Director, Emerging Therapeutic Strategies

Band

Level 6

 

Job Description Summary

Location: Cambridge MA US or Basel Switzerland. This role will follow a hybrid working model.
If based in Europe please apply to REQ-10071789
LI-#hybrid

The Novartis Strategy & Growth Emerging Therapeutic Strategies (ETS) team is seeking a new Director to support the advancement of Novartis’ enterprise strategy for ETS by independently driving strategic analyses, shaping recommendations, and leading defined workstreams across emerging technologies and therapeutic opportunities. This individual will operate with autonomy across the group’s remit while partnering closely with leadership as necessary to encourage enterprise-level alignment and execution.

 

Job Description

Key Responsibilities:

1. Enterprise Leadership on “Where to Play”

• Contribute to the development and refinement of strategic agendas across emerging technologies, pathways, and whitespace opportunities.

• Conduct independent research, landscape analysis, and early framing of opportunities where Novartis may expand or refine its position.

• Develop clear, insight-driven recommendations that feed into enterprise-level decision-making.

2. Governance Leadership & Cross‑Functional Alignment

• Support preparation for governance engagements (e.g., ECN, IMB, DTB, TAR) and participate as appropriate.

• Facilitate cross-functional alignment across BR, Development, Strategy & Growth, and commercial units by driving structured problem-solving, synthesizing diverse inputs.

• Ensure materials are well-structured, objective, and aligned to key strategic questions.

3. Strategic Portfolio Direction & Prioritization

• Evaluate emerging focus areas, assessing scientific maturity, inflection points, risks, and strategic value.

• Identify opportunity gaps and propose internal or external approaches (build, partner, deprioritize) with supporting analyses.

• Partner with senior leaders where required to collaborate and effectively transition ownership of opportunities to relevant TA, platform, or commercial organizations.

4. External Horizon & Technology Landscape Leadership

• Conduct horizon scanning across priority modalities and pathways, synthesizing competitive, scientific, and market signals into actionable insights.

• Engage internal and external stakeholders selectively to deepen understanding of emerging trends, technologies, and partnership opportunities.

• Maintain awareness of cutting-edge developments to support ETS strategic foresight and leadership decision-making.

Key Performance Indicators

• Successfully complete projects / ad-hoc requests as defined.

• Positive feedback from project sponsors and (internal and external) key stakeholders regarding quality of project output and interaction.

• High-quality strategic outputs that inform enterprise-level decisions and direction in relation to emerging technologies and therapy area diversification.

• Evidence of creativity and proactivity in identifying potential areas of scientific breakthrough that drive growth.

• Effective cross-functional coordination and positive feedback from collaborators and project sponsors.

• Timely and accurate delivery of insights supporting early-stage program teams.

• Demonstrated ability to work autonomously while ensuring strong alignment with team leadership.

   

Essential Requirements:                            

• Bachelor's degree required, advanced degree (PhD, MD, or other advanced University degree) or equivalent experience in life science/healthcare; MBA, consulting, or equivalent experience highly desirable.

• Highly agile, with the capacity to manage coherent strategic evaluation of diverse and ambiguous scientific and technological subject matter.

• Some experience evaluating new product opportunities through M&A, BD&L, and internal research programs.

• At least 5-10 years’ experience of pharma industry and/or medical devices.

• Experience in conducting, commissioning, and analyzing primary research.

• Experience of strategy development and asset shaping early in lifecycle (any functional perspective).

• Experience in global roles or with high exposure to those with global responsibility

• Ability to comfortably engage with senior leadership as well as mid-career associates to influence and challenge with excellent interp