Director, Assistant General Counsel- IP Immunology & Ophthalmology

The Position

Genentech’s Intellectual Property team is seeking a Director, Assistant General Counsel of IP Immunology & Ophthalmology whose passion lies in creating and leveraging game-changing IP strategies that enable Genentech to “do now what patients need next.”  As a senior business strategist and people leader, this individual will push the boundaries of what is possible in a highly competitive industry while operationalizing, leading, empowering and developing their team across a matrixed global organization. This position reports into the Therapeutics IP Practice Group in Genentech’s Legal Department.

The Opportunity

Key areas of oversight and responsibility of this leadership role includes the following:

Practice Group Management 

• Develops and drives practice area strategies that are high value, business enabling, and global in impact and alignment across our affiliates. This includes strategic IP procurement through partnerships and acquisitions, out-licensing transactions, due diligence assessments, freedom-to-operate, infringement and validity analyses, and risk evaluation and mitigation strategies for our innovative and diverse therapeutics across the enterprise.

• Leads and manages a team of patent professionals in the design and delivery of global IP portfolios in the areas of Immunology and Ophthalmology; assessing, communicating and mitigating risk; identifying and exploiting new opportunities and approaches; and leveraging both a knowledge of industry trends and of the competitive landscape across the global Genentech business.

• Provides leadership, empowerment, and coaching to their direct reports, inspiring them to perform at their best, optimizing growth opportunities and capabilities in their team to successfully contribute and operate in the global IP environment. 

• Develops and drives operational models to create value and mitigate risk using fit for purpose solutions, while ensuring high quality legal strategy and counsel in a high performing, fast-paced, agile team setting.

• Proactively evolves and innovates our substantive practices in the Legal practice area or broader Legal Department to meet changing legal and business needs, focusing on solutions that are good for the enterprise rather than particular stakeholders.  

• Ensures that Genentech remains a great, inclusive place to practice game-changing IP law, have fun, and make a difference for patients!

IP Legal Leadership

• Active engagement and contribution as a member of Genentech's IP Leadership team, Genentech’s legal department and Roche’s global legal and patent departments.

• Contributes to the development and implementation of the IP team’s longer term strategies and annual goals, as well as talent management and succession plans.

• Acts as a role model in, for example, clear communication, active listening, poise under pressure, solution-oriented mindset, collaboration across local and global teams, persevering in the face of obstacles, tackling new challenges with curiosity and openness to learning, effectively utilizing available resources.

• Exemplifies winning as “one team” in IP through building effective relationships, communicating and collaborating enthusiastically across time zones and cultures.

Business Support

• Partners effectively with stakeholders at all levels of the global organization and across all phases of research, drug development and commercialization to provide business enabling strategies, counseling and options.

• Effectively partners with Legal colleagues in other practice groups of Genentech/Roche to provide strategic advice and strategy, and operational efficiencies in all intellectual property-related transactions, adverse proceedings, and litigation activities. 

• Sustainably builds enduring, productive external relationships with outside counsel and third party collaborators and partners.

• Impacts the business by sensing and proactively seizing opportunities to create value; being an excellent strategist and influencer; displaying and acting with courage and integrity in tackling difficult or challenging issues within as well as beyond the practice area.

• Prioritizes efforts, creative energy and attention to ensure robust value-added practices and operational efficiencies on a day-to-day basis.

• Maintains and shares deep expertise and knowledge on legal case l