Associate Vice President Pain Early Development

Job ID: R-110264Company: LillyLocation: Indianapolis, Indiana, United States of AmericaJob Type: Full TimeCategory: Research & DevelopmentPosted Date: 2026-09-02At Lilly, the work is demanding because patients are waiting. We unite caring with discovery to help make life better for people around the world, knowing that every decision, every detail, and every day matters. Headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, our over 50,000 employees around the globe take on complex challenges to discover and deliver life-changing medicines, strengthen how health is understood and managed, and support the communities we serve. This is hard, urgent, selfless work—but it’s work worth doing. If you’re driven by purpose and ready to bring your best to work that truly matters for patients, we invite you to join us. The Global Lead, Pain Early Development is a senior medical and scientific leadership role reporting to Lilly Research Laboratories and Neuroscience Business Unit leadership. This leader provides medical and strategic direction for all Pain products across the early-phase portfolio, overseeing clinical development from first patient dose through end of Phase 2 or commercial decision point.This role is central to advancing Lilly's commitment to bringing differentiated solutions for pain through innovative modalities and accelerated development approaches. The Global Lead partners across Neuroscience, Lilly Research Laboratories, and the Medicines Development Unit to shape clinical strategy, drive portfolio delivery, and represent Lilly's pain agenda with regulatory bodies and the external scientific community.Key Responsibilities:Portfolio Strategy & Clinical DevelopmentDefine and lead the integrated clinical development strategy for the Neuroscience Pain early-phase portfolio, spanning compounds in discovery through Phase 2.Establish governance frameworks and decision-making processes for early portfolio programs, including go/no-go decisions and stage-gate reviews.Provide enterprise-wide visibility into Pain portfolio health, pipeline gaps, and development opportunities to senior leadership.Partner with Lilly Research Laboratories and the Medicines Development Unit to align clinical strategy with long-range business objectives.Drive accountability for the full clinical implementation of the Pain portfolio with a focus on innovative and accelerated development approaches.Establish clinical strategy and ensure appropriate integration of tissue biomarkers and diagnostics into Pain development programs.Contribute to global alignment of clinical plans with business unit and LRL priorities, including Draft Launch Labels and Value Propositions addressing patient, provider, and payer needs.External Innovation & Business DevelopmentDefine where the Pain portfolio will focus externally — including priority biology, novel modalities, diagnostics, and academic collaborations — to address current and future portfolio needs.Provide leadership for establishing new business development areas and academic partnerships in Pain.Apply portfolio-level prioritization frameworks, balancing scientific opportunity, strategic fit, risk, timing, and unmet medical need.Serve as the Neuroscience Pain authority on how external innovation — including RNA silencing techniques, genetic therapies, and emerging delivery modalities — strengthens portfolio resilience and differentiation.Drive the successful execution and integration of partnerships and collaborations involving the Pain portfolio.Regulatory Affairs & Scientific EngagementLead interactions with global regulatory bodies and other governmental agencies as needed to advance the clinical development of pain molecules.Engage external medical and scientific experts to represent Lilly and involve them in molecule development and clinical trial implementation.Lead the scientific data disclosure strategy for the Pain clinical development portfolio, overseeing protocols, study reports, publications, and regulatory submissions.Represent Lilly Neuroscience in external scientific forums and meetings, serving as a credible ambassador for the Pain portfolio.Oversee compliance with adverse event reporting requirements as mandated by corporate patient safety standards.Early Portfolio Program OversightOversee the integration of early-stage Pain program strategy across Neuroscience, ensuring alignment with current and future business unit priorities.Drive awareness and alignment on program governance milestones, go/no-go decision frameworks, and stage-gate reviews for early-stage pipeline.Manage portfolio-level risk assessment and scenario planning for early-stage investments in pain.Establish strategy for the Neuronal Health emerging therapeutic area in coordination with broader Neuroscience leadership.Champion early portfolio Pain assets across cross-functional teams and external collaborators, bridging scientific and commercial perspectives.Leadership & Capability StewardshipBuild, lead, and develop a high-caliber cross-functional team with strengths in clinical strategy, scientific assessment, and pain drug development.Serve as a senior role model and culture carrier, reinforcing Lilly leadership behaviors including enterprise thinking, accountability, sound judgment, and constructive challenge.Establish and continuously evolve capabilities, frameworks, and operating models that strengthen how Neuroscience