Director, Academic Alliance Lead

AstraZeneca plc; Cambridge (MA); On-site; USD 164,000 - 246,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Short-term incentive bonuses

Equity-based awards

Health, dental, and vision coverage

Job summary

AstraZeneca in Kendall Square, Cambridge seeks an experienced Academic Alliance Lead to build a new alliance management capability and to enable high-impact collaborations between academia and BioPharma R&D. You will manage a portfolio of strategic alliances and enable a broader range of academic collaborations to deliver scientific and organizational impact.

Based at our new R&D site, you will coordinate governance, deliver operating plans, and ensure milestones and risks are visible, while

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in life sciences required.
• 8+ years of experience managing complex alliances.
• Strong understanding of drug discovery and development.
• Experience with external partners including academic institutions.
• Ability to lead alliances directly while enabling others.
• Governance, milestone tracking, risk management, decision support.
• Excellent communication and relationships with senior leaders.
• Navigate ambiguity and diplomacy.
• Strategic thinking with execution focus.

Responsibilities

• Lead a portfolio of strategic alliances as primary contact.
• Set direction, governance and translate agreements into operating plans.
• Coordinate delivery across cross-functional teams.
• Maintain relationships and identify opportunities to extend alliances.
• Support amendments, renegotiations, and transitions.
• Enable delivery across wider alliance portfolio.
• Provide guidance, templates and problem-solving support.
• Connect teams to expertise and resolve cross-functional issues.
• Maintain portfolio view and surface risks and opportunities.
• Build community of practice for alliance management.
• Define governance standards and measures of partnership health.
• Bring external best practice and adapt.
• Shape new alliances with governance integrated.
• Capture learning for future opportunities.

Skills

Alliance management

Portfolio management

Governance

Milestone tracking

Risk management

Decision support

Stakeholder management

Communication

Diplomacy

Education

Bachelor's degree in life sciences

Advanced scientific degree (MS, PhD)

Job description

AstraZeneca is building a more connected, end-to-end approach to academic collaboration across BioPharma R&D. We are looking for an experienced Academic Alliance Lead to help establish this capability within our new Academic Alliances team and to make high-value collaborations work in practice.

Based at our new R&D site in Kendall Square, Cambridge, you will work at the center of one of the world’s most dynamic life-science ecosystems. You will connect leading academic science with AstraZeneca’s R&D priorities, helping alliances move from agreement to delivery, learning and impact.

This role has two equally important dimensions:

• Lead a portfolio of major strategic alliances directly, serving as the dedicated alliance manager and accountable point of contact.

• Enable a broader portfolio of academic collaborations that are led day to day by scientific or functional colleagues, giving them the structure, tools, coordination and issue-resolution support needed to deliver well.

What you will do

Lead selected strategic alliances

• Serve as the primary AstraZeneca alliance contact for a defined portfolio of high-priority academic relationships, including partnerships as they are established.

• Work with internal and external leaders to set a shared direction, establish effective governance and translate agreements into practical operating plans.

• Coordinate delivery across scientific, Legal, Business Development, Finance, Project Management and other contributors.

• Keep commitments, milestones, decisions and risks visible; address obstacles early and lead escalations when needed.

• Prepare and support Joint Steering Committee and other governance meetings, ensuring decisions are clear and followed through.

• Maintain trusted institutional relationships and identify opportunities to strengthen or extend alliances where this supports R&D priorities.

• Support amendments, renegotiations and, where appropriate, the orderly transition or conclusion of alliances.

Enable delivery across the wider alliance portfolio

• Act as an accessible point of contact for colleagues who directly manage academic collaborations within their scientific or functional areas.

• Help collaboration owners put proportionate governance, delivery plans, decision rights, milestone tracking and risk management in place.

• Provide practical guidance, templates and problem-solving support without displacing the accountable project or relationship owner.

• Connect teams to the right expertise across AstraZeneca and help resolve cross-functional or institutional issues that could slow delivery.

• Maintain a coherent view of the portfolio, surfacing themes, dependencies, risks and opportunities for Academic Alliances and senior stakeholders.

• Build a community of practice for alliance management, sharing lessons and raising consistency while keeping the approach appropriate to each collaboration.

Build the capability with us

• Help define how alliance management operates within the new Academic Alliances team, from governance standards and ways of working to reporting and measures of partnership health.

• Bring external best practice and adapt it to the needs of academic research collaborations and BioPharma R&D.

• Contribute to the shaping of new alliances so that delivery, governance and relationship considerations are built in before signature.

• Create stronger continuity across the partnership lifecycle and bring learning from active alliances back into future opportunity and portfolio discussions.

Essential skills and experience

• Bachelor's degree in life sciences, or a related discipline.

• At least 8 years of relevant professional experience, including experience managing complex, multi-stakeholder alliances, collaborations or programs in pharmaceutical, biotechnology, academic research or a related life-sciences environment.

• Strong understanding of drug discovery and development, with the ability to connect scientific objectives to portfolio and delivery priorities.

• Demonstrated experience working with external partners, ideally including academic institutions and major research organizations.

• Ability to lead some alliances directly while enabling other accountable owners to manage their collaborations effectively.

• Strong alliance, project and portfolio management capabilities, including governance, milestone tracking, risk management, decision support and reporting.

• Ability to translate complex contract terms into clear operating plans, decision rights and accountabilities.

• Excellent communication and relationship skills, with confidence engaging senior scientific and business leaders internally and externally.

• Ability to navigate ambiguity, influence without direct authority and resolve partnership issues with sound judgement, tact and diplomacy.

• Strategic thinking combined with attention to detail and a strong focus on execution.

Desirable experience

• Advanced scientific degree (preferably MS, PhD)

• Experience leading strategic academic alliances with major US universities or research institutions.

• Familiarity with research collaboration agreements, contractual obligations, amendments and escalation pathways.

• Experience supporting Joint Steering Committees or comparable senior governance forums.

• Experience establishing or improving an alliance management capability, operating model or community of practice.

Why join us?

This is more than a role managing established partnerships. It is an opportunity to help build a new academic alliance management capability, shape how a new team works and create the conditions for some of AstraZeneca’s most important academic collaborations to succeed. You will have the breadth to influence the wider portfolio and the depth to lead major alliances personally. From Kendall Square, you will work alongside world-class scientists and institutions, bringing together external ideas, internal expertise and disciplined delivery to advance science and benefit patients.

We welcome applications from candidates who meet many of the requirements and are energized by the opportunity to build productive, long‑term partnerships.

The annual base pay for this position ranges from $164K to $246K. Our positions offer eligibility for various incentives—an opportunity to receive short‑term incentive bonuses, equity‑based awards for salaried roles and commissions for sales roles. Benefits offered include qualified retirement programs, paid time off (i.e., vacation, holiday, and leaves), as well as health, dental, and vision coverage in accordance with the terms of the applicable plans.

Our mission is to build an inclusive environment where equal employment opportunities are available to all applicants and employees. In furtherance of that mission, we welcome and consider applications from all qualified candidates, regardless of their protected characteristics. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please complete the corresponding section in the application form.