Ecosystem & Partnerships Lead

Pfizer; Riyadh Region; On-site; SAR 1,200,000 - 2,800,000; Full time

Job summary

Pfizer seeks a senior business development professional to lead external deal flow, partnerships and strategic collaborations in Saudi Arabia. You will engage with universities, investors and venture groups to identify opportunities that align with Pfizer's capabilities.

The role requires strong negotiation, cross-functional coordination, and the ability to move deals from discovery to contracting while maintaining governance and sponsor alignment.

Qualifications

• Significant experience in venture capital or corporate development.
• Proven ownership of complex external partnerships with senior sponsors.
• Established networks across innovation and investment ecosystems.
• Technically literate to assess novelty and feasibility at a high level.
• Commercially disciplined, prioritising organisational needs over hype.
• Comfortable representing Pfizer at senior levels.

Responsibilities

• Generate deal flow across innovation hubs, universities and VC firms.
• Articulate Pfizer's value to founders and investors.
• Match external opportunities to internal capabilities and needs.
• Provide outside-in view on investment memos and alternatives.
• Negotiate terms with Legal, Procurement, Finance and sponsors.
• Own vendor onboarding from selection to operational readiness.
• Manage end-to-end external opportunities, from discovery to contracting.

Skills

Venture capital

Corporate development

Strategic partnerships

Tech commercialization

Innovation strategy

Job description

Purpose

Bring the outside in. Generate external deal flow deliberately and match market capability to internally identified gaps, so Pfizer International rents or partners where this is faster and better than building.

Purpose

Bring the outside in. Generate external deal flow deliberately and match market capability to internally identified gaps, so Pfizer International rents or partners where this is faster and better than building.

Key Accountabilities

• Generate deal flow rather than passively receive it: establish and maintain presence across relevant innovation hubs, universities, venture capital firms, corporate venture groups and other investors.
• Articulate the value of partnering with Pfizer to founders and investors who have other options.
• Match external opportunity to internal need. Every proposal must connect to an identified organisational capability of the AI-native model.
• Provide the outside-in view on every investment memo, including internally generated proposals: available market alternatives, rent-or-partner economics, adoption evidence and relevant reference users.
• Negotiate and shape partner terms with Legal, Procurement, Finance and business sponsors, and maintain the view of whether each relationship delivers its intended value.
• Own and drive vendor onboarding from partner selection through operational readiness. Establish a clear path across Procurement, Legal, Compliance, Security, Privacy, Finance and the accountable business owner; initiate required reviews early; run activities in parallel where permitted; and remove avoidable delays without bypassing controls. Make the onboarding experience predictable, responsive and fully compliant, with speed becoming a competitive advantage of partnering with Pfizer.
• Assess at working level how novel and defensible an approach or technology is, distinguishing genuine differentiation from a wrapper.
• Secure a named internal sponsor and clear business owner before an external proposal becomes a memo.
• For Pfizer internal build programs, actively monitor external solutions, and feed the investment memo with a clear suggestion.
• Own end-to-end programme and project management for external opportunities and partnerships: define the path from discovery to decision and contracting, coordinate diligence and approvals, manage dependencies and risks, elevate issues, and close or transition each opportunity with a documented outcome.

Decision rights

Declines external approaches at screen stage. Determines which external relationships are pursued and recommends terms within the Committee mandate; commercial and legal approvals remain with the appropriate governance bodies.

Required Experience And Capabilities

• Significant relevant experience in venture capital, corporate development, business development, strategic partnerships, technology commercialisation or an innovation-facing commercial role; (further experience required for candidates without an advanced degree).
• Demonstrated ownership of complex external partnerships or transactions involving senior internal sponsors and multiple control functions.
• An established network across relevant innovation and investment ecosystems, or a demonstrated record of building trusted networks quickly.
• Technically literate enough to assess novelty and feasibility at a high level and to recognise when specialist diligence is required.
• Commercially disciplined. Keeps organisational need ahead of market enthusiasm and can stop an attractive but irrelevant opportunity.
• Comfortable representing Pfizer externally at senior level and influencing the same level internally without direct authority.
• Experienced in negotiating through ambiguity, conflicting interests and incomplete information, with clear documentation of decisions and obligations.

The closing deadline for applications is end of day November 10th.

Purpose

Breakthroughs that change patients' lives

At Pfizer we are a patient centric company, guided by our four values: courage, joy, equity and excellence. Our breakthrough culture lends itself to our dedication to transforming millions of lives.

Digital Transformation Strategy

One bold way we are achieving our purpose is through our company wide digital transformation strategy. We are leading the way in adopting new data, modelling and automated solutions to further digitize and accelerate drug discovery and development with the aim of enhancing health outcomes and the patient experience.

Flexibility

We aim to create a trusting, flexible workplace culture which encourages employees to achieve work life harmony, attracts talent and enables everyone to be their best working self. Let’s start the conversation!

Equal Employment Opportunity

We believe that a diverse and inclusive workforce is crucial to building a successful business. As an employer, Pfizer iscommitted to celebratingthis,in all itsforms - allowing for us to be as diverse as the patients and communities we serve. Together, we continue to build a culture that encourages, supports and empowers our employees.

DisAbility Confident

We are proud to be a Disability Confident Employer and we encourage you to put your best self forward with the knowledge and trust that we will make any reasonable adjustments necessary to support your application and future career. Our mission is unleashing the power of our people, especially those with unique superpowers. Your journey with Pfizer starts here!

To learn more about acceptable and prohibited uses of AI during the recruitment process, please review our candidate AI-use guidelines available on Pfizer Careers.

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