GSK
Director, Disease Area Lead, Oncology (Haem)

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Senior Director Clinical Operations Disease Area Lead Oncology
Are you ready to lead and manage a team of senior experts in a role that drives innovation and transforms healthcare on a global scale? At GSK, we are looking for a visionary leader to join us as a Disease Area Lead. This is an opportunity to shape the future of clinical operations, accelerate development timelines, and make a meaningful impact on health outcomes worldwide. If you thrive in a dynamic, collaborative environment and are passionate about delivering excellence, this Oncology, Senior Director Disease Area Lead role is an exciting move to explore.
Job Purpose
As the Oncology Senior Director Disease Area Lead at GSK, you will play a pivotal role in driving the global strategy for clinical operations within your assigned portfolio. You will ensure operational excellence, accelerate development timelines, and optimize delivery to support GSK’s mission of improving health outcomes worldwide.
Key Responsibilities
- Lead a high-performing global team of Clinical Operations Asset Leads (COALs) and Associate COALs setting the strategic vision and operational direction for delivering the disease area portfolio including Early Phase strategy and delivery for the Disease Area.
- Contribute to the Business Development strategic input when business development opportunities are evaluated by providing strategic leadership, conducting due diligence, building of a clinical development plan in preparation for governance.
- Lead the Disease Area Matrix Leadership Team by partnering with key Oncology stakeholders to shape the vision and resourcing/delivery strategy to support the clinical portfolio from design through regulatory submission/approvals.
- Provide leadership and coaching to team members who are accountable for the delivery of clinical development programs, ensuring the development and retention of top talent. Foster a culture of innovation, accountability, and high performing team enabling the team to work effectively with the key cross-functional leadership teams and project team.
- Work with GCO TA head to set the strategic direction for the GCO TA teams, ensuring alignment with GSK's R&D objectives and overall company strategy.
- Identify and integrate best practices across the organization, ensuring their effective implementation to enhance business processes, optimize operational efficiency and foster continuous improvement.
- Act as the single point of accountability for all operational aspects of Oncology, providing strategic oversight and ensuring delivery against key milestones, timelines and quality standards.
- Embed innovative approaches to drive delivery optimization and to accelerate development timelines across the life cycle of an asset.
- Proactively identify and manage risks associated with clinical program delivery. Develop and implement strategies to mitigate risks and ensure the successful execution of clinical trials.
- Shape and sustain a culture of excellence, collaboration, accountability and innovation within the organization. Foster the sharing of best practices, the development of key talent, and the creation of a community focused on delivering results in a fast-evolving and competitive environment.
Basic Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in Life Sciences
- Extensive experience of clinical trial management of phase II-III oncology studies
- Significant experience leading a portfolio of oncology trials or asset lead in a clinical operations setting
- Proven line and matrix leadership and ability to navigate, lead and influence within a complex matrix environment.
- Experience collaborating with external stakeholders, including CROs, academia, and patient networks
Reasons to use Rodeo
I’m in my final year doing Economics and I don’t know whether to apply for grad schemes now or do a masters first. What do you think?
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Preferred Qualifications
- Advanced degree (Master’s or Doctorate) in a scientific discipline.
- Ability to constructively challenge practices and engage senior leaders to drive alignment and results. Exceptional negotiation skills and the ability to influence with or without authority at all levels of the organization.
- Experience working independently with senior executives, quickly building personal credibility and assimilating complex business issues/needs. Ability to act as a trusted expert and strategic partner in high-level decision-making forums.
- Experience in leading organization-wide problem solving and conducting high-quality strategic analysis and implementing innovative solutions to address complex challenges.
- Expertise in driving innovative solutions to optimize operational delivery and accelerate development timelines.
- High level of personal drive, energy, enthusiasm and commitment, with a proven ability to motivate and inspire teams to achieve exceptional results
- High degree of creativity and innovation in developing new approaches, processes and methodologies.
- Highly effective verbal, written, presentation and communications skills, with the ability to articulate complex issues and strategies clearly and persuasively to a wide range of audiences.
- Strong business acumen with the ability to balance strategic vision and operational execution.
- Strong influencing and negotiations skills in challenging, ambiguous and rapidly changing environments
Closing date for Applications
Monday 12th October
Business Introduction
At GSK, we have bold ambitions for patients, aiming to positively impact the health of 2.5 billion people by the end of the decade. Our R&D focuses on discovering and delivering vaccines and medicines, combining our understanding of the immune system with cutting-edge technology to transform people’s lives. GSK fosters a culture ambitious for patients, accountable for impact, and committed to doing the right thing, making sure that we focus our efforts on accelerating significant assets that meet patients’ needs and have the highest probability of success. We’re uniting science, technology, and talent to get ahead of disease together.
Find out more: Our approach to R&D
Skills
- Clinical Data Interpretation
- Clinical Trial Designs
- Clinical Trials Monitoring
- Digital Fluency
- Drug Development
- Drug Regulatory Affairs
- Evidence Based Decision Making
- Executive Presence
- Hematology and Oncology
- Learning Agility
- Matrix Leadership
- Real World Evidence (RWE)
- Scientific Presentations
- Strategic Direction
Why GSK?
Uniting science, technology and talent to get ahead of disease together.
GSK is a global biopharma company with a purpose to unite science, technology and talent to get ahead of disease together. We aim to positively impact the health of 2.5 billion people by the end of the decade, as a successful, growing company where people can thrive. We get ahead of disease by preventing and treating it with innovation in specialty medicines and vaccines. We focus on four therapeutic areas: respiratory, immunology and inflammation; oncology; HIV; and infectious diseases – to impact health at scale.


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People and patients around the world count on the medicines and vaccines we make, so we’re committed to creating an environment where our people can thrive and focus on what matters most. Our culture of being ambitious for patients, accountable for impact and doing the right thing is the foundation for how, together, we deliver for patients, shareholders and our people.
GSK is an Equal Opportunity Employer. This ensures that all qualified applicants will receive equal consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity, and sexual orientation), parental status, national origin, age, disability, genetic information (including family medical history), military service or any basis prohibited under federal, state or local law.
We believe in an agile working culture for all our roles. If flexibility is important to you, we encourage you to explore with our hiring team what the opportunities are.
Should you require any adjustments to our process to assist you in demonstrating your strengths and capabilities contact us at UKRecruitment.Adjustments@gsk.com where you can also request a call.
Please note should your enquiry not relate to adjustments, we will not be able to support you through these channels. However, we have created a Recruitment FAQ guide. Click the link where you will find answers to multiple questions we receive.
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