Director – Strategic Collaborations & External Partnerships

Director – Strategic Collaborations & External Partnerships

United States – Remote Medical Affairs Regular

We’re here for one reason and one reason only – to cure cancer. Every moment is dedicated to developing treatments and every action moves us one step closer to our goal. We’ve made incredible scientific breakthroughs and our pioneering personalized CAR T‑cell therapies have changed the paradigm. But we're not finished yet.

Join Kite, as we make even bigger advances in cancer therapies, and help shape where our business and medical science goes next.

We believe every employee deserves a great leader. As a people leader now or in the future, you are the key driver in evolving our culture and creating an environment where every employee feels included, developed and empowered to fulfil their aspirations.

• Establish a standard operating model for vetting, initiating and evaluating strategic collaborations.
• Partner with Evidence Generation Strategy Leads and Program Managers to define metrics for screening and evaluating proposals, ensure each strategic collaboration has KPIs, and lead application of best practices.
• Align product‑level evidence generation priorities with partnership objectives and refresh the strategic framework consistently.
• Provide strategic oversight for key collaborations, administer governance activities and support partner‑of‑choice delivery.
• Establish and reinforce standards and expectations for Kite teams when interacting with strategic collaboration partners.
• Collaborate with Alliance Management, Medical and R&D stakeholders to maintain visibility into emerging challenges, risks and opportunities, fostering proactive issue resolution.
• Prepare and present regular reports on progress, outcomes and impact to senior leadership.
• Collaborate with Gilead and Kite to negotiate and manage partnership agreements, ensure compliance and maintain financial discipline.
• Contribute new project management approaches, methods, resources and capabilities to support evolution of ways of working among the program management team.
• Develop reporting and use data to generate insights that inform program KPIs.

Basic Qualifications

• Advanced scientific degree (MD, Pharm
  
  D, PhD) and 8+ years biotech/pharmaceutical industry experience
• Master’s Degree and 10+ years biotech/pharmaceutical industry experience
• Bachelor’s Degree and 12+ years biotech/pharmaceutical industry experience

Preferred Qualifications

• Strong scientific understanding/experience in clinical and/or pre‑clinical research, or experience in Clinical Research/Development, Medical Affairs.
• Experience building effective relationships with diverse internal and external stakeholders in a highly‑matrixed, rapidly changing environment.
• Solutions‑oriented, strong strategic thinking and demonstrated experience in developing scalable frameworks.
• Proactive, self‑motivated, resourceful – able to navigate ambiguity and ask for support or escalation when needed.
• Proficient synthesizing information for leadership presentations and stakeholder communications.
• Experience working internationally and in a distributed workforce an advantage.
• Knowledge of Smartsheet, Microsoft Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Outlook and other reporting and tracking tools.

• Create Inclusion – model inclusion, embed the value of diversity in team management.
• Develop Talent – coach employees on current performance and future potential, provide feedback and insight for growth.
• Empower Teams – align goals, purpose, and organizational objectives; remove barriers and connect team to broader ecosystem.

Salary Range:
Bay Area: $226,185 - $292,710. Other US Locations: $205,615 - $266,090.

Compensation may also include discretionary annual bonus, stock‑based long‑term incentives, paid time off, and a benefits package including medical, dental, vision, and life insurance.

Kite Pharma is committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants and fosters an inclusive work environment. Employment decisions are made without discrimination based on protected characteristics. For accommodations, contact Appli