AVP, Head of General & Specialty Medicine Clinical Science

Job Description

The Associate Vice President, Head of General & Specialty Medicine Clinical Science, is the global functional leader for the General & Specialty Medicine Clinical Scientist (CS) organization within General & Specialty Medicine Clinical Development. This role is accountable for setting scientific standards, operating model, and talent strategy for Clinical Scientists supporting our company's late stage General & Specialty Medicine portfolio across Immunology, Cardiovascular & Respiratory, Atherosclerosis & Metabolism, and Neuroscience.

The Associate Vice President (AVP) ensures that Clinical Scientists deliver consistent, high quality‑ scientific and technical oversight of studies and assets, partnering closely with Clinical Directors (CDs), Product Development Team Leaders, Therapeutic Area Heads, Global Clinical Trials operations teams as well as other cross functional partners to advance programs from First-In-Human‑through registration and lifecycle management.

This role is not asset specific; rather, it provides horizontal leadership and governance of clinical scientists across the General & Specialty Medicine portfolio.

Primary Responsibilities:

Functional & Strategic Leadership:

• Serves as the global head of the General & Specialty Medicine Clinical Scientist function, with accountability for role clarity, scientific quality, and consistent execution across all General & Specialty Medicine programs.

• Define and maintain clear role delineation between Clinical Scientists and Clinical Directors, aligned with our company's Clinical Development operating model.

• Establish expectations for scientific rigor, judgment, and decision making appropriate to‑ phase, modality, and risk.

• Continually optimize organizational design, role clarity, and resourcing for Clinical Scientists aligned with portfolio priorities.

Clinical Science Standards & Quality:

• Own the clinical scientist framework for General & Specialty Medicine studies, including:

  • Optimization of organizational design and resources

  • Ownership and optimization of key processes, talent and succession management

• Ensure consistency and quality of CS contributions to:

  • Protocols and amendments

  • Investigator Brochures

  • Medical monitoring and safety plans

  • Regulatory and scientific documents (e.g., INDs, briefing packages, responses)

• Provide senior scientific input into data interpretation for clinical outcomes, safety signal evaluation, and benefit risk assessments, particularly for complex or high‑ risk‑ programs.

Matrix Partnership & Governance:

• Act as a senior scientific partner to Therapeutic Area Heads and Clinical Development leadership across General & Specialty Medicine.

• Represent the Clinical Scientist function in governance forums, review committees, and inspection readiness activities, as appropriate.

• Partner closely with Clinical Trial Operations teams ensuring seamless work between clinical and operations.

• Partner closely with Regulatory, Safety, Biostatistics, and Translational Medicine to ensure integrated development strategies.

Talent Development & Capability Building:

• Provide vision, direction, and sponsorship for the General & Specialty Medicine Clinical Scientist organization.

• Ensure robust performance management, coaching, and career development processes are implemented by CS people leaders.

• Build a strong pipeline of General & Specialty Medicine scientific talent with depth in disease biology, modality expertise, and clinical judgment.

• Foster a culture of scientific rigor, accountability, and patient focused‑ development.

Operational Excellence & Inspection Readiness:

• Ensure Clinical Scientist processes support inspection readiness, audit outcomes, and data integrity.

• Drive continuous improvement informed by inspections, internal learnings, and external benchmarking.

• Ensure clear escalation pathways for complex scientific and safety issues.

Scope & Reporting:

• Reports into the Senior Vice President Area Head General & Specialty Medicine Clinical Development leadership

• Leads a global General & Specialty Medicine Clinical Scientist organization supporting multiple therapeutic areas and modalities of therapeutics.

• Interfaces routinely with:

  • Therapeutic Area Heads

  • Product development team le