Director of Preclinical Research

The Client is seeking an experienced and high-agency individual to support the development of new treatments for Client, a rare bone cancer with no approved drug therapies. To date, we’ve developed a suite of research-enabling resources, funded or collaborated with over 120 researchers and companies, and launched our own research lab to support drug discovery and repurposing. Through these collective efforts, we’ve helped bring over 10 therapies into clinical trials for Client.

With the goal of further increasing the pace of progress towards better treatments, we’re hiring a Director of Preclinical Research to help us pursue a growing number of research opportunities spanning resource development, target discovery, drug discovery, drug repurposing and translational research. In this position, you’ll play an instrumental role in enabling, supporting and driving research by: Awarding and managing grants, guiding collaborations, and outsourcing internally-conceived projectsDeveloping, acquiring, and distributing research-enabling resourcesEstablishing and maintaining relationships and alliances with investigators, companies, and other stakeholders around the worldPosition OverviewNew, full-time position on the client research teamPosition is office-based (not lab-based)Travel 4-8 times per year for team meetings, collaborator/grantee visits and conferencesReports to the Chief Scientific Officer (CSO)Local or remote candidates are encouraged to applyPreferred start date is August 2025ResponsibilitiesPreclinical research grants:Oversee our preclinical grants portfolio and manage the entire lifecycle of grantmaking activities, including RFP development, inviting/recruiting applicants, peer review, grant awards, and progress reportingReview progress reports, attend progress update meetings, record notes, offer scientific feedbackArm grantees with research-enabling resources, help them navigate barriers, identify opportunities for collaboration based on your bird’s eye view of the research ecosystemOutsourced research projects:Identify appropriate opportunities to outsource projects to contract research vendors to advance our goalsOversee all aspects of the vendor management process including selection, project scoping, ensuring execution on time and on budget, and data analysis Assist CSO with the in vivo evaluation of promising therapeutic concepts in Client mouse models to develop rationale for new clinical trialsResearch resource management:Oversee our repositories of models, biospecimens, and data, and manage associated vendorsDistribute models, biospecimens, and data in support of global research effortsIdentify and import new datasets or models developed by researchers into our repositories to facilitate resource centralizationStimulate the development of new preclinical models to fill gaps in our current repository, including immunocompetent modelsAlliance management and ecosystem development:Assist CSO in forging and maintaining relationships with external stakeholders across our various research programsFacilitate effective and efficient preclinical research collaborations with academic investigators and companies Stimulate new research by recruiting investigators with relevant interests and capabilities and educating them about our research-enabling resourcesAssist CSO in writing grant applications to support internal research Develop new knowledge through attendance at relevant conferences, workshops, symposia, and staying up to date on the scientific literatureHelp our Development and Engagement teams develop research-related updates for various constituents, donors and funders Update and further develop content and resources on our website for researchers Required QualificationsPhD, MD, PharmD or equivalent degree in the biological sciencesAt least 5 years of industry experience in oncology R&DPrior experience building and maintaining strategic relationships with CROs, companies, and academic researchers to achieve research goalsAdept at navigating bureaucracies, can effectively persuade and influence external stakeholdersExcellent verbal and written communication skillsExperience with research grants (writing, reviewing, and/or managing)Highly organized, can effectively multitask and deliver results across multiple projectsHigh agency, proactive, takes initiative, makes decisions independently, escalates issues when appropriate Must be legally authorized for employment in the U.S. We are not able to sponsor visas at this time