Associate Vice-President, Project, Portfolio and Alliance Management / Therapeutics and Platforms Business Unit

The Associate Vice-President of Project, Portfolio and Alliance Management in the Therapeutics and Platforms Business Unit is a key talent with Therapeutic Discovery and is responsible for assuring organization and visibility across projects; a risk-based and harmonized development strategy across the portfolio; and productive and professional relationships with external organizations.  

1. Develop strategic framework and execution for MD Anderson’s biological pharmaceutical and cellular therapies development long term goals and objectives.
2. Organize governance between Research and Therapeutic Discovery for product selection and handover.
3. Define Product development cross-function team structures, operating models and governance.  Provide executive level support to the project and program teams to navigate internal and external opportunities and issues.
4. Assure project development targets and timelines and budgets are organized and visible.  Convert plans into action, driving progress and innovation by challenging the status quo and continuously refining strategy to deliver on short-term and long-term goals.
5. Manage the overall portfolio within Biologics Therapeutic Discovery in terms of risk, therapeutic modality and development stage
6. Create a product specific business strategy for each project ranging from internal development, external funding, out-licensing or spin-off.  Assure that there is a holistic perspective for these strategies across the portfolio.  Partner with Business Development to actualize these strategies.
7. In partnership with the members of the TD leadership team and counterparts in the office of Strategic Industry Ventures, drive the overall strategic direction for the TD portfolio, contributing actively to the evaluation of execution of TD’s strategy, collaborations and partnerships.
8. Analyze and distill complex issues to develop realistic plans, trade-off analyses and strategic recommendations.
9. Responsible for defining business relationships with key partners.  Set the strategic framework contractually.  Coordinate due diligence efforts for best positioning of Protein Therapeutics’ assets.
10. Serve as a key point of contact for existing partners and investors.  May be called upon to serve on joint steering committees and/or Boards of Directors as appropriate to advance MD Anderson’s interests and mission.
11. Manage alliances of outsourcing network.  Participate in creating a rational network of contract developers and manufacturers that provides access to key technologies such as antibody generation and engineering, cell line construction, cell banking, drug substance and drug product manufacturing.  
12. Develop strategic framework for preclinical development, clinical manufacturing, and overall end to end project execution to deliver long term goals and objectives.
13. Closely work with the Business Development Finance and Procurement teams to optimize delivery and execution of discovery and development programs, and liaises with stakeholders in the regulatory office and clinical departments to ensure smooth execution of clinical trials.
14. Serve as a thought partner across the organization, contributing to and/or leading other (non-TD) strategic initiatives as required.

• MBA and BS/MS in Biology, Chemistry or Engineering
• Fifteen years of industry or industry-like (Biopharmaceutical) experience in biologics research.
• Experience also must include supervisory and leadership experience. 
• Preferred:  Experience in the development of biologics and prior oncology pharmaceutical experience.