Cell Therapy External Science Engagement & Strategy Director

AstraZeneca

5d • $125,057 - $187,585 • Hybrid

About The Position

The Cell Therapy Partnerships & Strategy team brings together experts working at the forefront of clinical development to help shape AstraZeneca’s next generation of cell therapy innovation. By engaging critical external stakeholders, integrating leading scientific perspectives, and connecting external expertise with our research and development priorities, we accelerate meaningful progress across the portfolio. As the Cell Therapy External Science Engagement & Strategy Director, you will lead the development and execution of external scientific engagement, strategic partnership, Externally Sponsored Collaborative Research, and medical congress strategies across AstraZeneca’s cell therapy portfolio. You will cultivate academic and scientific collaborations that accelerate clinical trial delivery, generate actionable insights, and strengthen AstraZeneca’s leadership within the evolving cell therapy ecosystem. Operating at the intersection of strategy and execution, you will translate R&D priorities into coordinated, insight-led engagement plans with clear objectives, measurable outcomes, and robust governance. You will collaborate across Clinical Development, Translational Science, Medical Affairs, Regulatory, Clinical Operations, and other enterprise functions to connect external perspectives with decisions that advance our programs and benefit patients.

Requirements

• BS, MS, PhD, or advanced degree in Life Sciences, Biotechnology, Biochemistry, Cell Biology, Molecular Biology, Biological Sciences, or a related scientific field with a minimum of 15 years experience
• Experience in strategy consulting, business intelligence, competitive intelligence, scientific strategy, or a related role.
• Demonstrated ability to synthesize external scientific, clinical, competitive, and market insights into actionable recommendations that inform R&D, portfolio, and program decisions.
• Strong understanding of scientific engagement, strategic partnerships, external stakeholder management, or evidence-generation strategy.
• Experience building relationships with external scientific experts, investigators, academic institutions, clinical sites, professional societies, or comparable stakeholders.
• Strong organizational, project management, and business-planning skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities and complex timelines.
• Ability to solve problems, make sound decisions, and navigate organizational complexity within a highly matrixed environment.
• Strong cross-functional leadership, strategic influencing, and relationship-management skills.
• Excellent written, verbal, presentation, and executive communication skills.
• Ability to communicate complex scientific information clearly to scientific, clinical, operational, and senior leadership audiences.
• Proficiency in English and strong working knowledge of Microsoft PowerPoint, Word, and Excel.
• Willingness and ability to travel as needed to support medical congresses, site visits, scientific forums, and external partner engagements.

Nice To Haves

• Advanced degree, such as a PharmD, PhD, MD, NP, PA, or equivalent qualification.
• Experience in bioscience or life sciences strategy consulting, including strategy, competitive intelligence, or market access consulting.
• Experience in cell therapy, hematology, oncology, autoimmune diseases, rare diseases, neurology, or advanced therapies.
• Experience developing academic partnerships and managing External Scientific Panels, scientific advisory engagements, or comparable activities.
• Experience operating within a highly matrixed R&D environment.
• Working knowledge of FDA requirements, industry standards, and integrated evidence planning.
• Experience developing medical congress strategies or partnerships with professional societies or advocacy organizations.
• Familiarity with digital engagement, virtual platforms, and omnichannel scientific communication.
• Familiarity with Externally Sponsored Research or Externally Sponsored Collaborative Research governance and Investigator-Initiated Trial review, contracting, and execution processes.

