Scientific Capability Director

GSK; Singapore; On-site; SGD 125,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

A global biopharma company in Singapore is seeking a professional focused on capability building within its Asia Development function. The role involves acting as the primary contact for partnerships with academic institutions to design and implement training programs. Ideal candidates should have at least 8 years of experience in development and delivery of capability training, preferably within a pharmaceutical context, along with strong skills in stakeholder engagement and communication. This position offers opportunities to work on high-visibility initiatives under a supportive and ambitious culture.

Qualifications

• Minimum 8 years of experience in training and capability development.
• Experience in academic collaboration within a pharmaceutical setting.
• Strong knowledge of the R&D process and AI integration.

Responsibilities

• Act as the primary point of contact for academic engagement related to capability building.
• Collaborate with academic partners to design training programs.
• Partner with leadership to enhance expertise in clinical development and digital health.

Skills

Stakeholder Engagement

Communication

Technical Training Development

Partnership Management

Influencing Skills

Education

Bachelor's degree in scientific or business discipline

Job description

Business Introduction

Asia Development is a new GSK function within Development which aims to deliver better and faster for patients in the region and contribute further to global delivery through strengthening R&D in Asia with Asia Expertise and Global Capability for Sustainable Impact.

Capability will play a pivotal role in shaping the future of Asia Development in GSK. This role focuses on fostering robust partnerships internally and externally to design and implement programs that enhance the capabilities of Asia Development. The incumbent will partner with Asia Development Leadership Teams and R&D Capability Leads to develop and execute strategic capability plan; and will be responsible for establishing partnerships with regional top‑tier academic institutions to build and sustain a best‑in‑class R&D organization in Asia.

Position Summary

The individual will be comfortable working with senior stakeholders / experts internally and externally and able to foster a trusted relationship bringing creative ideas to the table but also appropriately providing challenging ideas and options.

The ideal individual will be recognized as an expert in capability building and will be accountable to monitor and incorporate global industry best practices to ensure that the Asia Development capabilities and competencies are industry leading. You will not only support the practice of Asia Development but also work closely with key business partners to maximize Asia Development ability to deliver against strategic priorities and needs.

Key Responsibilities

• Act as the primary point of contact for academic engagement related to capability building.
• Collaborate with academic partners to co‑design training programs that address GSK capability needs.
• Partner with Leadership teams and Capability Leads to design and lead initiatives to enhance domain expertise in scientific areas such as clinical development, translational medicine, diagnostics and digital health AI‑powered research.
• Actively partner with HR and global learning functions to employ adult learning principles and leverage enterprise‑wide approaches (e.g. leadership and coaching frameworks).
• Establish and lead a mechanism to periodically drive gap analysis and assessment of organizational capability needs, utilizing key performance indicators and feedback as a means of assessment. This includes intelligence gathering of future industry trends that will inform the future required capability profiles across Asia Development.
• Implement a GSK capability model with a developed assessment process for global consistency, perform external benchmarking for top‑tier standards and integrate learnings / behaviours to drive world‑class performance within the organization.
• Ensure the deployment, visibility and communication of effective learning methods (e.g. LinkedIn Learning bite‑size learning).
• Facilitate platforms for knowledge exchange within Asia Development between Asia Development and broader R&D to enrich Asia expertise, build global capability and foster continuous learning.

Qualifications / Skills

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in scientific or business discipline.
• Minimum 8 years of solid experience with 5 years or more experience in the development and delivery of training and capability development, particularly in highly technical or science‑based fields.
• Experience in academic collaboration within a pharmaceutical setting.
• Strong knowledge of R&D process and the evolving skillsets required for scientific innovation and AI integration.
• Highly effective verbal, written and presentation communication skills.
• High level of energy, passion in people development and storytelling and commitment.
• Experience working with modern communication methods and creating effective messaging for a global audience.
• Experience working in a large matrixed and regulated work environment.

Preferred Qualifications

• Demonstrated ability to establish and manage partnerships with academic institutions and external organizations focused on workforce development.
• Experience working in organizations undergoing transformation and associated change in ways of working.
• Track record of employing highly sound technical and business judgment in solving complex business problems with high risk / impact to the organization.
• Demonstrated skill operating in situations characterized by complexity, ambiguity and high levels of uncertainty.
• Highly effective influencing and negotiation skills in challenging ambiguous and/or changing environments.
• Experience working independently with senior executives and the ability to quickly build personal credibility and assimilate business issues / need.
• Ability to build credibility quickly across a diverse range of functional teams, seniority and geography.
• Excellent organizational planning skills with the ability to prioritize effectively in a fast‑moving environment.
• Able to lead high‑visibility initiatives and deliver under pressure.
• A track record in leading a global project or function where people are challenged, developed and talent management is seen as a core competency for the future viability of the group.
• Leadership of complex projects with significant organizational impact and proven track record.

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 are 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.

We are committed to creating an inclusive workplace and providing equal opportunities for all applicants. We embrace an agile working culture across our roles so if flexibility is important to you please discuss opportunities with our hiring team. If you need any adjustments to the recruitment process to help you demonstrate your strengths and capabilities contact … Please note this email is for adjustment requests only; for other enquiries please use our standard contact channels.

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