Vice President, Oncology Research

Description

As an employee of Boehringer Ingelheim, you will actively contribute to the discovery, development and delivery of our products to our patients and customers. Our global presence provides opportunity for all employees to collaborate internationally, offering visibility and opportunity to directly contribute to the companies' success. We realize that our strength and competitive advantage lie with our people. We support our employees in a number of ways to foster a healthy working environment, meaningful work, mobility, networking and work-life balance. Our competitive compensation and benefit programs reflect Boehringer Ingelheim's high regard for our employees.

The VP Oncology Research role is to provide strong scientific, organizational, and portfolio leadership for the Immuno-oncology department within the global Oncology Research.

This individual will set and direct the implementation and execution of strategic and tactical priorities to establish and progress an innovative and competitive Immuno-oncology portfolio. The VP Oncology Research will apply innovative immune reprogramming principles and seek synergies with tumor-cell targeted concepts, TcE, ADCs and other key modalities to advance the oncology pipeline. This individual will also exploit potential synergies in other disease areas (e.g. inflammation) to maximize the full potential of the New Therapeutic Concepts (NTCs).

This individual is accountable for the immuno-oncology organization in Ridgefield (RDG) and will work closely with the Pharmacology team in RDG (Oncology Pharmacology and Disease Positioning), Cancer Cell Targeting and Immunology teams in Vienna as well as other global Oncology Research teams to define and implement a robust strategy to win in oncology.

Duties & Responsibilities

Global Oncology Research:

• Contribute to building a Global Oncology Research organization by connecting with other sites and integrating a one Oncology mindset in all activities.
• As a member of the Global Oncology Research leadership team, develop, and steer the implementation and execution of an Immuno-Oncology strategy that will form the basis of a first-in-class portfolio in line with the overall Discovery Research goals.
• Build and maintain a cohesive and productive immuno-oncology organization.
• Build and advance a portfolio with novel immunological concepts with first in class potential.
• Actively contribute to the portfolio review committees.
• Leadership of the RDG Immuno-oncology scientific organization to ensure scientific and portfolio goals are met.
• Strong collaboration across Oncology Research, especially with Oncology Pharmacology and Disease Positioning (OPD in Ridgefield) and across Discovery Research and relevant R&D functions to ensure scientific and portfolio deliverables.

Immuno-Oncology Discovery Activities:

• Building first-in-class rich innovative portfolio pushing boundaries of current knowledge and utilizes modalities as a "fit for purpose" including small molecules (incl. degraders), biologics, alternative approaches such as viral delivery modalities.
• Taking trends and emerging clinical learnings actively into consideration for portfolio strategy and NTC discovery.
• Levering synergies and collaborating with other units of Oncology Research and other Therapeutic Areas for New Therapeutic Concept (NTC) discovery.
• Meet or exceed portfolio deliverables consistent with the Global Oncology and Discovery Research strategies and expectations.
• Ensure strong engagement with the local Ridgefield scientific community to maximize synergies. 
• Ensure all relevant documentation is provided to support portfolio deliverables.
• Supplement internal NTC discovery with in-licensed compounds as per external innovation strategy for immuno oncology.

External Research Network Establishment:

• Identify, develop and manage a network of internal and external scientific academic and biotechnology partnerships to discover novel biology and NTC that can be integrated into the Immuno-Oncology portfolio.
• Integrate and manage external CRO functions to enable services to be provided for immune oncology.
• Ensure the oncology scientific teams build a strong reputation for Boehringer in the external community by publishing, actively participating and presenting at scientific conferences.

Internal Network Establishment & Staffing:

• Build and maintain strong connections with critical functions in Discovery Research (such as modality functions)  as well as the Innovation Unit (Experimental Medicine, Computational Innovation, Patents, Business Development) to support effective portfolio building and progression. 
• In alignment with Global Oncology leadership, develop a strategy to adequately resource Immuno-Oncology portfolio needs leveraging appropriate expertise globally. 
• Retain and develop high quality staff; performance management of direct and indirect reports
   strategy.  

Operations and Leadership:

• Ensure compliance with all required training, safety, regulatory, HR, laboratory notebook and intellectual property activities and corporate policies for self and entire Oncology Ridgefield teams.

Requirements

• Ph.D, and/or M.D in a relevant field including immunology, microbiology, bacteriology, virology and must have a strong understanding of immuno-oncology concepts.
• Experience in drug discovery is essential. At least fifteen (15) years’ experience following post-doctoral studies and deep experience in target  discovery or exploration of novel biological pathways that are involved in immuno-oncology processes; experience in the biotechnology or pharmaceutical industry (more than 10 years) with leading/supervising R&D programs from inception to candidate selection or start of Phase 1 with a demonstrated track record.
• Experience and expertise in T cell biology/assays as well as innovative ex vivo human immune-oncology assays is desired.
• Leadership experience of groups with 15 or more persons and a strongly collaborative mindset.
• A broad and innovative thinker is needed; someone who understands immunological sciences and especially how it can be applied in immuno-Oncology to deliver breakthrough therapies.  
• Demonstrates strong vision and leadership, brings a credible executive presence, confidently voices opinions, inspires followership, and leads Immuno‑Oncology by hiring and developing experts with deep technical and scientific expertise.
• Strong leadership skills including supervising, mentoring and developing multiple scientific groups, with direct PhD-level reports.
• Requires the ability to communicate effectively internally and externally by oral presentation, written technical reports and scientific publications.
• This position is based on-site in Ridgefield CT but willingness to interact globally with colleagues in Austria, Switzerland and the USA, including occasional travel to global research sites. 
• Fluency in spoken and written English essential.
• Strong research and publication record that ensures a gravitas and level of respect amongst peers, staff and external collaborators.

Eligibility Requirements:

• Must be legally authorized to work in the United States without restriction.
• Must be willing to take a drug test and post-offer physical (if required).
• Must be 18 years of age or older.

Compensation Data

The base salary range for this position is $250,000.00 to $394,000.00.   The position may be eligible for a role specific discretionary bonus, relocation, and/or other compensation elements.  We continuously review market data and may adjust salary ranges as needed in the future.  Actual compensation will be based on job-related factors such as skills, experience, and qualifications, and other factors permitted by law. For an overview of our benefits please click here.