identifies, evaluates, and advances Pain programs.Elevate the quality of strategic dialogue by coaching leaders and teams on portfolio thinking, translational science, and trade-off-based decision making.Foster strong cross-functional alignment, enabling effective collaboration across R&D, Medical Affairs, Commercial, Corporate Affairs, and Enterprise External Innovation.Act as a trusted leader and advisor to senior stakeholders, influencing decisions through scientific credibility, insight, and synthesis.Minimum QualificationsMedical Doctor must be board eligible or certified in a medical specialty relevant to the role or have completed the comparable level of post-medical school clinical training relevant to the country of hiring. U.S. trained physicians must have achieved board eligibility or certification. Foreign medical graduates in U.S. based jobs, who are not U.S. board eligible or certified may be hired directly for employment in the U.S. at the discretion of the Chief Medical Officer.Non-U.S. trained physicians must have completed education and training at a medical school that meets the requirements of the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME). For the recognized list of foreign medical schools and the disapproved list, see 12+ years of progressive experience in analgesic clinical development or pharmaceutical medicine.Additional PreferencesDeep therapeutic area expertise in pain, including chronic pain.Demonstrated leadership in early-phase clinical development strategy and portfolio delivery.Proven ability to influence senior leaders and shape strategic decisions in complex, matrixed organizations.Strong interpersonal, organizational, and negotiation skills with excellent written and verbal English communication.Track record of leading and influencing cross-functional teams at a senior level.Willingness to engage in domestic and international travel to support the business as needed.Knowledge of drug development with a specific focus on early development; experience spanning multiple modalities preferred.Background in external innovation strategy, academic collaborations, or business development in neuroscience or pain.Familiarity with evolving therapeutic modalities including RNA silencing, gene therapy, and novel delivery approaches.Comfort operating with ambiguity and establishing direction in evolving scientific spaces.Track record of driving alignment across R&D, Medical, Commercial, and Corporate Affairs.Experience leveraging data, analytics, and emerging technologies to inform clinical strategy and prioritization.Lilly is dedicated to helping individuals with disabilities to actively engage in the workforce, ensuring equal opportunities when vying for positions. If you require accommodation to submit a resume for a position at Lilly, please complete the accommodation request form () for further assistance. Please note this is for individuals to request an accommodation as part of the application process and any other correspondence will not receive a response.Lilly is proud to be an EEO Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, religion, gender identity, sex, gender expression, sexual orientation, genetic information, ancestry, national origin, protected veteran status, disability, or any other legally protected status.Our employee resource groups (ERGs) offer strong support networks for their members and are open to all employees. Our current groups include: Africa, Middle East, Central Asia (AMECA), Black Employees at Lilly (View email address on click.appcast.io), Chinese Culture Network (CCN), EnAble, Evolve, Lilly Indian Network (LIN), Organization of Latinx at Lilly (OLA), Pride (LGBTQ+ Allies), Veterans Leadership Network (VLN) and Women’s Initiative for Leading at Lilly (WILL).Actual compensation will depend on a candidate’s education, experience, skills, and geographic location. The anticipated wage for this position is$265,500 - $453,200Full-time equivalent employees also will be eligible for a company bonus (depending, in part, on company and individual performance). In addition, Lilly offers a comprehensive benefit program to eligible employees, including eligibility to participate in a company-sponsored 401(k); pension; vacation benefits; eligibility for medical, dental, vision and prescription drug benefits; flexible benefits (e.g., healthcare and/or dependent day care flexible spending accounts); life insurance and death benefits; certain time off and leave of absence benefits; and well-being benefits (e.g., employee assistance program, fitness benefits, and employee clubs and activities).Lilly reserves the right to amend, modify, or terminate its compensation and benefit programs in its sole discretion and Lilly’s compensation practices and guidelines will apply regarding the details of any promotion or transfer of Lilly employees.#WeAreLillySkillsclinical development strategypain drug developmentboard certification in medicineregulatory affairsportfolio managementearly-phase clinical developmentstage-gate reviewtissue biomarker integrationdiagnostics integrationadverse event reportingrisk assessmentportfolio strategybusiness developmentacademic collaborationexternal innovation strategyrna silencinggene therapynew drug developmentcross-functional team leadershipstrategic decision makingstakeholder engagementscientific data disclosuredata analyticsemerging therapeutic modalitiesscenario planningtranslational science