Senior Advisor - External Innovation R&D

Elanco • Indianapolis, IN

1d • Hybrid

About The Position

At Elanco (NYSE: ELAN) – it all starts with animals! As a global leader in animal health, we are dedicated to innovation and delivering products and services to prevent and treat disease in farm animals and pets. At Elanco, we are driven by our vision of Food and Companionship Enriching Life and our purpose – all to Go Beyond for Animals, Customers, Society and Our People. At Elanco, we pride ourselves on fostering a diverse and inclusive work environment. We believe that diversity is the driving force behind innovation, creativity, and overall business success. Here, you’ll be part of a company that values and champions new ways of thinking, work with dynamic individuals, and acquire new skills and experiences that will propel your career to new heights. Making animals’ lives better makes life better – join our team today! Your Role: Senior Advisor, External Innovation As a Senior Advisor on the External Innovation team, you will play a pivotal role in enriching Elanco's R&D pipeline. You will actively engage with a diverse network of external innovators—including start-ups, established pharma companies, universities, and individual inventors—at all stages of development. Your primary responsibility is to identify, evaluate, and create compelling proposals for new assets, bringing them forward in partnership with Elanco's R&D, Marketing, Legal, and Regulatory teams. Through your efforts in sourcing and negotiating research agreements, you will directly contribute to Elanco's mission of enhancing pet health and farm animal well-being.

Requirements

• Education: Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) or a PhD in a relevant biological field.
• Experience: At least 5 years of experience in animal health research, development, or a related business development field.
• Top Skills: Exceptional communication and interpersonal skills, with a proven ability to influence senior leadership and external partners, coupled with the ability to work independently and make complex business and technical decisions.

Nice To Haves

• Additional experience (>3 years) specifically in search and evaluation, business development, or alliance management within the Animal Health industry.
• An established and relevant network of contacts in academia and within small to medium-sized enterprises in the Animal Health field.
• Demonstrated track record in managing complex collaborations and influencing interdisciplinary scientific and technical teams.
• Deep experience in the Farm Animal or Pet Health market, including the development of pharmaceutical products.
• Proven ability to thrive and provide leadership within a complex, matrix-based organization.

Responsibilities

• Map, select, and assess innovation opportunities from a diverse network of sources, including biotech, start-ups, universities, and small to large companies, based on a strong understanding of target disease biology.
• Lead and coordinate cross-functional technical assessments of new leads, working closely with R&D, Marketing, Legal, and Business Development to ensure timely, ethical, and thorough evaluations.
• Collaborate with internal scientific teams to design and implement experiments to validate external opportunities and support de-risking strategies.
• Manage all stages of partner interactions and evaluation, including initial contact, securing internal interest, negotiation, and alliance management activities as required.
• Maintain awareness of the external competitive landscape and engage in scientific conferences to scout for new assets, providing expert recommendations to R&D leadership on go/no-go decisions.
• Establish and maintain relationships with key grant funding agencies and other key R&D partners; represent the public face of Elanco R&D.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Education Level: Ph.D. or professional degree