Director Alliance Management

Alliance Management Team Professional

Alnylam has an exciting opportunity for an experienced professional to join the Alliance Management team. We are looking for an exceptional individual with strong leadership and facilitative skills who thrives in a fast paced, collaborative environment and has a "challenge accepted" approach. This position will report to the Head of Alliance Management and will support a rich and broad portfolio of strategic partnerships ranging from joint collaborations to fully out-licensed programs.

The role supports a broad spectrum of activities involving interpretation of contract terms, assessing partner strategy and tracking program status & progress. The person should have experience in building strong relationships to create long-term value with partners. In addition to interfacing with external counterparts to ensure corporate goals are achieved, this individual will also partner with the Legal, Intellectual Property and Business Development teams and will engage senior leadership frequently.

Summary of Key Responsibilities

• Own and be accountable for the partner relationship, at times as de facto lead of external (out-licensed) programs. Build expertise on partner company, including organization/leadership, strategies, financials, priorities, etc. Become Alnylam "internal expert" on partner company.
• Ensure success of key alliance goals and that the relationship remains productive.
• Lead cross-functional team members in preparing for and engaging in interactions with our partners towards successful outcomes (e.g. direction/input for joint steering committee meetings, project-based analyses & recommendations, behind-the-scenes pre-wiring & coordination, etc.). Be familiar and close enough to details of the programs (internally and at the partner) to provide thoughtful direction & counsel to team members on strategy & approach.
• Liaise with Legal, Finance, Business Development, and cross-functional teams to ensure that key contract terms, including roles & responsibilities, milestones, financial transactions, progress reports, etc. are executed appropriately using an informed & practical point of view when dealing with areas of ambiguity and proactively working to identify & mitigate potential future issues.
• Create and cascade inter-company communications, develop purposeful agendas, manage key joint committee meetings and document key discussion points & decisions. Conduct regular reviews/meetings with senior management and other functions as appropriate to communicate key issues, milestones, etc. and gather feedback.
• Build and maintain relationships with key personnel both internally and with alliance partner. Regularly communicate with partner alliance management counterpart and other key partner stakeholders engaging on the various day-to-day issues and opportunities arising from the collaboration.
• Strategize with team leadership and other necessary stakeholders to formulate positions and drive alignment process. Conduct post-mortem analyses to identify and implement proactive mitigation strategies to minimize crisis management situations.
• Perform regular alliance audits and "health checks". Prioritize issues and brainstorm solutions including to maintain high morale across teams and within organizations.
• Engage manager and functional heads when needed to discuss and brainstorm sticking points, potential solutions, and escalation requirements.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in sciences or related field required; MBA, PhD or JD highly preferred
• Minimum of 10 years of experience in pharmaceutical or biotechnology industry
• Drug development knowledge with basic to strong understanding of other functions relevant to the position, which may include:
  Research, Non-Clinical/Early Development, Clinical, Technical Operations/CMC, Regulatory, Medical Affairs and Commercial
• Applied know-how of key alliance management principles including how to understand/apply contract language, escalate/mitigate issues, and demonstrate creative problem-solving
• Excellent interpersonal skills, executive poise and EQ, with ability to lead, engage, focus, negotiate, and resolve conflict internally and…