Senior Director - ExploR&D Business Operations and Alliance Management

Job Opportunities At Lilly

At Lilly, we unite caring with discovery to make life better for people around the world. We are a global healthcare leader headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. Our employees around the world work to discover and bring life-changing medicines to those who need them, improve the understanding and management of disease, and give back to our communities through philanthropy and volunteerism. We give our best effort to our work, and we put people first. We're looking for people who are determined to make life better for people around the world.

Lilly Catalyze360 Overview

Lilly Catalyze360 is a comprehensive approach to enabling the early-stage biotech ecosystem by democratizing access to infrastructure, expertise, and resources. Through its interconnected pillarsLilly Ventures, Lilly Gateway Labs, Lilly ExploR&D, and Lilly TuneLabCatalyze360 strategically removes barriers that traditionally block bold science from becoming life-changing medicines, providing biotechs with flexible combinations of capital, physical lab space, R&D capabilities, AI / ML tools, and decades of enterprise learning. Lilly ExploR&D is a team of drug discovery and development experts who partner with biotechs from discovery through clinical proof-of-concept, putting Lilly's industry-leading capabilities behind their missions. We provide flexible supportfrom strategic consulting to full program executionmaking it faster, easier, and more capital-efficient for innovators to transform bold science into life-changing medicines.

Job Summary

The Senior Director, ExploR&D Business Operations and Alliance Management will lead Alliance Management for the ExploR&D portfolio of biotech collaborations and oversee associated contract negotiations to support our external collaborators. This individual will balance strategic oversight with operational execution to ensure successful partner relationships and seamless collaboration execution.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead alliance management across the entire ExploR&D portfolio, serving as the primary interface between Lilly and biotech partners to maintain strategic alignment and foster strong relationships
• Establish and oversee performance monitoring frameworks and tools for KPI tracking to ensure both parties meet contractual obligations and achieve collaboration objectives
• Serve as the primary escalation point for partners, proactively identifying and resolving complex partnership challenges while maintaining partner satisfaction and protecting Lilly's strategic interests
• Coordinate and oversee amendments and contract modifications to existing ExploR&D collaboration agreements, ensuring alignment with business objectives, compliance requirements, and partner expectations throughout the lifecycle
• Lead a team of contract negotiators responsible for agreements across drug discovery and development, facilitating consistent contract strategy, risk assessment, and risk mitigation
• Oversee cross-functional coordination with the business, legal, finance, and other teams to align internal stakeholders and ensure integrated support for collaborations
• Drive continuous improvement in processes, tools, and frameworks to improve contracts and alliance management and enhance operational efficiency, partner satisfaction, and collaboration outcomes

Minimum Requirements

Additional Skills / Preferences

Additional Information

Travel : Minimal travel required (less than 10%)

This role requires occasional flexibility for partner meetings across different time zones

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