Therapeutic Area Strategy Head, Neuroscience

Key responsibilities:

Provides external perspective and identifies opportunities:

• Builds and maintains in-depth knowledge of the TA (early pipeline to commercial); including disease models; responsible for ongoing assessment of peer companies with heavy exposure in the TA.
• Educates, updates and provides external views to all internal stakeholders.  Provides insight within key portfolio governance processes (diligence and external landscape mapping with BD&L and M&A)
• Supports identification of growth accretive opportunities, indications, disease spaces and rejection of low value
• Supports Group Investor Relations and the CEO Office with dissemination of key strategic insights
• Ongoing collection and synthesis of scientific and commercial insights for the TA

Owns therapeutic area portfolio strategy and prioritization:

• Leads the process of creating, maintaining and updating Enterprise-wide TA portfolio strategy; including DA and molecule selection to drive mid- and long-term growth in collaboration with IM, GDD, & NIBR
• Identifies potential pipeline gaps, makes recommendations to address
• Works closely with key stakeholders (e.g., PS&A GPSC, IM-US, MAP team, NIBR, GDD) to facilitate portfolio decision making, prioritization and trade-offs

Internal and External Commercial and Pipeline Modelling:

• Oversees assessments of programs fit to current portfolio strategy and facilitates central review for assets inside and outside current priorities (e.g., at Innovation Management Board (IMB)
• Provides consolidated commercial and development inputs to support business cases for internal and external assets and programs
• Provides outside-in independent view of internal assumptions around core pipeline
• Leads the development of assessment of external opportunities (e.g., forecast assumptions)

Others:

• Coaches, attracts, develops, and retains top talents; partners with P&O leadership to develop people strategy (e.g. organization development, performance, career development).
• Plans, allocates, and manages TA strategy financial budget by anticipating expenditures, accurately forecasting resource needs/costs and properly accounting for expenses to meet requirements and achieve fiscal responsibility

Minimum Requirements:

• Advanced degree or equivalent experience in life science/healthcare required; MBA highly desirable
• Significant (3+ years) and recent (post 2017) local US experience preferred; local US experience includes working within the US market (with the local US customers, US health care systems / systems of care, US payors / accounts, etc.), driving US market strategy
• Excellent oral and written English communication skills. Additional languages are advantageous
• ≥10 years of pharmaceutical/biotech experience from either banking, consulting or biopharma covering drug development and ideally commercialization with an ability to work in a matrix environment
• Ability to comfortably engage with the C-suite and mid-career associates to influence and challenge with excellent interpersonal and leadership skills
• Strong financial and business acumen with strong understanding of biopharma landscape; companies, assets and early technologies
• Strong strategic vision, superior leadership, excellent communication, consensus building, and well-developed influencing and negotiation skills
• Excellent conflict resolution skills to facilitate agreement and buy-in at the senior-most levels
• Experience leading and managing a team with a variety of insights from science to commercial and proven coaching and mentoring experience
• Cross-functional experience preferred (in particular access experience)

Novartis Compensation and Benefit Summary: The pay range for this position at commencement of employment is expected to be between $346,400.00 - $519,600.00 USD per year; however, while salary ranges are effective from 1/1/25 through 12/31/25, fluctuations in the job market may necessitate adjustments to pay ranges during this period.  Further, final pay determinations will depend on various factors, including, but not limited to geographical location, experience level, knowledge, skills, and abilities. The total compensation package for this position may also include other elements, including a sign-on bonus, restricted stock units, and discretionary awards in addition to a full range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits (including 401(k) eligibility and various paid time off benefits, such as vacation, sick time, and parental leave), dependent on the position offered. Details of participation in these benefit plans will be provided if an employee receives an offer of employment. If hired, employee will be in an “at-will position” and the Company reserves the right to modify base salary (as well as any other discretionary payment or compensation program) at any time, including for reasons related to individual performance, Company or individual department/team performance, and market factors.

Benefits and Rewards: Read our handbook to learn about all the ways we’ll help you thrive personally and professionally: https://www.novartis.com/careers/benefits-rewards

Commitment to Diversity & Inclusion: Novartis is committed to building an outstanding, inclusive work environment and diverse teams’ representative of the patients and communities we serve.