Sr. Director - Immunology Portfolio Strategy and Operations

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.

Position Summary:
 

The Immunology Research Portfolio Strategy and Operations Lead is responsible for overseeing the strategic and operational execution of the immunology discovery and early clinical portfolio. They will manage portfolio review meetings, ensure alignment with strategic priorities, and coordinate communications with internal and external stakeholders. This role involves optimizing project execution within budget and collaborating with research, clinical leaders, and external innovation to refine therapeutic strategies. Additionally, they will assess portfolio effectiveness, recommend actions, and facilitate brainstorming sessions. They serve as a key liaison between scientific teams, research enablement, translational medicine, early clinical development, external innovation, and cross-functional partners to maximize resource utilization and drive results.

Roles and Responsibilities of the position:
 

• Lead operations of portfolio strategy, encompassing internal and external innovation. Organize and manage Immunology portfolio review meetings that occur on a bi-weekly and bi-annual cadence.

• Organize agendas, Teams/SharePoint sites, and communications with project teams, leadership, and stakeholders

• Ensure alignment and communication of strategic priorities with external partners

• Ensure project teams execute in alignment with discovery TPP and TA budget

• Collaborate with Immunology research and clinical leaders to develop and refine strategies for B, T, innate cell therapies, and special projects (e.g., incretins)

• Work closely with Discovery Leadership and project teams to define and update quarterly objectives and strategies.

• Support New Target Validation leader on process and operations for efficient assessment and decision-making for projects entering the portfolio.

• Facilitate brainstorming on project execution strategy and tactics, optimize project resourcing.

• Support External Innovation on development of research plans associated with collaborations

• Lead assessments of portfolio effectiveness and risk, recommend actions.

• Act as a key liaison between science teams, research enablement, translational medicine, bioinformatics, early clinical development, external innovation, and cross-functional partners to optimize resources and drive results for pre-/portfolio projects.

• Assist with preparations for portfolio updates and investor calls.

Required Qualifications:
 

• BS, MS and/or PhD in immunology, molecular molecular biology, or relevant field

• Minimum 10 years of relevant experience (5+ with PhD) in pharmaceutical and/or biotechnology companies

• Experience in creating and executing towards target product profiles for new therapeutic molecules with experience in at least two of the following autoimmune disease areas: dermatology (psoriasis, atopic dermatitis), rheumatology (rheumatoid arthritis, lupus), inflammatory bowel diseases (Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis), and/or respiratory (asthma, COPD).

• Experience leading strategy workstreams. Able to elicit diverse opinions and work with teams and leadership to synthesize compelling strategies. Track-record of successful project conclusion

Additional Preferences:
 

• Deep understanding of drug discovery and development in the area of immunology and autoimmunity, including  competitive landscape, regulatory and commercial considerations

• Deep understanding of scientific principles underlying novel target discovery and factors affecting portfolio progression across therapeutic modalities, including but not limited to biologics, small molecules, and genetic medicines

• Expertise in T, B, or innate immune cell biology as demonstrated through publications.

• Experience in preclinical data package generation to support IND submissions

• Demonstrated success through publications and/or patents in discovering and developing hit to candidate stage molecules for autoimmune diseases across different modalities including experience with biologics, small molecules and antibody conjugates.<