Responsibilities

• Contribute to an integrated external scientific engagement and partnership strategy aligned with Cell Therapy Enterprise R&D priorities across hematology, autoimmune diseases, rare diseases, and neurology.
• Design and lead External Scientific Panels (ESPs), Cell Therapy Science Committees, advisory engagements, and other scientific forums that address clearly defined program- and portfolio-level questions.
• Identify, cultivate, and manage strategic relationships with Key External Experts, academic institutions, professional societies, investigators, and leading cell therapy centers.
• Partner with Clinical Development and cross-functional teams to define engagement objectives, identify appropriate experts, and develop scientific agendas, briefing materials, and follow-up plans.
• Leverage external expertise to inform development strategy, study design, patient populations, clinical endpoints, safety management, evidence generation, and the operational delivery of early- and late-stage cell therapy programs.
• Establish a coordinated approach to expert engagement across the portfolio that reduces duplication, strengthens continuity, and maximizes the strategic value of each interaction.
• Serve as the primary AstraZeneca point of contact for select external experts and strategic partners, establishing clear governance, facilitating issue resolution, and supporting effective collaboration.
• Establish measurable objectives for external engagements and partnerships and track their influence on strategic decisions, clinical development plans, and trial delivery.
• Facilitate clear communication and information sharing across Cell Therapy Enterprise programs.
• Lead the strategic planning, execution, and follow-up of priority medical congresses and external scientific engagements relevant to the Cell Therapy Enterprise portfolio.
• Develop integrated, portfolio-level strategies for Tier 1 and Tier 2 congresses, including ASH, ACR Convergence, ASCO, EHA, ESMO, AANEM, ASTCT, and other strategically important scientific forums.
• Define priority stakeholders, scientific objectives, engagement plans, key activities, governance, and expected outcomes for each congress or external forum.
• Serve as the Cell Therapy Enterprise lead for priority congresses, partnering across R&D, Clinical Development, Medical Affairs, and global functions to deliver a coordinated and impactful AstraZeneca scientific presence.
• Lead cross-functional congress planning forums and oversee congress playbooks, briefing materials, leadership communications, stakeholder meeting plans, and execution resources.
• Coordinate the deployment of AstraZeneca subject-matter experts and scientific capabilities to advance scientific dialogue and capture competitive, clinical, and emerging scientific insights.
• Identify opportunities to improve coordination, reduce duplication, and increase the scientific and strategic value of external engagements.
• Ensure insights, decisions, and follow-up actions are documented, communicated, and translated into clear strategic recommendations.
• Define and monitor measures of success for priority congresses and use outcomes and insights to strengthen future engagement strategies.
• Build and maintain strategic relationships with AstraZeneca Cell Therapy Strategic Partnership sites, investigators, institutional leaders, clinical site teams, research institutions, and other stakeholders across the R&D ecosystem.
• Develop stakeholder maps and segmentation frameworks that identify priority relationships and define the appropriate engagement objectives, timing, channels, and internal ownership.
• Partner with Clinical Development and study-delivery teams to identify site-level opportunities and barriers, strengthen investigator engagement, and support efficient clinical trial activation and execution.
• Leverage Cell Therapy Strategic Partnerships to address site-level barriers and generate actionable scientific and operational insights across early- and late-stage programs.
• Connect institutional capabilities and external scientific interests with AstraZeneca’s portfolio priorities to create high-value, mutually beneficial collaborations.
• Represent AstraZeneca at scientific congresses, academic forums, strategic partnership meetings, and relevant industry events to strengthen the company’s visibility and credibility within the cell therapy ecosystem.
• Support the evaluation and advancement of Externally Sponsored Collaborative Research (ESCR) proposals, including Investigator-Initiated Trials (IITs), from concept submission and scientific review through contracting, execution, and dissemination of results.
• Partner with external investigators and internal subject-matter experts to assess proposals for scientific merit, strategic alignment, operational feasibility, readiness, potential portfolio impact, and the ability to address priority evidence gaps.
• Serve as a key liaison between external investigator-sponsors and internal review and governance committees throughout the ESCR lifecycle.
• Coordinate cross-functional proposal reviews with Clinical Development, Translational Science, Regulatory, Safety, Clinical Operations, Legal, Compliance, Contracts, and other relevant functions.
• Prepare proposal summaries, strategic assessments, and recommendations for governance review, ensuring decisions and follow-up actions are clearly documented and communicated.
• Maintain oversight of the ESCR portfolio by tracking proposal status, governance decisions, contracting milestones, study progress, risks, deliverables, outcomes, and dissemination of results.
• Proactively identify externally sponsored research opportunities that complement AstraZeneca-sponsored development plans and advance scientific understanding of the cell therapy portfolio.
• Ensure ESCR activities align with AstraZeneca policies, governance requirements, contractual obligations, and applicable legal, regulatory, and compliance standards.
• Evaluate and communicate how emerging data and research insights may inform clinical development, evidence-generation, and portfolio strategy.
• Lead the systematic capture, synthesis, and communication of actionable insights from External Scientific Panels and contribute insights from academic partnerships, congresses, investigators, and strategic sites.
• Translate external perspectives, competitive intelligence, and emerging scientific developments into clear implications and recommendations for cell therapy programs, portfolio priorities, clinical development, and evidence-generation strategies.
• Establish mechanisms to track how external insights influence program decisions, study designs, operational execution, and broader portfolio priorities.
• Provide concise, decision-oriented updates to senior leaders and cross-functional governance teams, highlighting emerging risks, strategic opportunities, key insights, and recommended actions.
• Define and monitor performance measures for external engagements and partnerships, including engagement quality, insight generation, action completion, contribution to strategic decisions, and impact on clinical trial delivery.
• Ensure external scientific engagements, partnerships, and congress activities are planned and executed in accordance with AstraZeneca policies, applicable laws, regulations, governance requirements, and industry standards.
• Partner with project managers and R&D leadership to support budget planning, tracking, and resource allocation for Cell Therapy external engagement activities.
• Monitor expenditures, forecasts, risks, and resource requirements.
• Provide timely updates and recommendations to leadership that support informed decisions and delivery within approved budgets.

Benefits

• Eligibility for various incentives—an opportunity to receive short-term incentive bonuses, equity-based awards for salaried roles and commissions for sales roles.
• Qualified retirement programs
• Paid time off (i.e., vacation, holiday, and leaves)
• Health, dental, and vision coverage in accordance with the terms of the applicable plans.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior