Executive Director, Oncology Early Clinical Development Lead

1925 GlaxoSmithKline LLC; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 120,000 - 250,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading biopharma company in Greater London is seeking an Executive Director for Oncology Early Clinical Development. This role involves leading clinical studies, ensuring regulatory compliance, and overseeing translational research strategies. Candidates should possess an advanced degree along with significant experience in Oncology and clinical trial development. The position offers a collaborative environment aimed at improving patient health outcomes through innovative therapies.

Benefits

Annual bonus

Health and insurance benefits

Retirement benefits

Paid vacation and holidays

Qualifications

• Pharmaceutical or scientific experience in Oncology focused on early phase clinical trials.
• Experience with clinical development processes and drug approval.
• Knowledge of medical and drug terminology.

Responsibilities

• Lead clinical study design and execution for early phase trials.
• Ensure regulatory compliance and manage clinical development plans.
• Oversee translational research strategy in partnership with early development leaders.

Skills

Leadership in Clinical Development

Oncology Expertise

Data Analysis and Interpretation

Strong Communication Skills

Education

Advanced degree (PhD/PharmD)

Job description

At GSK, we have bold ambitions for patients, aiming to positively impact the health of 2.5 billion people by the end of the decade. Our R&D focuses on discovering and delivering vaccines and medicines, combining our understanding of the immune system with cutting‑edge technology to transform people’s lives. GSK fosters a culture ambitious for patients, accountable for impact, and committed to doing the right thing, making sure that we focus our efforts on accelerating significant assets that meet patients’ needs and have the highest probability of success. We’re uniting science, technology, and talent to get ahead of disease together.

Position Summary

GSK Oncology Clinical Development is seeking a highly skilled and motivated Executive Director, Oncology Early Clinical Development Lead to join our dynamic Oncology Research and Development team. In this role the successful candidate will create a strong link between Clinical Development and Pre‑clinical / Discovery teams to improve forward and reverse translation and, thereby, increase the success of our Oncology clinical portfolio. They will be responsible for leading a team of talented Oncology Early Clinical Development Medical Directorsand Clinical Scientists who will design and execute early‑phase clinical studies, as well as contribute to the translational research strategy for early phase clinical assets. This role offers a unique opportunity to bridge the gap between preclinical research and clinical development, ensuring the successful translation of innovative therapies from the lab to the clinic.

Please note : This position requires an on‑site office‑based presence 2 to 3 days a week in the US (Upper Providence, PA. or Waltham. MA.); UK (London or Stevenage); Switzerland (Zug) or Poland (Warsaw)

Responsibilities

This role will provide YOU the opportunity to lead key activities to progress YOUR career. These responsibilities include some of the following :

Clinical Study Design & Execution

Accountable for the clinical development plans (CDPs) for a portfolio of early phase (Phase I / II) clinical study protocols, including first‑in‑human (FIH) trials, dose‑escalation studies, and proof‑of‑concept (POC) studies.

Accountable for overall benefit : risk of a clinical program. If not a physician, the CDL is expected to delegate to and interface closely with the appropriate physician(s) on the program

Accountable for driving the end‑to‑end clinical development strategy and alignment to target medicine profiles (TMP) and integrated evidence plans (IEP), spanning all phases of development, including trial design, execution, and interpretation and delivery of trial results

Lead clinical development discussions and teams at regulatory interactions and accountable for drafting clinical components of regulatory submissions / files (i.e. IND, NDA, BLA, MAA) including briefing documents, presentations, addressing questions and responses.

Participate as a core member of the Medicine Development Team (MDT) or Early Development Team (EDT) and provide a single Clinical Development accountability at the program level within these teams and other cross‑functional partnerships with Medical Affairs, Integrated Evidence, Publications, and Global and Regional Commercial functions

Ensure that all clinical studies are conducted in compliance with applicable regulatory requirements, Good Clinical Practice (GCP) guidelines, and GSK policies and procedures.

Lead the cross‑functional Clinical Matrix Team and provide clinical leadership, Oncology Clinical Development expertise, and customer insight for the program

Translational Research Strategy

Oversee the development and execution of the clinical development components of the overall translational science strategy in partnership with Oncology Early Development Leaders, Oncology Translational Science, pre‑clinical Oncology Research teams (ETCT & ITCT), AI / ML, Clinical Pharmacology & Experimental Medicine, Research Technologies

Partner with the Oncology Tumor Teams (OTTs) to develop the translational strategy across assets within a given tumor and drive OTT activities with a clinical and translational focus

Drive advancements in translational research and emerging technologies to improve study designs and foster innovation

Data Analysis and Interpretation

Interpret complex translational and clinical data and identify trends for clinical and regulatory documents consult on safety analyses, and responses to health authority queries

Author and / or review abstracts, presentations and manuscripts for accuracy of clinical data, interpretation, and content.

Prepare for governance discussions in close collaboration with cross‑functional Early Development or Medicine Development Team and other business lines

Lead preparation of clinical sections of relevant regulatory filings (IND, study reports, NDA, annual reports, etc.)

Lead and provide clinical support for investigator and consultant meetings (e.g., investigator meetings, clinical advisory boards)

Present study results and translational insights to internal and external stakeholders, including senior management, scientific advisory boards, and regulatory agencies.

Collaboration and Communication

As a therapy area subject matter expert, accountable for integrating inputs from across disciplines (research, clinical, medical, scientific, commercial, regulatory, manufacturing, operations, etc.) to ensure alignment and successful execution of translational research initiatives.

Build and maintain strong relationships with key external experts (KEEs), academic collaborators, and external research organizations, including the Oncology Translational Network

Collaborate with Principal Investigators and Steering Committees in the evaluation and assessment of publications (abstracts, posters, manuscripts) associated with clinical data.

Serve as program medical experts for internal and external collaborators, investigators, and consultants

Oncology Clinical Development Leadership

Lead, coach and mentor a team of Oncology Early Clinical Development Medical Directors and Clinical Scientists. Provide direct reports with ongoing coaching, development and leadership; includes holding regular staff meetings, check‑ins and 1 : 1 meetings

Guide direct reports to ensure cross‑functional integration, coordination, collaboration, and alignment to enable effective and efficient CDP and translational strategy execution

Foster the development of our culture within the team of direct reports : be bold, be swift, act with integrity, as a One Oncology community

Contribute to the establishment of standards for clinical documents and data review processes across Oncology Clinical Development

Why You?

We are looking for skilled, motivated professionals who want to shape early clinical development in a collaborative environment.

Basic Qualifications

We are seeking professionals with the following required skills and qualifications to help us achieve our goals :

Advanced degree Required, PhD / PharmD

Clinical and Research Experience in Oncology

Pharmaceutical or relevant scientific / medical / clinical experience in Oncology with focus on designing and executing early phase clinical trials, including FTIH and POC, and translational research

Experience with Oncology treatment guidelines, clinical development process and drug approval process in major regions.

Prior experience developing and driving translational strategy : biomarker, companion diagnostic, PK / PD modeling and simulation

Preferred Qualifications

If you have the following characteristics, it would be a plus :

MD Preferred

Board certification / eligibility or clinical experience in oncology

Experience in the gastro‑intestinal therapeutic area highly preferred

In‑depth knowledge of medical aspects of GCP (Good Clinical Practice), ICH (International Conference on Harmonization of Technical Requirements for Registration of Pharmaceuticals for Human Use), FDA, EMEA, NICE and other relevant guidelines and regulations

Broad experience in the principles and techniques of data analysis, interpretation and clinical relevance (e.g., ISS, ISE, competitor data, etc.)

Experience leading matrix teams with a strong reputation of inspiring and motivating high performance.

Strong business acumen

In depth knowledge of medical and drug terminology and a sound foundation in pharmacology.

Highly effective communication skills; able to present complex data, design, strategy to groups at all levels of the organization.

Demonstrated ability to produce written scientific communications with clarity, accuracy and rigor and in compliance with GSK control documents governing disclosure, publication and principles of scientific exchange.

Demonstrated track record of quality decision making and creative problem resolution in critical situations, based on assessment of all relevant supporting and conflicting information / factors and understanding of the wider context.

Ability to adjust behaviors and priorities based on changing environment and dynamics.

Ability to engage in, and contribute to, Oncology Clinical Development Culture and broad GSK environment with confidence, impact, integrity and professionalism.

Demonstrated understanding of the detection, investigation, assessment and prevention of adverse effects of medicines on patients.

Highly developed negotiating and influencing skills. Ability to influence others to make sound decisions from a clinical perspective.

• If you are based in Cambridge, MA; Waltham, MA; Rockville, MD; or San Francisco, CA, the annual base salary for new hires in this position ranges $242,550 to $404,250.
• If you are based in another US location, the annual base salary range is $220,500 to $367,500.

The US salary ranges take into account a number of factors including work location within the US market, the candidate’s skills, experience, education level and the market rate for the role. In addition, this position offers an annual bonus and eligibility to participate in our share based long term incentive program which is dependent on the level of the role. Available benefits include health care and other insurance benefits (for employee and family), retirement benefits, paid holidays, vacation, and paid caregiver / parental and medical leave.

If salary ranges are not displayed in the job posting for a specific country, the relevant compensation will be discussed during the recruitment process.

Please visit to learn more about the comprehensive benefits program GSK offers US employees.

Why GSK?

Uniting science, technology and talent to get ahead of disease together.

GSK is a global biopharma company with a purpose to unite science, technology and talent to get ahead of disease together. We aim to positively impact the health of 2.5 billion people by the end of the decade, as a successful, growing company where people can thrive. We get ahead of disease by preventing and treating it with innovation in specialty medicines and vaccines. We focus on four therapeutic areas : respiratory, immunology and inflammation; oncology; HIV; and infectious diseases – to impact health at scale.

People and patients around the world count on the medicines and vaccines we make, so we’re committed to creating an environment where our people can thrive and focus on what matters most. Our culture of being ambitious for patients, accountable for impact and doing the right thing is the foundation for how, together, we deliver for patients, shareholders and our people.

GSK is an Equal Opportunity Employer. This ensures that all qualified applicants will receive equal consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity, and sexual orientation), parental status, national origin, age, disability, genetic information (including family medical history), military service or any basis prohibited under federal, state or local law.