharmaceutical industry, the Exec Director, Strategic BD partners closely with internal stakeholders across therapeutic strategy, operations, legal, finance, and delivery to create client-centric growth

strategies that support Syneos Health's global objectives.

Core Responsibilities

• Leads global business development efforts across a portfolio of high-value accounts, driving strategic growth and revenue expansion.
• Identifies, evaluates, and pursues enterprise-level opportunities, including preferred provider arrangements, MSAs, and strategic alliances.
• Creates and maintains multi-year strategic growth plans for key global clients, aligned with Syneos Health’s commercial objectives.
• Serves as a strategic advisor and trusted partner to client executives by understanding their business priorities, development pipelines, and partnership expectations.
• Navigates complex global sourcing and procurement organizations to influence client decision making and streamline contracting processes.
• Collaborates cross-functionally with therapeutic leads, operations, delivery, and marketing to co-create compelling, client-tailored solutions.
• Leads and coordinates the development of high-impact proposals, RFP responses, and executive presentations.
• Maintains up-to-date and accurate records in CRM systems (e.g., Salesforce), including account strategy documentation, contacts, opportunities, and communications.
• Represents Syneos Health at key industry events, conferences, and client meetings to enhance brand visibility and cultivate new opportunities.
• Monitors market dynamics and competitor activity to inform strategic pursuits and continuously refine account strategies.
• Develops and implements an annual sales plan for assigned markets/accounts, including forecasting, objective setting, and quarterly reviews to adjust for evolving needs.
• Prioritizes accounts and territory focus using data-informed insights on client opportunity and market potential.
• Creates and executes monthly objectives aligned to the sales plan, effectively managing time and resources to achieve targets.
• Develops and maintains strategic account plans, proactively identifying client challenges and collaborating with internal teams to deliver solutions.
• Builds and nurtures strong relationships with key client stakeholders, including decision-makers and influencers, to expand account value.
• Leads the design and execution of tailored, multi-touchpoint sales strategies based on client needs, market dynamics, and strategic goals.
• Drives account expansion strategies, including therapeutic alignment, renewals, and next-phase opportunities.
• Collaborates with cross-functional teams—such as operations, therapeutic strategy, deal strategy, and delivery—to co-create customized, client-focused solutions.
• Maintains up-to-date records of client activity, pipeline, and sales progress within CRM platforms such as Salesforce.
• Acts as a client advocate internally, sharing insights on culture, preferences, and priorities to guide proposal development and team alignment.
• Educates clients on Syneos Health’s differentiated value proposition and evolving service capabilities across clinical and commercial offerings.
• Represents Syneos Health at client meetings, industry conferences, and professional events to elevate brand visibility and uncover new opportunities.
• Monitors industry trends, competitive landscape, and emerging client needs to continuously refine engagement strategies.
• Conducts regular reviews of territory performance and sales pipeline to inform sales planning and forecasting.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree in a science related field, Graduate Degree preferred
• Proven experience in strategic sales, global business development, or client relationship management.
• Significant experience in the clinical trial industry, with deep knowledge of the pharmaceutical landscape (required).
• Deep understanding of clinical research service lines (e.g., full-service offer, FSP and RWLP) and the full drug development lifecycle.
• Demonstrated success in leading preferred provider pursuits and negotiating master service agreements.
• Proven ability to build and maintain strategic relationships with mid- to executive-level stakeholders across large, matrixed organizations.
• Strong consultative selling skills with the ability to uncover client needs and co-create impactful, tailored solutions.
• Excellent communication, presentation, and negotiation skills.
• Collaborative and influential, with experience leading cross-functional sales efforts and managing competing priorities with attention to detail.
• Highly organized and able to prioritize effectively in a dynamic, fast-paced environment.
• Strategic thinker with strong business acumen and data-driven decision-making capability.
• Proficient in MS Office Suite, Google Workspace, and CRM tools such as Salesforce.
• Willingness to travel at least 60% for client engagements, internal meetings, and industry conferences

Get to know Syneos Health

Over the past 5 years, we have worked with 94% of all Novel FDA Approved Drugs, 95% of EMA Authorized Products and over 200 Studies across 73,000 Sites and 675,000+ Trial patients.

No matter what your role is, you’ll take the initiative and challenge the status quo with us in a highly competitive and ever-changing environment. Learn more about Syneos Health.

Tasks, duties, and responsibilities as listed in this job description are not exhaustive. The Company, at its sole discretion and with no prior notice, may assign other tasks, duties, and job responsibilities. Equivalent experience, skills, and/or education will also be considered so qualifications of incumbents may differ from those listed in the Job Description. The Company, at its sole discretion, will determine what constitutes as equivalent to the qualifications described above. Further, nothing contained herein should be construed to create an employment contract. Occasionally, required skills/experiences for jobs are expressed in brief terms. Any language contained herein is intended to fully comply with all obligations imposed by the legislation of each country in which it operates, including the implementation of the EU Equality Directive, in relation to the recruitment and employment of its employees. The Company is committed to compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, including the provision of reasonable accommodations, when appropriate, to assist employees or applicants to perform the essential functions of the job.

Discover what our more than 29,000 employees already know: work here matters everywhere. We work hard,and smart, all in the name of getting much-needed therapies to thosewho need them most. A career with Syneos Health means your everyday work improvespatients’ lives around the world. Selecting us as an employer secures a career inwhich you’re guaranteed to:

Syneos Health ® is a leading fully integrated biopharmaceutical solutions organization built to accelerate customer success. We translate unique clinical, medical affairs and commercial insights into outcomes to address modern market realities. Together we share insights, use the latest technologies and apply advanced business practices to speed our customers’ delivery of important therapies to patients.