Director, Business Development, Search & Evaluation – Respiratory, Immunology and Inflammation
At GSK, we have bold ambitions for patients, aiming to positively impact the health of 2.5 billion people by the end of the decade. Our R&D focuses on discovering and delivering vaccines and medicines, combining our understanding of the immune system with cutting-edge technology to transform people’s lives. GSK fosters a culture ambitious for patients, accountable for impact, and committed to doing the right thing, making sure that we focus our efforts on accelerating significant assets that meet patients’ needs and have the highest probability of success. We’re uniting science, technology, and talent to get ahead of disease together.
Find out more:
This role is an exciting opportunity to shape GSK’s future by identifying and securing external partnerships that drive innovation and growth. You will lead efforts to evaluate and help execute strategic business development deals that align with GSK’s R&D priorities. Working closely with cross-functional teams, you will play a key role in advancing our pipeline and delivering value to patients. We are looking for someone who is collaborative, strategic, and passionate about making a difference.
The Director of Search and Evaluation is a senior role in the R&D organization at GSK, where the role holder supports early and late-stage global business development and licensing initiatives and has a direct impact on the success of the GSK Respiratory, Inflammation and Immunology strategy and portfolio. The Search and Evaluation (S&E) group is responsible for proactively scouting external innovation to strengthen GSK’s medicines portfolio. By assembling teams of internal subject matter experts, the role holder will conduct technical evaluation and due diligence activities that ensure an in-depth understanding of strategic investment opportunities. Working collaboratively with multiple stakeholders, the role holder will bring forward business cases to internal governance bodies to secure endorsement.
By effectively synthesizing and communicating the merits of potential investment opportunities, the role holder will enable enterprise decision-making related to business development opportunities. The successful candidate will have a strong scientific and clinical background, proven project and people leadership, business and strategic acumen and excellent communication skills. In addition, the candidate will have an ability to engage and collaborate across organizational boundaries with an entrepreneurial attitude by acting with urgency and agility.
Key Responsibilities:
1. Synthesize varied and vast information including clinical data, competitive landscape, market, and investment trends to formulate business cases that will deliver substantial enterprise value to GSK.
2. Possess gravitas and significant learning agility allowing for fluency across disciplines, allowing the role holder to drive constructive challenge and debate amongst senior stakeholders to ensure the best outcomes for GSK.
3. Act with substantial urgency and entrepreneurial attitude in driving the deal process to go/no-go decisions.
4. Engage with the life science investment and biotech community, alongside senior GSK executives, to represent GSK strategic initiatives and business priorities to build relationships and industry-leading deal flow.
5. Establishing and leading initial technical evaluation and formal diligence processes to drive the rigorous scientific evaluation of potential assets and deliver clear recommendations to key governance bodies and senior GSK leadership.
6. Serves as the primary point of contact with the external partner throughout the deal process including during submission and negotiation of non-binding term sheet through to deal execution.
7. Works collaboratively with the Transactional lead during negotiation of term sheets and definitive agreements.
8. Serving as the internal lead in both preparation and presentation of business case and other briefing materials for senior management and internal governance bodies, with support from functions across the business.
9. Working with key stakeholders and cross-functional teams to ensure effective communication, efficient decision-making, to support completion of transactions in a timely manner.
10. Establishes and maintains a broad network of internal and external stakeholders and maintains a high level of external visibility, ensuring GSK appears as the Partner of Choice for the Biotech community.
11. Expert in industry trends and awareness of competitor datasets in GSK areas of strategic focus.
Basic Qualifications:
12. Advanced degree in the life sciences (such as MS, PhD, PharmD, MD)
13. 5 or more years in drug discovery or development with a focus on one or more of the respiratory, immunology or inflammation therapeutic areas
14. 5 or more years of experience in pharmaceutical business development, deal sheet submission required
Preferred Qualifications:
15. PhD / MD, plus ideally a post-doc or MBA experience, or equivalent
16. 5 or more years of experience in business development in a multinational pharmaceutical company setting
17. Experience in pharmaceutical R&D, demonstrating international experience in multiple cultures and drug discovery / clinical environments.
18. Strong scientific reputation in drug discovery and development
19. Ability to interact and communicate effectively with senior executive teams
20. Proven innovation-driven leadership abilities in a drug discovery environment with demonstrable knowledge of drug development
21. A strong track record of building successful internal/external partnership and collaboration relationships, demonstrating cultural sensitivity and awareness
22. Demonstrated ability to lead and influence experienced professionals and executives
23. Ability to think critically, creatively and to anticipate and solve problems
24. Ability to navigate and be successful in a fast-paced, matrixed work environment
25. Excellent communication skills
Work Location:
This role is based in the United States or United Kingdom and offers a hybrid working model, combining on-site and remote work flexibility.
Join us in shaping the future of healthcare and making a meaningful impact on patients’ lives.
Please visit to learn more about the comprehensive benefits program GSK offers US employees.
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’re 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.
GSK is an Equal Opportunity Employer. This ensures that all qualified applicants will receive equal consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity, and sexual orientation), parental status, national origin, age, disability, genetic information (including family medical history), military service or any basis prohibited under federal, state or local law.
Important notice to Employment businesses/ Agencies
GSK does not accept referrals from employment businesses and/or employment agencies in respect of the vacancies posted on this site. All employment businesses/agencies are required to contact GSK's commercial and general procurement/human resources department to obtain prior written authorization before referring any candidates to GSK. The obtaining of prior written authorization is a condition precedent to any agreement (verbal or written) between the employment business/ agency and GSK. In the absence of such written authorization being obtained any actions undertaken by the employment business/agency shall be deemed to have been performed without the consent or contractual agreement of GSK.