Senior Director - External Innovation, Search & Evaluation

Eli Lilly and Company; Indianapolis (IN); On-site; USD 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

An established industry player is seeking a visionary leader to spearhead external innovation in drug delivery solutions. This role is pivotal in shaping strategies that bridge Lilly's therapeutic areas with cutting-edge technologies. You will lead a talented cross-functional team, drive assessments of new drug delivery technologies, and foster collaborations that enhance patient care. If you are passionate about making a difference in healthcare and possess a strong track record in pharmaceutical innovation, this is your opportunity to impact lives globally while working in a dynamic and supportive environment.

Qualifications

• PhD or Master's in relevant field required.
• 12+ years in the pharmaceutical industry with a focus on innovation.

Responsibilities

• Define external innovation strategy for drug delivery solutions.
• Lead assessments of potential in-licensing opportunities.

Skills

Project Management

Analytical Skills

Leadership Skills

Problem Solving

Communication Skills

Education

PhD in Engineering

Master's in Life Sciences

Pharmaceutical Science

Job description

At Lilly, we unite caring with discovery to make life better for people around the world. We are a global healthcare leader headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. Our employees around the world work to discover and bring life-changing medicines to those who need them, improve the understanding and management of disease, and give back to our communities through philanthropy and volunteerism. We give our best effort to our work, and we put people first. We’re looking for people who are determined to make life better for people around the world.

The Drug Delivery and New Product Innovation group within Lilly’s DDCS (Delivery and Device Connected Solutions) function studies physiological barriers across various routes of administration to apply and create novel patient centric drug delivery solutions. With a broad focus to develop injection device platforms and novel delivery devices to improve patient care, the group focuses on serving as a center of excellence in the following areas:

• Injection physiology and new device ideation
• Novel routes of administration/new modalities
• Drug delivery of new modalities (such as nucleic acid therapeutics), monoclonal antibodies, synthetic peptides, and small molecules
• Connected devices, digital biomarkers and nanomedicine

We are seeking a highly collaborative and entrepreneurial leader to head DDCS’s search and evaluation (S&E) capability. S&E seeks and evaluates early and late stage external drug delivery and device technologies and platforms for potential data driven collaborations and partnerships across all of Lilly’s therapeutic areas. In addition, the S&E leader will manage a cross functional team of drug delivery experts to shape the discussion and advancement of new drug delivery technologies for new product creation, as well as participating in due diligence activities, and working with Lilly Venture Science and Gateway Labs for screening and identification of technologies relevant to Lilly’s portfolio.

Position Responsibilities:

• Define and drive the external innovation strategy for DDCS, incorporating the needs of therapeutic areas and other Lilly organizations by identifying potential areas of technical disruption (“skate to where the puck will be”) as well as key gaps within Lilly’s portfolio requiring external partnership activities.
• Serve as the organizational expert in the delivery and device external environment by understanding the competitive environment, both pharma and high-tech, to anticipate potential areas of disruption and gain the advantage.
• Lead the identification and rigorous, objective assessments of potential in-licensing opportunities with a keen sense of key issues and appropriate expertise to facilitate resolution.
• Lead and/or participate in visits to external companies with senior leadership, functional groups, business development, and diligence team members.
• Leadership in the development of project concepts and execution of these projects when working with external groups including managing or facilitating research collaborations.
• Lead the communication of the results of technical evaluations to internal and external stakeholders, particularly cross-functional senior leadership.
• Develop, maintain, and manage relationships within the external broad technology community including in pharma and biotech companies, research institutes, academia, high tech companies, start-ups, managed healthcare organizations, and other scientific organizations.
• Ensure integration of efforts through rigorous goal setting, effective teamwork, performance management, collaboration with Lilly groups and a commitment to serving customers both through the BU’s, therapeutic areas and outside the Company.
• Plan and execute the cross functional drug delivery leadership team meetings with agenda, minutes, strategy and other logistical planning.
• Support the establishment, maintenance, and ongoing reporting timelines for various external collaborations and using project management experience to understand various stage gates and go-nogo criteria.

Minimum Requirements:

• Ph D. or master's in engineering, Life Sciences, Pharmaceutical Science or related field.
• Minimum of 12 years’ experience (15+ with Masters) in the pharmaceutical industry with a strong track record for external innovation, product development and project management.

Additional Skills/Preferences:

• Demonstrated scientific knowledge of Pharmaceutical Drug Discovery, Clinical Development and Intellectual Property Processes.
• Strong analytical skills and the ability to communicate complex information and analyses to a variety of scientific and non-scientific audiences.
• Strong interpersonal & leadership skills and ability to represent Lilly in a highly professional manner.
• Strong organizational skills and demonstrated ability to multitask efficiently and prioritize quickly.
• Executive presence with strong oral and written communication skills.
• Strong problem solving, project management and leadership skills.
• Experience working in a matrix environment as well as leading and leveraging the matrix.
• Demonstrated ability to work independently as well as in highly integrated cross functional teams.

Other Information:

Travel: 25-40% (including OUS).

Location: Indianapolis, IN

Lilly is dedicated to helping individuals with disabilities to actively engage in the workforce, ensuring equal opportunities when vying for positions. If you require accommodation to submit a resume for a position at Lilly, please complete the accommodation request form (https://careers.lilly.com/us/en/workplace-accommodation) for further assistance.

Lilly is an EEO/Affirmative Action Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, protected veteran status, disability or any other legally protected status.

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