Senior Clinical Lead, Clinical Partnerships

Senior Clinical Lead, Clinical Partnerships

Job Title: Senior Clinical Lead, Clinical Partnerships and Collaborations

Location: London or Edinburgh
Job Type: Permanent

Agencies:
We will only work with recruitment partners on our preferred supplier list and will not engage with speculative CVs submitted.

Are you passionate about making life science life changing and delivering impact for patients? We want to hear from you.

As Senior Clinical Lead, you will drive delivery of complex clinical projects and programmes through high-impact partnerships and collaborations.

You will shape clinical strategy, establish robust governance frameworks, integrate and manage multifaceted projects and influence senior stakeholders across organisations to drive operational excellence. This role demands the ability to forge and sustain strategic relationships with external organisations, academic institutions, industry partners, and senior internal colleagues to maximise the value and impact of our funded initiatives.

If you are passionate about advancing clinical excellence through collaboration and innovation, and thrive in a fast-paced, multidisciplinary environment, we would be delighted to hear from you.

• Lead and oversee clinical partnership and collaboration programmes, ensuring strategic alignment with organisational objectives.
• Develop and implement clinical strategies, frameworks, and governance across internal and collaborative projects.
• Provide leadership and line management, influencing cross-functional and multi-project teams to deliver results.
• Advise senior management and stakeholders on clinical strategy, risk management, and innovation.
• Ensure effective reporting and communication of programme progress to senior stakeholders and partners.
• Represent the organisation externally as a subject matter expert and ambassador in high-level forums and collaborations.

• Experience in establishing and sustaining high-impact clinical collaboration relationships with external organisations, academic institutions, industry partners and senior internal colleagues.
• Demonstrated ability to develop and deliver clinical strategy for multi-partner initiatives.
• Significant experience in clinical development the pharmaceutical/biotech or life sciences industry.
• In‑depth knowledge of clinical trial phases, designs and regulatory requirements particularly in rare diseases and/or global health.
• Proven track record in managing and delivering clinical projects from concept to implementation.
• Experience in line management and leading cross‑functional matrix teams.

• PhD or equivalent in a relevant life sciences discipline; alternatively, BSc/MSc with substantial additional experience in clinical development.
• Leading or contributing to large‑scale clinical partnerships or consortia.
• Experience with joint governance, shared risk management, and collaborative strategy development for clinical programmes.
• Familiarity with regulatory requirements and operational delivery in clinical partnership contexts.
• Experience with international clinical development, cross‑border collaborations and regulatory submissions is highly desirable.

• Strategic leadership and influencing skills, with the ability to shape clinical direction at organisational and partnership levels.
• Advanced project and programme management skills, ensuring delivery of complex clinical initiatives.
• Exceptional verbal and communication skills, able to facilitate effective collaboration, share insights, and report progress to senior stakeholders and partners.
• Critical thinking and problem‑solving abilities, with a track record of innovative decision‑making.
• Strong interpersonal and relationship‑building skills, fostering collaboration and trust across diverse teams and organisations.
• High level of organisational and analytical capability, with attention to detail and commitment to quality.

Life Arc is a not-for-profit life science organisation, leading the way for change in rare diseases in the UK and supporting promising initiatives in global health. We seek out research in areas of unmet need that has…