Head of GSQ Business Development

Takeda

20h

About The Position

About the role: The Head of GSQ Business Development is the senior Enterprise Audit and Risk Management leader responsible for end-to-end GSQ leadership of business development diligence and execution readiness across a portfolio weighted toward in-licensing/M&A internalizations, out-licensing and divestments. This role ensures the “voice of GSQ”—spanning manufacturing, supply chain, CMC, and quality—is consistently incorporated into opportunity assessment, governance decisions, and operationalization planning. This leader does not serve as the primary deal negotiator. Instead, the Head of Business Development & Licensing works closely to Global Business Development and provides GSQ deal leadership by mobilizing cross-functional SMEs rapidly, driving rigorous risk identification and mitigation strategies, ensuring completeness/quality of GSQ deliverables, aligning GSQ positions into governance materials, and enabling smooth transition from diligence to execution teams. Role design is grounded in existing Takeda BD/DD and divestiture operating expectations across GSQ. Primary Objectives: Lead GSQ due diligence and execution readiness for BD opportunities, with emphasis on internalizations (in-licensing / acquisitions) and emphasis on out-licensing and divestments, ensuring patient, compliance, and supply continuity outcomes. Ensure GSQ risks, requirements, costs, and mitigations are identified early, quantified where possible, and clearly reflected in governance materials and decisions (e.g., PRC/BSC). Own GSQ deal shaping, stage gates, and independent assurance for BD opportunities (internalizations, out-licensing, divestments), ensuring evidence-based risk decisions and audit-ready diligence outputs. Own GSQ licensing lifecycle governance for out-licensing/alliance supply obligations, including partner operating models, oversight cadence, and performance management. Drive post-sign stabilization and value delivery by governing GSQ execution outcomes against the diligence thesis, including value-capture tracking and enterprise risk monitoring. Own and continuously improve GSQ BD operating capabilities, including standardized deliverables, playbooks, training, and performance metrics, across the global GSQ network. Serve as the senior integrator across GSQ for BD-related activities, aligning stakeholders across sites/regions/functions to deliver consistent outcomes and decision quality. Enable seamless transition to execution by establishing strong handoffs, knowledge transfer, and post-sign governance mechanisms (e.g., TSA governance for divestments).

Requirements

• Minimum requirements Bachelor’s degree in science/engineering (advanced degree preferred: MS/PhD and/or MBA).
• 15+ years experience in biopharmaceutical operations and/or quality, with substantial exposure to business development due diligence (internalizations, licensing, divestments) in a global environment.
• Demonstrated success leading complex, cross-functional, global programs with senior stakeholder influence (portfolio-level leadership).
• Fluent English required; additional languages helpful.

Nice To Haves

• Direct experience implementing internalization/externalization operating models and/or post-deal operational transitions.
• Experience establishing playbooks, templates, training, and KPI systems for BD/DD operations.

