Sr. Director - Discovery Portfolio Lead

Role Summary

Sr. Director - Discovery Portfolio Lead oversees key aspects of the Discovery Oncology Portfolio through the Candidate Seeking stage, supervising transitions from early to late discovery, and delivering portfolio level insights to Senior Leadership. The role acts as an advisor to discovery project managers on early programs and manages several early-stage projects, while driving process optimization and governance for discovery research.

• Portfolio Management:
  Manage early discovery project kickoffs with appropriate stakeholder engagement; oversee transitions between Early and Late Discovery; identify cross-project dependencies, risks, and opportunities; monitor portfolio health metrics; analyze cross-project themes and opportunities for process improvement; collaborate with Candidate Selection Leads to ensure readiness for next stages; develop and refine stage-gate processes.
• Advisory and Leadership:
  Serve as primary advisor to Project Managers on early-stage programs; support alignment between project teams and senior leadership; advise on risk assessment and decision criteria; facilitate strategic discussions on program priorities and portfolio optimization.
• Project Management (Direct Oversight of 1-2 Discovery Projects):
  Lead comprehensive project management for 1-2 early discovery projects including timeline development, milestone tracking, resource coordination, and deliverable management; facilitate meetings, agendas, minutes, and action item tracking; coordinate cross-functional activities across biology, chemistry, translational sciences, and external collaborators.
• Process Excellence & Continuous Improvement:
  Ensure consistency in project reporting standards and decision frameworks; drive continuous improvement initiatives for discovery project management processes and tools; maintain portfolio-level calendars and material preparation for key decision meetings; develop best practices that maintain agility and support decision-making; manage communications and stakeholder engagement across portfolio teams; develop integrated slides and presentations for leadership forums; foster collaborative dialogue across scientific disciplines.

• Required:
  
  Bachelors degree in life sciences with 15+ years of relevant experience, or Masters in life sciences with 12+ years, or PhD in life sciences with 10+ years.
• Preferred:
  Advanced degree; PMP certification.

• Bachelors degree in life sciences (required or equivalent experience as listed above)
• Advanced degree preferred

• Strategic thinking and sound judgement
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management across scientific and operational teams
• Ability to work in a dynamic discovery environment with adaptability and creativity
• Experience with portfolio management tools (MS Office, MS Project, SharePoint, Smart Sheet) or equivalents
• Experience in advisory or mentorship roles within drug discovery
• Understanding of oncology drug discovery processes and decision criteria; small and large molecule experience preferred