Senior Medical Director – Respiratory Translational Medicine (Early Pipeline Unit)

GSK; Stevenage; Hybrid; GBP 202,000 - 337,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading global biopharma company is seeking a Senior Medical Director in Respiratory Translational Medicine to drive innovative strategies for COPD treatment. The ideal candidate will possess a medical degree, experience in respiratory clinical drug development, and strong leadership skills. Key responsibilities include overseeing translational research and collaborating with cross-functional teams to define and execute clinical development strategies, ensuring quality and timely delivery of studies. The role requires on-site presence in the UK, offering competitive compensation and benefits.

Benefits

Annual bonus

Health insurance

Retirement benefits

Paid holidays

Vacation

Parental leave

Qualifications

• Medical degree and board-certified specialty training in Respiratory Medicine.
• Experience in global pharmaceutical/biotechnology industry focused on COPD.
• Industry experience in respiratory/COPD clinical drug development.

Responsibilities

• Develop causal maps of relevant pathobiology and design biomarkers.
• Execute innovative early translational and clinical development strategies for COPD.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams for successful program delivery.

Skills

Leadership

Translational medicine

Clinical trial design

Cross-functional collaboration

Problem solving

Education

Medical degree

Board-certified specialty in Respiratory Medicine

Tools

Biostatistics

Job description

Are you a leading expert in COPD driven by a passion for transforming clinical insights into groundbreaking therapies and advancing early drug development? The Senior Medical Director Respiratory Translational Medicine role within GSK’s Early Portfolio Unit offers an exciting opportunity to shape the future of COPD treatment and strategy.

GSK is seeking a Senior Medical Director with deep expertise in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) to join the Early Portfolio Unit. The ideal candidate will have a strong background in translational research and demonstrated expertise in bridging clinical insights and experimental medicine to accelerate the development of novel therapies from early proof‑of‑concept to first‑in‑human studies.

**PLEASE NOTE:** This career opportunity requires on‑site office presence (minimum of two days a week) in one of GSK’s US (PA or MA) or UK (London – New Oxford Street or Stevenage) sites.

Key Responsibilities

Scientific Leadership

• Provide disease‑level leadership to develop causal maps of relevant pathobiology, access or generate translational datasets, and design biomarkers to streamline experimentation.
• Define and execute innovative early translational and clinical development strategies for COPD programmes within the Early Pipeline Unit, ensuring alignment with scientific rationale, regulatory requirements, product development plans and commercial goals.
• Stay abreast of advances in respiratory research, clinical trial methodologies and regulatory changes to maintain GSK’s competitive edge.
• Contribute to regulatory interactions, including briefing documents, presentations and responses.
• Support business development activities such as due diligence projects.
• Champion integration of translational and biomarker strategies across the early respiratory portfolio.
• Co‑lead the COPD Disease Area Acceleration Team (DAAT), aligning scientific and clinical strategies with business objectives through matrix leadership of large cross‑functional teams.
• Evaluate therapeutic potential and clinical tractability of targets within the disease area.
• Identify transformational opportunities that offer significant patient benefits.

Program Delivery

• Ensure quality, on‑time and on‑budget delivery of studies and programmes within the therapeutic area.
• Design and implement experimental medicine studies.
• Oversee risk assessment across programmes and implement mitigation strategies.

Collaboration and Matrix Working

• Collaborate with cross‑functional teams across the Advance Pipeline Unit, Commercial, Research, Tech and Development organisations.
• Build and maintain networks with academic institutions, CROs, regulators and other external stakeholders.
• Represent GSK effectively in external collaborations and negotiations.

Problem Solving and Decision Making

• Anticipate challenges and develop proactive mitigation strategies.
• Make balanced risk/benefit decisions with clear understanding of project impact.
• Lead writing and review of study‑related documents and regulatory submissions.
• Communicate confidently at all levels internally and externally.

Ways of Working

• Champion implementation of innovative business processes and strategies to improve clinical development outcomes.

Basic Qualifications

• Medical degree and board‑certified specialty training in Respiratory Medicine, Pulmonary Medicine, or Pulmonary & Critical Care.
• Experience in the global pharmaceutical/biotechnology industry focused on COPD, including biology and potential therapeutic targets.
• Industry experience in respiratory/COPD clinical drug development, including translational medicine and early‑phase development.
• Experience planning clinical development for an asset and/or indication.
• Experience working with multiple stakeholders on complex projects.
• Experience leading cross‑functional matrix teams within a clinical development setting.
• Knowledge of translational medicine research methodology and biostatistics principles to design data‑driven clinical trials and development plans.

Preferred Qualifications / Experience

• PhD in addition to medical degree and specialty training.
• Strong leadership skills with proven ability to inspire high performance from cross‑functional teams.
• Track record of building and maintaining strong stakeholder relationships.
• Proven record of creative problem solving in clinical trials and projects.
• Experience in coaching, mentoring and developing talent.
• Strong personal network across relevant scientific and clinical thought leaders, institutions and consortia.
• Future‑looking, experimental track record with demonstrable experience of tech‑enabled solutions in biology translation or clinical development.

The US annual base salary for new hires in this position ranges from $270,600 to $451,000. The salary range reflects location, skillset, experience, education, and market rate. The role offers an annual bonus and eligibility to participate in our share‑based long‑term incentive program. Available benefits include health care and other insurance benefits (for employee and family), retirement benefits, paid holidays, vacation, paid caregiver/parental and medical leave.

Why GSK

GSK is a global biopharma company dedicated to uniting science, technology and talent to get ahead of disease. We aim to positively impact the health of 2.5 billion people by the end of the decade, focusing on respiratory immunology and inflammation, oncology, HIV and infectious diseases.

People and patients around the world count on the medicines and vaccines we make. Our culture is built on ambition for patients, accountability for impact and doing the right thing as a foundation for delivering 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.