Director, Biotech Strategy Lead - CNS/ Rare Disease

ICON; Center Square (PA); Remote; USD 180,000 - 280,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance offerings

Retirement planning options

Global Employee Assistance Programme

Job summary

ICON is a global healthcare intelligence and clinical research organization seeking a Director, Biotech Strategy Lead, CNS/ Rare Disease, US, remote. You will shape innovative development strategies for biotechnology clients, serving as a strategic advisor and thought leader in CNS/ Rare Disease drug development and clinical delivery.

You will partner across Business Development, Operations, Medical, Scientific, and Finance teams to translate client objectives into differentiated, feasible

Qualifications

• 9+ years of experience in pharma/biotech/CRO/drug development
• Demonstrated CNS/ Rare Disease therapeutic area expertise
• Experience supporting business development: proposals, opportunity assessment, client presentations, bid defenses
• Able to translate scientific, clinical, operational, and commercial considerations into strategic solutions
• Proven ability to lead complex cross-functional initiatives without direct reporting authority
• Executive-level communication, negotiation, and relationship-management skills
• Willingness to travel ~25% across US

Responsibilities

• Shape differentiated CNS/ Rare Disease clinical development and operational strategies
• Serve as a strategic advisor during client engagements and bid defenses
• Lead the strategic development of proposals and client responses
• Build trusted relationships with biotech clients and understand their development priorities
• Provide strategic oversight from solution development through execution
• Apply CNS/ Rare Disease expertise to business strategy and client needs
• Strengthen ICON's CNS/ Rare Disease positioning through cross-functional collaboration

Skills

Strategic thinking

Stakeholder management

Proposal strategy

Client engagement

Cross-functional leadership

CNS/ Rare Disease expertise

Business development

Presentation skills

Education

Bachelor's degree in Life Sciences or related

Job description

Biotech Strategy Lead- CNS/ Rare Disease - US - REMOTE

ICON is a global healthcare intelligence and clinical research organisation united by a mission to bring new medicines and treatments to patients faster.

As a values-driven organisation, integrity, collaboration, agility, and inclusion are at the heart of how we work and interact with each other, customers, patients and suppliers.

As a Director, Biotech Strategy Lead, CNS/ Rare Disease, you will play a key role in shaping innovative clinical development strategies and solutions for biotechnology clients, with a specific focus on CNS/ Rare Disease. Acting as a strategic advisor, CNS/ Rare Disease therapeutic area expert, and thought leader, you will bring deep understanding of CNS/ Rare Disease drug development, clinical operations, and the biotech environment to create differentiated solutions that address client needs and support business growth.

You will partner across Business Development, Operations, Medical, Scientific, Finance, and senior leadership teams to shape opportunity strategy, engage clients, support proposals and bid defenses, and translate CNS/ Rare Disease-focused clinical development strategies into successful operational delivery. This is a highly influential individual contributor role requiring the ability to lead through therapeutic expertise, strategic thinking, collaboration, and influence within a complex global matrix.

What you will do

• Shape differentiated CNS/ Rare Disease clinical development and operational strategies for biotechnology opportunities, translating client objectives, development plans, and scientific requirements into innovative, practical, and commercially competitive solutions.
• Serve as a strategic advisor and CNS/ Rare Disease therapeutic area expert during client engagements, opportunity assessments, capability presentations, proposal strategy discussions, and bid defenses.
• Lead the strategic development of proposals and solutions, partnering across Business Development, Operations, Finance, Medical, Scientific, and CNS/ Rare Disease teams to develop compelling responses to RFIs, RFPs, budgets, and other client requirements.
• Build trusted relationships with biotech clients, developing a deep understanding of their CNS/ Rare Disease pipelines, development priorities and business objectives while identifying opportunities to expand strategic partnerships and portfolios.
• Provide strategic oversight from solution development through execution, evaluating operational feasibility, financial assumptions, risks, KPIs, KRIs, quality indicators, and performance data to help ensure proposed strategies translate effectively into clinical delivery.
• Apply deep CNS/ Rare Disease and drug development expertise to business strategy, providing insight into evolving development approaches, scientific and clinical trends, operational challenges, competitive dynamics, and changing client needs within the CNS/ Rare Disease market.
• Strengthen ICON's CNS/ Rare Disease positioning and capabilities through cross-functional collaboration, continuous improvement, knowledge sharing, and participation in client meetings, conferences, webinars, scientific forums, and other thought leadership activities.

Your profile

• Bachelor's degree in Life Sciences, Business Administration, or a related discipline; a scientific or biological sciences background is highly valued.
• Approximately 9 or more years of experience within the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, CRO, clinical research, or drug development environment, with significant exposure to clinical development and trial operations.
• Demonstrated CNS/ Rare Disease therapeutic area expertise, with a strong understanding of CNS/ Rare Disease drug development, clinical development strategies, study design considerations, and operational challenges within the biotech environment.
• Demonstrated experience supporting business development activities, including proposal strategy, opportunity assessment, client presentations, bid defenses, and development of differentiated client solutions.
• Experience translating scientific, clinical, operational, and commercial considerations into strategic solutions that are both operationally feasible and responsive to the needs of CNS/ Rare Disease biotech clients.
• Proven ability to lead complex cross-functional initiatives and influence stakeholders within a global, matrixed organization without relying on direct reporting-line authority.
• Executive-level communication, presentation, negotiation, and relationship-management skills, with the ability to engage senior client and internal stakeholders and confidently represent CNS/ Rare Disease strategies and recommendations.
• Strong business acumen, analytical thinking, sound judgment, and the ability to assess development challenges, business risks, financial considerations, and operational performance to inform strategic decision-making.
• Live in the US and able to travel approximately 25% based on business and client needs.

What ICON can offer you: Our success depends on the quality of our people. That's why we've made it a priority to build a diverse culture that rewards high performance and nurtures talent.

In addition to your competitive salary, ICON offers a range of additional benefits. Our benefits are designed to be competitive within each country and are focused on well-being and work life balance opportunities for you and your family.

Our benefits examples include:

• Various annual leave entitlements
• A range of health insurance offerings to suit you and your family’s needs.
• Competitive retirement planning offerings to maximize savings and plan with confidence for the years ahead.
• Global Employee Assistance Programme, LifeWorks, offering 24-hour access to a global network of over 80,000 independent specialized professionals who are there to support you and your family’s well-being.
• Life assurance
• Flexible country-specific optional benefits, including childcare vouchers, bike purchase schemes, discounted gym memberships, subsidized travel passes, health assessments, among others.

Visit our careers site to read more about the benefits ICON offers.

At ICON, inclusion & belonging are fundamental to our culture and values. We're dedicated to providing an inclusive and accessible environment for all candidates. ICON is committed to providing a workplace free of discrimination and harassment. All qualified applicants will receive equal consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or protected veteran status.

If, because of a medical condition or disability, you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application process, or in order to perform the essential functions of a position, please let us know or submit a request here