VP/SVP Business Development and Strategy Lead

Flagship Pioneering is a biotechnology company that invents and builds platform companies that change the world. We bring together the greatest scientific minds with entrepreneurial company builders and assemble the capital to allow them to take courageous leaps. Those big leaps in human health and sustainability exponentially accelerate scientific progress in areas ranging from cancer detection and treatment to nature-positive agriculture.  

What sets Flagship apart is our ability to advance biotechnology by uniting life science innovation, company creation, and capital investment under one roof in a way that is largely without precedent. Our scientific founders, entrepreneurial leaders, and professional capital managers are each aligned around an institutionalized process that enables us to innovate and transform for the benefit of people and planet.  

Many of the companies Flagship has founded have addressed humanity’s most urgent challenges: vaccinating billions of people against COVID-19, curing intractable diseases, improving human health, preempting illness, and feeding the world by improving the resiliency and sustainability of agriculture. 

Flagship has been recognized twice on FORTUNE’s “Change the World” list, an annual ranking of companies that have made a positive social and environmental impact through activities that are part of their core business strategies, and has been twice named to Fast Company’s annual list of the World’s Most Innovative Companies.

VP/SVP Business Development and Strategy Lead

The VP/SVP Business Development and Strategy Lead is a senior leader that will report to the Chief Business Development Officer for Flagship Pioneering. The primary objective of the business development team at Flagship is to drive the closing of valuable business development deals between our platform companies and Pharma. In this newly created role, you will own the articulation and execution of the business development function and strategy for a subset of companies with the Flagship Pioneering ecosystem. The Lead will be a key member of the of the company teams with a high degree of visibility within the company and within Flagship Pioneering. The successful executive will bring a proven track record in establishing the business development strategy for organizations that aligns to their long-term growth plans, identifying and triaging potential partners, negotiating and closing of impactful deals, and understanding of what it takes to execute on partnership commitments. 

Responsibilities  

• The BD and Strategy Lead will serve as the head of business development for a portion of the Flagship Pioneering portfolio companies and thus able to drive consistent deal flow across the ecosystem
• For each company, as the head of BD, a member of the team, the individual will be expected to work as a cross-functional leader of the company, collaborating across multiple areas of the business to become an expert in their product, communication of the value proposition, and relevant biotech and pharma stakeholders.
• Work closely with the CEO, relevant partner group, and members of the senior management team on the development of business development strategy as a contributor to corporate strategy and long-range planning, including identification of relevant value drivers of impactful deals.
• Lead and execute business development initiatives including outreach to potential pharma partners, diligence, structuring, and negotiation/execution of a transaction leveraging cross-functional team (e.g., R&D, Strategy, IP, legal, finance).
• Cultivate a strong and effective partnership with the CEO and relevant partners as a united team that pursues buy-in for the strategy across the Company and with the Board. 
• Work closely with the R&D team to evaluate the potential of early-stage compounds and to integrate a partnership perspective early in the research and development process. 

Qualifications

• Minimum 15 years’ industry experience with a demonstrated track record of business development and corporate strategy leadership. More specifically the ideal candidate will have a strong track record of sell-side business development deals with pharmaceutical/biotech companies, including identifying, evaluating and successfully negotiating significant business transactions.
• An advanced degree (PhD, MD) is strongly preferred. MBA is a plus.
• Previous Senior or Executive Leadership experience required with an enterprise leadership mindset across disciplines, lines, and organizational boundaries a must.
• Ability to understand complex scientific ideas and effectively communicate their value proposition to key internal and external stakeholders.
• Prior experience developing or partnering various types of biotechnology