Director, Academic Alliance Lead

AstraZeneca•Cambridge, MA

1d•$164,000 - $246,000•Onsite

About The Position

AstraZeneca is building a connected approach to academic collaboration across BioPharma R&D. The Academic Alliance Lead will help establish this capability within the new Academic Alliances team and make high-value collaborations work in practice. Based at AstraZeneca’s new R&D site in Kendall Square, Cambridge, the role connects leading academic science with AstraZeneca’s R&D priorities and helps alliances progress from agreement to delivery, learning, and impact. The role has two complementary dimensions: directly managing a defined portfolio of high-priority strategic academic alliances as the dedicated alliance manager and accountable point of contact, and enabling a broader portfolio of collaborations managed day to day by scientific or functional colleagues. The role provides those collaboration owners with structure, tools, coordination, and issue-resolution support while preserving their accountability. The position will also help define alliance-management practices for the new team, including governance standards, ways of working, reporting, and measures of partnership health. It will bring external best practices to academic research collaborations and BioPharma R&D, contribute delivery and governance considerations to new alliances before signature, and ensure learning from active alliances informs future opportunities and portfolio discussions.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in life sciences or a related discipline.
At least 8 years of relevant professional experience, including managing complex, multi-stakeholder alliances, collaborations, or programs in pharmaceutical, biotechnology, academic research, or a related life-sciences environment.
Strong understanding of drug discovery and development, with the ability to connect scientific objectives to portfolio and delivery priorities.
Demonstrated experience working with external partners, ideally including academic institutions and major research organizations.
Ability to lead some alliances directly while enabling other accountable owners to manage their collaborations effectively.
Strong alliance, project, and portfolio management capabilities, including governance, milestone tracking, risk management, decision support, and reporting.
Ability to translate complex contract terms into clear operating plans, decision rights, and accountabilities.
Excellent communication and relationship skills, with confidence engaging senior scientific and business leaders internally and externally.
Ability to navigate ambiguity, influence without direct authority, and resolve partnership issues with sound judgment, tact, and diplomacy.
Strategic thinking combined with attention to detail and a strong focus on execution.

Nice To Haves

Advanced scientific degree, preferably an MS or PhD.
Experience leading strategic academic alliances with major U.S. universities or research institutions.
Familiarity with research collaboration agreements, contractual obligations, amendments, and escalation pathways.
Experience supporting Joint Steering Committees or comparable senior governance forums.
Experience establishing or improving an alliance-management capability, operating model, or community of practice.

Responsibilities

Serve as the primary AstraZeneca alliance contact for a defined portfolio of high-priority academic relationships, including partnerships as they are established.
Work with internal and external leaders to set shared direction, establish governance, and translate agreements into practical operating plans.
Coordinate delivery across scientific, Legal, Business Development, Finance, Project Management, and other contributors.
Track commitments, milestones, decisions, and risks; address obstacles early and lead escalations when needed.
Prepare and support Joint Steering Committee and other governance meetings, ensuring decisions are clear and followed through.
Maintain trusted institutional relationships and identify opportunities to strengthen or extend alliances in support of R&D priorities.
Support amendments, renegotiations, and, when appropriate, the orderly transition or conclusion of alliances.
Act as an accessible contact for colleagues who directly manage academic collaborations within scientific or functional areas.
Help collaboration owners establish proportionate governance, delivery plans, decision rights, milestone tracking, and risk management.
Provide practical guidance, templates, and problem-solving support without displacing the accountable project or relationship owner.
Connect teams with relevant AstraZeneca expertise and help resolve cross-functional or institutional issues that could slow delivery.
Maintain a coherent portfolio view and surface themes, dependencies, risks, and opportunities for Academic Alliances and senior stakeholders.
Build a community of practice for alliance management, sharing lessons and improving consistency while tailoring the approach to each collaboration.
Help define alliance-management governance standards, ways of working, reporting, and measures of partnership health within the new Academic Alliances team.
Bring external best practices and adapt them to academic research collaborations and BioPharma R&D.
Contribute to shaping new alliances so delivery, governance, and relationship considerations are built in before signature.
Create stronger continuity across the partnership lifecycle and bring learning from active alliances into future opportunity and portfolio discussions.