Senior Director, Global R&D External Innovation & Pipeline Filling and Sourcing

About the Department 

Our Research & Development organization brings together the best minds in life science innovation. The teams located in facilities in Lexington, Watertown, Cambridge and Plainsboro reflect the full R&D continuum, from early research through late-stage clinical development. Here, we are building for the future, creating a distinct R&D community based on collaboration, partnerships, and cutting-edge research across multiple modalities and therapeutic areas. We recognize that improving human health starts here and that patients rely on us. Our R&D hub merges biotech speed and agility with large pharmaceutical company quality, resources, and stability, uniting the best of both worlds to develop new medicines for patients.

The Position

Reports to Associate Vice President of External Innovation & Assessments.   The Senior Director, Global R&D External Innovation & Pipeline Filling and Sourcing role is responsible for identifying, assessing and establishing pre-G1 and technology-focused partnerships to strengthen Novo Nordisk's R&D pipeline, through collaborations with external companies to deliver direct pipeline impact and through creating and deploying engagement models to capture early innovation and breakthrough science from startups, venture partners and incubators. The role is tasked with establishing partnerships that can deliver on the ambitious productivity targets set for the next 2-3 years with projects originating from External Innovation & Sourcing (EI&S) expected to contribute 20-30% of Novo Nordisk's preclinical pipeline.

The Senior Director is leading a global team of Innovation Leads in US, UK and China, who do sourcing, assessment, and establishment of global strategic collaboration agreements with external partners to fill the pipeline through exploring novel biology or transformative technology. The Senior Director has direct report people leader in China (Director of External Innovation & Sourcing China), who has responsibility for coordination of Chinese external innovation activities across China. The Senior Director actively integrates and disseminates knowledge into the global Novo Nordisk R&D organization, focusing on diverse innovation approaches, lean project plan executions, new ways of working, and asset transitioning. 

Relationships

The Senior Director, Global R&D External Innovation & Pipeline Filling and Sourcing serves as a critical interface between the R&D External Innovation (R&D EI) and organizational levels within the Global Research and Therapeutics Discovery organizations in Europe, China and US, as well as the wider R&D in Novo Nordisk. They support the scientific agenda developed as part of the collaborations to be established.

Overall, the Sr. Director will be responsible for building and maintaining relationships with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders to support the pipeline development through external innovation. The role plays a critical role in fostering strong relationships internally and externally. Internal stakeholders include Global Research, Therapeutics Discovery, Medical and Translational Science and specialists across global R&D, R&D senior management, Corporate Patents, and Global Business Development to ensure alignment and collaboration across the organization. External partners include representatives of biotech, venture capital firms, and universities, including partners, biotech executives, and University principal investigators. The Senior EI&S Director will engage with these stakeholders to build and maintain relationships that support the development of a diversified external research pipeline.

Essential Functions

• Entrusted with the critical role of securing idea inflow, prioritizing new ideas, and implementing the R&D plan with scientific expertise. Accountable for the interface to the global R&D organization and their allocation of resources to assessment of collaboration opportunities
• Fostering a high-performing team culture across multiple geographies (DK, US, China) in accordance with the NN way
• Entrusted with the authority to hire scientific/technical experts to the team (biology, technology, medicinal chemistry, translational medicine)
• Expected to independently drive the innovation agenda and constantly strive for higher performance, actively challenging ordinary processes and priorities
• External Engagement: Develop and maintain strong relationships with global