Responsibilities

• Deliver GSQ diligence and execution readiness leadership — across internalizations, out-licensing, divestments
• Own GSQ diligence execution and deliverables for internalizations (in-licensing/M&A), ensuring CMC, supply, manufacturing readiness, and quality & compliance requirements are assessed rigorously and consistently.
• Own GSQ deal shaping for BD opportunities before diligence launch: define GSQ “what must be true” assumptions (network strategy, CMC manufacturability, quality system posture, supply resilience) to guide BD strategy and prioritization.
• Internalizations (In-licensing/M&A) – GSQ Integration Readiness Lead ensures internal stakeholders are informed/consulted of site/network strategy implications, tech transfer / validation readiness, quality system bridging plan, supply launch readiness, and Day-1/Day-100 readiness artifacts.
• Own the GSQ framework for out-licensing operational obligations: supply commitments, release strategy, change-control interface, complaint handling touchpoints, quality oversight model, audit cadence, and performance monitoring.
• Lead GSQ diligence execution for divestments and out-licensing, including entanglement/separation considerations, supply continuity risks, and quality system impacts; ensure the GSQ position is clear, decision-useful, and actionable.
• Mobilize and coordinate cross-functional GSQ SMEs rapidly for deal execution, ensuring the right capabilities are engaged (including selective external expertise where needed).
• Ensure GSQ risk identification and mitigation planning is proactive, including identification of potential “deal breakers,” pragmatic mitigation options, and residual risk acceptance pathways.
• Drive cost/resource inputs from GSQ into the enterprise deal model (e.g., COGS estimates, quality and supply chain costs, one-time implementation costs, and resourcing), ensuring transparency and traceability.
• Process owner for GSQ Internalization Operating Model (IOM) and Externalization Operating Model (EOM), including governance, templates, training, and KPI reporting.
• Establish and own GSQ stage gates (e.g., “GSQ Entry Criteria to DD,” “GSQ DD Exit Criteria,” “Execution Readiness Gate”) including required evidence, sign-offs, and escalation paths.
• Create and maintain a GSQ BD portfolio heatmap (complexity, compliance exposure, supply continuity risk, site/network impact) used in executive prioritization and capacity planning.
• Represent GSQ at governance forums (e.g., PRC/BSC as applicable), ensuring GSQ diligence findings are accurately reflected in governance documents and understood by decision makers.
• Maintain executive-level visibility of the GSQ BD portfolio, including status, escalation paths, and closure discipline (e.g., diligence closure, TSA exit tracking for divestments) through periodic governance meetings.
• Partner closely with enterprise BD organizations (e.g., Global Business Development and/or Center for External Innovation) and relevant corporate functions (Finance/Legal/HR/Regulatory/Pharmscience) to ensure GSQ diligence output is decision-relevant and operationally implementable.
• Ensures residual significant identified risk are mapped/approved as part of the risk acceptance process, and informed/tracked through Enterprise Risk Management Governance process (patient/compliance/supply continuity/reputation).
• Ensures risk statements, residual risk rationale, compensating controls, monitoring plan, and ERM traceability.
• Define GSQ licensing lifecycle governance from pre-sign assumptions → post-sign operating model → renewal/termination readiness (including continuity-of-supply and quality oversight continuity).
• Own/oversee GSQ Internalization Operating Model (IOM) and Externalization Operating Model (EOM) alignment, ensuring practical and development of digital tools to drive governance, accountability across GSQ and interfaces with partner organizations.
• Own a GSQ BD digital toolkit (evidence repository, risk register automation, dashboards, TSA tracking, standardized data requests).
• Drive portfolio analytics and benchmarking across deals to improve cycle time, decision quality, and post-sign outcomes.
• Ensures the establishment and continuously improvement of standardized GSQ BD deliverables (e.g., due diligence reports, entanglement maps, separation plans, templates/playbooks) and ensure adoption across GSQ.
• Build a GSQ BD capability program and talent development (training, community of practice, lessons learned, and competency development) to develop a scalable network of diligence leaders and SMEs across the organization.
• Drive performance management for GSQ BD operations through KPIs/metrics (cycle time, deliverable quality, risk closure, post-sign readiness, lessons learned etc), and embed continuous improvement into GSQ BD and Licensing ways of working.
• Ensure strong handoffs to execution leads: transfer plans are developed and ensure complete knowledge transfer from diligence into implementation, enabling seamless transition to operations.
• Ensure execution discipline and governance, including MSA, TSA, Quality Agreements, governance/closure tracking and alignment across GSQ functions to deliver internalizations and separation outcomes without compromising patient supply or compliance.

Benefits

• U.S. based employees may be eligible to participate in medical, dental, vision insurance, a 401(k) plan and company match, short-term and long-term disability coverage, basic life insurance, a tuition reimbursement program, paid volunteer time off, company holidays, and well-being benefits, among others.
• U.S. based employees are also eligible to receive, per calendar year, up to 80 hours of sick time, and new hires are eligible to accrue up to 120 hours of paid vacation.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director
• Number of Employees: 5,001-10,000 employees