About the position
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. The Executive Director, cutaneous biology Innovation & Strategic Partnerships, is a member of the Immunology Discovery lead team, guiding the overall direction, strategy, and performance of the Immunology therapeutic area, including dermatology and epithelial barrier research. Working along business development (Corporate BD and Catalyze360), external innovation and Immunology discovery colleagues, the Executive Director will provide scientific leadership for external and academic collaborations, including identifying opportunities for potential new partnerships and new company creation initiatives within the dermatology therapeutic area, with focus on epithelial and hair follicle biology. This role serves as the key scientific interface between internal immunology portfolio strategy and external innovation opportunities, ensuring alignment with therapeutic area goals while identifying and executing transformative partnerships that advance novel therapeutic approaches for dermatologic diseases and conditions.
Responsibilities
- Serve as primary scientific liaison and strategic advisor for epithelial biology and hair follicle biology partnerships with leading academic institutions, biotechnology companies, and research consortiums globally.
- In collaboration with External Innovation, BD (Corporate BD and Catalyze360), and Discovery stakeholders, develop and execute a comprehensive 3-5 year strategic plan for external partnerships, academic collaborations, and new company creation initiatives aligned with therapeutic area objectives and portfolio goals.
- Provide initial scientific diligence for external innovation opportunities across the full spectrum of epithelial and hair follicle biology conditions, from early discovery through marketed products.
- Partner with Corporate BD and Catalyze360 teams to enable the creation and strategic direction of new skin and hair follicle-focused companies through partnerships with venture capital firms, academic spinouts, and entrepreneur-in-residence programs.
- Establish and maintain relationships with key opinion leaders, academic investigators, and industry experts to identify emerging scientific opportunities and therapeutic modalities.
- Actively participate as member in Joint Steering Committees, Joint Scientific Committees, and/or board observer to shape direction of collaborations and new companies to align with therapeutic area strategy.
- Provide strategic scientific counsel and serve as a key sounding board for the internal immunology portfolio, offering deep mechanistic insights and competitive intelligence to inform decision-making.
- Participate in governance meetings (portfolio entry, candidate selection, go/no-go decisions) providing external perspective and strategic recommendations.
- Evaluate and advise on the scientific merit, strategic fit, and potential of internal programs relative to external competitive landscape and emerging therapeutic approaches.
- Participate in cross-functional teams in conducting comprehensive scientific and technical due diligence for potential partnerships, acquisitions, and licensing opportunities.
- Champion innovative therapeutic modalities and emerging areas in dermatology, including hair follicle conditions and skin aging.
- Partner closely with External Innovation, Corporate BD and Catalyze360 groups to identify, assess, and execute strategic transactions and partnerships.
- Lead scientific evaluation to enable collaborative research agreements, licensing deals, and equity investments with external partners.
- Oversee the scientific objectives and deliverables of existing external collaborations, ensuring alignment with evolving immunology strategy and therapeutic area priorities.
- Represent Lilly at key scientific conferences, partnering events, and industry forums to identify emerging opportunities and maintain thought leadership position.
- Manage relationships with external scientific advisory boards and key opinion leader networks to inform strategic direction and validate scientific approaches.
- Mentor team members in scientific evaluation, partnership management, and strategic thinking capabilities.
- Foster a collaborative culture that bridges internal research capabilities with external innovation opportunities.
- Ensure team maintains current knowledge of competitive landscape, emerging technologies, and therapeutic area developments.
- Maintain deep scientific expertise across epithelial biology and dermatology more broadly through continuous engagement with scientific literature, conferences, and expert networks.
- Contribute to internal scientific strategy development and therapeutic area planning processes.
- Support publication and presentation of collaborative research findings at key scientific venues.
- Participate in external scientific advisory roles, consortia, and industry working groups to advance therapeutic area understanding and partnerships.
Requirements
- Ph.D. in Epithelial biology, Molecular Biology, Cell Biology, or related field.
- 10+ years of relevant experience in pharmaceutical/biotechnology industry with demonstrated expertise across drug discovery and development life cycle.
- Proven track record in external innovation, partnership management, and business development within epithelial biology or related therapeutic areas.
- Deep mechanistic understanding of epithelial biology generally and hair follicle biology in particular, including emerging therapeutic modalities and precision medicine approaches.
Nice-to-haves
- Demonstrated experience leading cross-functional teams and managing complex scientific collaborations.
- Strong strategic thinking capabilities with ability to assess scientific merit and commercial potential of early-stage opportunities.
- Experience in new company creation, venture capital interactions, or spinout management.
- Track record of successful partnership execution and management.
- National and international collaboration and partnership experience.
- Experience with novel therapeutic modalities (cell therapy, genetic medicine, precision medicine, local delivery technologies, etc.).
- Proven ability to influence senior leadership and drive strategic decision-making.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills with ability to present to senior leadership and external partners.
- Willing to engage in domestic and international travel (up to 40%) to support partnership activities and external engagement.
Benefits
- 401(k)
- Pension
- Vacation benefits
- Medical benefits
- Dental benefits
- Vision benefits
- 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
- Well-being benefits (e.g., employee assistance program, fitness benefits, and employee clubs and activities)
