Senior Director RIIRU & TDS Strategy

About the role

The RIIRU & TDS Strategy team within GSK’s Respiratory Immunology and Inflammation Research Unit (RIIRU) and Translational and Development Sciences (TDS) is seeking a Senior Director to partner with the VP on high‑visibility strategic initiatives across priority disease areas. This senior position blends scientific insight with top‑tier strategy execution to influence asset positioning, investment cases, and portfolio decisions.

Key responsibilities

• Lead organisation‑wide strategic initiatives presented to R&D Leadership and Executive Committee.
• Interpret clinical trial data and external literature to identify strategic signals for asset positioning and portfolio trade‑offs.
• Own and develop investment cases for priority initiatives.
• Provide hands‑on strategic and analytical support to RIIRU project teams ahead of governance forums.
• Track progress of priority technology programmes, resolve cross‑functional blockers, and report status to leadership.
• Build and maintain business cases for key capabilities and initiatives.
• Act as primary interface with external partners, consultants, and advisors, supporting senior‑level engagements.
• Support the RIIRU/TDS operating model and governance cadence, deputising for the VP when required.
• Lead accelerated special projects end‑to‑end, including management of external consulting support.
• Coach and develop junior strategy team members, ensuring consistent quality across outputs.

Required profile

• Bachelor’s degree in a life‑science, biomedical or related discipline.
• Significant experience in top‑tier strategy consulting combined with R&D roles at a major pharmaceutical company.
• Hands‑on experience applying AI/ML approaches to R&D.
• Relevant disease‑area knowledge (e.g., respiratory, metabolic).
• Proven ability to produce board‑ or investor‑grade strategic materials and communicate them effectively.
• Track record of leading complex, ambiguous projects to clear recommendations.

Required skills

• AI/ML for R&D
• Clinical trial data analysis