Associate Director, Business Development

TerSera Therapeutics•Deerfield, IL

13h

About The Position

The Associate Director, Business Development is responsible for leading the evaluation, valuation modeling and business case development for strategic growth opportunities with a focus on accelerating the profitable growth of TerSera. This role partners closely with senior leadership and cross-functional stakeholders to translate opportunity assessments into rigorous investment recommendations, deal structures, and capital allocation decisions.

Requirements

Excellent planning, organization, and project management skills are required
Advanced Excel/financial modeling and PowerPoint skills; familiarity with Industry Databases (e.g., Evaluate Pharma, Clarivate, FactSet etc.) and VDR platforms.
Strong strategic thinking and investment judgment, with the ability to frame business cases and economic trade-offs for leadership decision-making
Must work with a high level of intensity and be willing to travel and work in a flexible, fast-paced, timeline-drive schedule as required
Excellent communication (oral and written) and presentation skills
Proven ability to lead cross-functional work in a matrixed environment and manage multiple priorities
This position involves access to confidential business information. The incumbent is expected to adhere to all company policies, including information security, compliance, and applicable industry regulations
Bachelor’s degree required
Must have a minimum of seven (7) years of relevant work experience
Experience in biopharma business development, corporate strategy, commercial analytics, consulting, or related roles

Nice To Haves

advanced degree (MBA, PharmD, PhD, MD) preferred

Responsibilities

Build and maintain an active pipeline of licensing, partnership, and M&A opportunities through relationships built with other biopharma companies and investment banks, secondary research, scientific and partnering conferences, KOL input, and network outreach
Identify and proactively source external growth opportunities aligned with corporate strategy (e.g., therapeutic areas, modalities, stage of development)
Track industry trends, competitor activity, and emerging assets
Lead development of comprehensive valuation models (e.g., NPV, DCF, scenario-based analyses) for licensing, partnership and acquisition opportunities
Lead outside consulting vendors in developing independent market studies for licensing, partnership and acquisition opportunities, including primary market research, secondary data analysis and forecast / scenario modeling
Define and pressure-test key assumptions, including revenue forecasts, pricing and market access dynamics, development timelines, probability of success, and cost inputs
Develop integrated financial analyses and sensitivity scenarios to evaluate risk-adjusted returns and downside cases
Build end-to-end investment cases that synthesize strategic rationale, portfolio fit, financial return metrics, and key risks into decision-ready recommendations
Evaluate and propose deal structures, including upfront payments, development and commercial milestones, royalties, and co-development or co-promotion scenarios
Support negotiation strategy by modeling alternative economic structures and trade-offs, including the financial implications of key diligence findings
Partner with Legal and Finance to support transaction processes, including letter of intent, term sheet, and definitive agreement discussions as appropriate
Coordinate cross-functional diligence workstreams, timelines, and readouts for governance meetings with a focus on financial and strategic integration
Prepare decision materials for leadership (e.g., project overview decks, executive summaries, board-ready slides) that clearly communicate value drivers, assumptions, and key risks
Document key decisions, assumptions, risks, and mitigation plans to support continuity through deal execution and handoff
Develop frameworks to compare multiple opportunities across strategic fit, risk, return, and resource requirements
Support leadership on portfolio prioritization, capital deployment decisions, and lifecycle investment analyses
Monitor deal trends and transaction benchmarks to inform economic assumptions and external market context
Support partner outreach, meeting preparation, and follow-ups; help manage NDAs/CDAs and information exchange processes
Draft and refine partner-facing materials, corporate overview materials and talking points in alignment with legal and compliance requirements
Represent the company professionally at conferences and external meetings as needed
Maintain opportunity tracking, CRM records, and (where applicable) virtual data room (VDR) content organization
Develop and improve business case, valuation, and governance templates to standardize high-quality decision-making
Support the organization of key financial assumptions, comparables, and decision logs for active opportunities
Perform special projects and other duties as assigned
Strives to maintain a safe working environment through the prevention of accidents, the preservation of equipment, and the achievement of safe working practices
Maintains a positive and professional demeanor toward all customers and coworkers
Adheres to all policies and procedures of TerSera Therapeutics
Performs other duties as assigned