Senior Director, Head of Organic and Medicinal Chemistry

<p><span>At Genmab, we’re committed to building extra[not]ordinary futures together, by developing antibody products and pioneering, knock-your-socks-off therapies that change the lives of patients and the future of cancer treatment and serious diseases. From our people who are caring, candid, and impact-driven to our business, which is innovative and rooted in science, we believe that being proudly unique, determined to be our best, and authentic is essential to fulfilling our purpose.</span></p><p></p><p><b>The role </b></p><p>As Senior Director, Head of Organic and Medicinal Chemistry for Antibody Drug Conjugates at Genmab, you will play a pivotal role in the Discovery Department, a crucial part of our Research and Development function. You will use your knowledge and expertise to support and bolster Genmab's discovery pipeline. You will lead a new team dedicated to synthetic organic chemistry, medicinal chemistry and analytics, shaping strategic direction, and overseeing all related activities for ADC development.</p><p>Within this role, you will provide strategic leadership and oversight of all synthetic organic and medicinal chemistry activities related to ADCs. This role will involve building up the wet lab capabilities, foster innovation and managing a high-performing team. Your role will be instrumental in ensuring the successful progression of ADC projects from discovery through clinical development.</p><p>Collaboration will be central to your role, as you engage with the various discovery departments and contribute actively to the discovery management team. You will also work closely with our business development team to strategize and motivate external collaborations in linker-payload chemistry.</p><p></p><p><b>Responsibilities </b></p><ul><li><p>Provide strategic direction and leadership for the synthetic organic and medicinal chemistry team, focusing on ADC discovery and development.</p></li><li><p>Lead the functional team of synthetic organic chemists responsible for designing, synthesizing, conjugating, and analyzing payloads, linkers, and the conjugated ADCs.  </p></li><li><p>Development and implementation of innovative synthetic methodologies and strategies to enhance efficiency, scalability, and overall project success.</p></li><li><p>Collaborate closely with cross-functional teams, including biology, pharmacology, protein engineering and manufacturing, to integrate chemistry efforts and achieve project milestones.</p></li><li><p>Shape Genmab’s strategy for scouting and external collaborations on ADC and linker-payload synthetic chemistry, together with business development teams.</p></li><li><p>Contribute to the preparation of patent applications, scientific publications, and regulatory submissions.</p></li><li><p>Oversee budget planning, resource allocation, and ensure projects are completed on time and within budget, in line with strategic priorities.</p></li><li><p>Cultivate a collaborative environment, promoting a culture of excellence and continuous improvement. Encourage scientific knowledge exchange and best practice within the team and across functions.</p></li></ul><p></p><p> <b>Requirements</b></p><ul><li><p>Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry, Medicinal Chemistry, or a related discipline.</p></li><li><p><span>Minimum of </span>10-15 years of experience in early-stage biopharmaceutical or biotechnology industry or partly in academia. Prior experience (5+ years) in a leadership role overseeing cross-functional teams is crucial to manage the complexities and the scale of operations in this role.</p></li><li><p>Proven record of accomplishment of leading successful ADC chemistry projects from discovery to clinical development.</p></li><li><p>Comprehensive knowledge of industry standards and scientific advancements in early-stage discovery chemistry and analytics, involving ADC-, conjugation- and linker-payload chemistry.</p></li><li><p>Expertise in synthetic organic and medicinal chemistry techniques.</p></li><li><p>Strong strategic planning skills.</p></li><li><p>Experience with structure-activity relationship (SAR) studies.</p></li><li><p>Familiarity with computational chemistry and molecular modeling tools is desirable.</p></li><li><p>Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English, with the ability to clearly articulate complex research findings to diverse audiences.</p></li><li><p>Flexibility to adapt to new organizational directions and work on multiple projects simultaneously, in accordance with evolving departmental needs.</p></li></ul><p></p><p><b>About You</b></p><ul><li>You are passionate about our purpose and genuinely care about our mission to transform the lives of patients through innovative cancer treatment</li><li>You bring rigor and excellence to all that you do. You are a fierce believer in our rooted-in-science approach to problem-solving</li><li>You are a generous collaborator who can work in teams with diverse backgrounds</li><li>You are determined to do a