VP & Global Head, Discovery Chemistry and DMPK, Oncology Targeted Delivery

Overview

Role Summary
. Early Oncology is focused on attacking cancer from multiple angles through innovative modalities, unlocking the power of combination approaches, and building treatment regimens with greater depth, durability, and precision.

The VP & Global Head, Discovery Chemistry and DMPK is a pivotal enterprise leader within the Oncology Targeted Delivery (OTD) organization, accountable for advancing the next wave of innovation across Small Molecules, Antibody Drug Conjugates (ADCs), and Radio conjugates (RCs). This role provides strategic, scientific, and organizational leadership for a global Discovery Chemistry and DMPK function responsible for the discovery, optimization, and preclinical characterization of core modalities that enable the OTD portfolio.

Reporting to the SVP, Biologics Engineering & Oncology Targeted Discovery
, the role leads a globally distributed organization and is accountable for driving projects from target selection through candidate nomination and IND-enabling stages
, ensuring scientific excellence, portfolio impact, and operational delivery. The successful leader will combine deep scientific expertise with strong enterprise leadership, shaping strategy, building capability, and fostering a high-performing, collaborative culture across key R&D sites.

Key Responsibilities

• Set functional vision and strategy:
  Provide strategic leadership and direction for the Discovery Chemistry & DMPK function, ensuring its priorities, capabilities, and scientific contributions are clearly represented at the highest levels of the organization.
• Drive OTD strategy execution:
  Partner with the senior leadership team to shape and execute the OTD strategy, supporting delivery against business objectives and scorecard commitments.
• Deliver portfolio impact:
  Lead the discovery, optimization, and preclinical characterization of modalities supporting the OTD portfolio across small molecules, ADCs, and RCs, progressing programs from target selection through candidate nomination and towards IND.
• Build future-ready capability:
  Evolve scientific, technical, and organizational capabilities to meet current and anticipated portfolio needs, while ensuring resources are deployed effectively to maximize performance and business value.
• Lead across interfaces:
  Work closely with OTD functional leaders and critical partner functions, particularly Discovery Sciences, Clinical Pharmacology & Safety Sciences, and Pharmaceutical Sciences, to coordinate portfolio composition, execution, prioritization, and cross-functional deliverables.
• Develop exceptional leaders and teams:
  Lead, coach, and develop the senior leadership team within Discovery Chemistry and DMPK, strengthening organizational performance, collaboration, and communication across strategic R&D sites in Cambridge UK, Cambridge MA and Gaithersburg US.
• Ensure operational excellence:
  Provide effective operational leadership to achieve business objectives, meet financial commitments, and ensure compliance with all relevant regulations, policies, and legal requirements.
• Shape portfolio prioritization and innovation:
  Drive portfolio prioritization decisions informed by scientific opportunity, strategic fit, and external trends; remain at the forefront of emerging science and identify future opportunities for industry leading innovation such as the application of automation and AI to drug discovery workflows.
• Advance modality and platform innovation:
  Contribute to the broader strategic direction of OTD by establishing and advancing novel synthetic modalities and platform capabilities.
• Represent the function in governance:
  Serve as the senior scientific representative for the function at key governance forums, including the Oncology Research Board, providing expert input, critique, and guidance to strengthen portfolio decisions.
• Cultivate external partnerships:
  Build and maintain productive collaborations with leading academic institutions, external partners, and scientific collaborators to access breakthrough science and enable strategic platform development.
• Strengthen external scientific reputation:
  Maintain and elevate the scientific standing of the Discovery Chemistry and DMPK organization through high-impact publications, presentations at major scientific congresses and symposia, and trusted external relationships across industry and academia.

The successful candidate will be a highly respected scientific and business leader with a strong track record in drug discovery
, deep expertise in discovery chemistry and DMPK
, and demonstrated ability to lead global organizations through strategic growth and transformation. They will bring a combination of scientific credibility, enterprise mindset, strong judgment, and the ability to influence at senior levels internally and externally.

• PhD or equivalent in Chemistry or a related scientific discipline.
• Extensive pharmaceutical or biotechnology industry experience, including at least 15 years in…