We are looking for an experienced Project Leader at Senior Principal Scientist level to lead cross-disciplinary drug discovery programmes from our headquarters in London. As a central member of our drug discovery team of more than 100 professionals working on 8 named discovery / development stage programmes, you will support small molecule drug discovery over a range of disease indications from Hit ID through to Lead Optimisation and Candidate delivery.
Responsibilities
- Responsible / accountable for overall leadership of one or more small molecule drug discovery programmes from Hit ID through to Candidate nomination
- Devise, lead and implement clear strategies to advance assigned programmes through key stage gates within timelines and budget, regularly updating senior leadership with clear strategic recommendations
- Work closely with experts across chemistry, biology, safety amp; DMPK as well as computational chemistry, cheminformatics and bioinformatics, providing robust scientific challenge to ensure strong decision making
- Coordinate with functions to ensure the appropriate resource and experience are supporting the project team at the required time and that assigned resources are effectively utilised
- Contribute to external collaborative relationships with academic leaders and contract research organisations as needed
- Contribute to departmental leadership to influence wider drug discovery projects and processes / technologies
- Matrix leadership of cross-functional teams will be an essential part of the role and direct supervision of others may also be required
We are looking for:
- A PhD or equivalent in a biological or chemical science with gt;8 years industry research experience, or a relevant degree with gt;13 years industry research experience, and preferably at least 3 years providing overall leadership for drug discovery programmes
- Proven ability to work successfully in multi-disciplinary drug discovery teams and to lead small molecule drug discovery programmes to Candidate nomination
- Ability to work resiliently under pressure, manage complex projects and deliver to defined timelines ensuring all studies and documents are completed as required
- Ability to critically analyse and act upon complex datasets across all disciplines, making pragmatic data-driven decisions to advance assigned projects
- Understanding of all aspects required to position programmes for successful transition into pre-clinical and clinical phases, as well as for partnering
- Evidence of creative thinking and problem solving, confidently applying novel strategies to efficiently move projects to important decision points
- Previous line management experience and the ability to motivate and develop team members
- Excellent oral and written communication skills, able to tailor the complexity of communications as and when required, whilst maintaining clarity of communication
- Experience of leading programmes in preclinical development would be advantageous, though not required for the role