Executive Director, Discovery-Oncology

Executive Director, Discovery Oncology

At Johnson & Johnson, we believe health is everything. Our strength in healthcare innovation empowers us to build a world where complex diseases are prevented, treated, and cured, where treatments are smarter and less invasive, and solutions are personal. Through our expertise in Innovative Medicine and MedTech, we are uniquely positioned to innovate across the full spectrum of healthcare solutions today to deliver the breakthroughs of tomorrow, and profoundly impact health for humanity.

We are searching for the best talent for an Executive Director, Discovery Oncology position. You will be responsible for leading and guiding the Oncology discovery research in selected cancer indications. The Executive Director, Discovery Oncology defines and executes on the strategy for Oncology Discovery. This individual will develop a portfolio of therapeutics addressing core pathways in Oncology from project concept through to entrance into clinical trials.

You will also be responsible for:

• Leading a global group of approximately 20-40 people (including regular FTEs, temporary contractors and postdoctoral fellows), guiding their science with an emphasis on scientific quality and rigor.
• In partnership with Oncology leadership, including TA head, clinical, strategic and functional leaders, defines the scientific strategy for the TA and develops a portfolio of assets for solid cancer indications.
• As a Disease Area Stronghold discovery leader executes on the strategy for the end-to-end Oncology portfolio.
• Creating an environment that values innovation, leadership, scientific excellence, urgency, and personal accountability.
• Managing resource allocations across programs, included shared resources across labs.
• Proactively influencing across functional areas and external partners to align project activities with strategic goals.
• Establishing internal and external collaborations to facilitate execution of Discovery strategy.
• Partnering with external collaborators and innovation centers to evaluate and discover new approaches, technologies, and targets in support of the Oncology portfolio.
• Partnering with business development to evaluate external assets and bring new molecules into the pipeline.
• Running collaborations with both academic and industry partners.
• Providing management oversight including personal talent development, training, coaching and guidance to discovery scientists.
• Ensuring compliance with all J&J training, while ensuring safe laboratory working practices for self and reports.
• Ensuring consistent experiments/data generation for target validation and progression through discovery stages.

Qualifications / Requirements:

• PhD with deep content knowledge in Oncology.
• 15+ years of demonstrated leadership and drug discovery experience in the area of Oncology, preferably in solid malignancies.
• Solid background in drug discovery across modalities (small, large molecules, cell therapy), including immune therapies.
• Background in cellular, molecular and/or immune tumor biology with a good understanding of the therapeutic landscape in Oncology.
• Strong record of leading programs to the identification of Clinical Candidates.
• Strong track record of publications in the field.
• Broad scope of impact beyond individual projects, eg leading research platforms, target classes, etc.
• Strong external network and recognized as an expert in the field by peers.
• Demonstrated competence for team leadership and/or people skills to manage a team with members in different continents.
• Leading or being part of a significant organization change.
• Heavy influencing across organization boundaries and without direct authority.
• Enterprise thinking.
• Detail-oriented as well as being able to see the big picture.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills; able to effectively present scientific data and concepts to international standards.
• Shaping and articulating a vision that inspires, engages, and brings others along a change journey.
• Ability to attract and develop talent.