Novo Nordisk Posted September 4, 2026

Director of Business Development (Cambridge, MA, US)

Cambridge, United States Type not listed
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Novo Nordisk is the source of truth for this posting and owns the application process. We surface normalized context and market comparison you won't find on the original listing.

About this opportunity

About the Department

The Novo Nordisk Cambridge location is the headquarters for Global Business Development across all of our therapeutic and technology areas. We contribute to innovation in one of the world's largest life sciences ecosystems by participating in events and discussions with renowned and upcoming scientists looking for the next scientific breakthrough to bring transformative treatments to patients. We work with start-ups, established companies, venture capitalists, teaching hospitals, and academic institutions to support the development of innovation for mutual benefit, and to help patients in all of our current therapy areas. Through a variety of partnership models, we accelerate ideas from the lab and clinic to advance and expand our product portfolio and to improve outcomes for the patients we serve

The Position

Corporate Development contributes to innovation in one of the world's largest life sciences ecosystems by participating in events and discussions with renowned and upcoming scientists–looking for the next scientific breakthrough to bring transformative treatments to patients. We work with start-ups, established companies, venture capitalists, teaching hospitals, and academic institutions to support the development of innovation for mutual benefit, and to help patients in all of our current therapy areas. Through a variety of partnership models, we accelerate ideas from the lab and clinic to advance and expand our product portfolio and to improve outcomes for the patients we serve.

The Director of Business Development (BD) will have responsibility for evaluating external growth opportunities and, where appropriate, executing transactions to access the assets of interest.  The Director BD regularly interfaces with therapeutic area heads, search and evaluation, alliance management, and senior management.   This position is at the epicenter of the evolving landscape and is critical in helping identify, evaluate, and weigh-in on opportunities in the marketplace.

Relationships

The Director of Business Development is a member of the global transactions group and reports to the Senior Director, Business Development.  The Director works with colleagues through a matrix organization. Key stakeholders include members of executive management and global members of management in Research and Development and Commercial organizations. External collaborators include, industry peers and executives, and academic researchers.  External collaborators include, industry peers and executives, and academic researchers.

Essential Functions

Partners with Search & Evaluation team and the therapeutic area heads to improve identification of deals of interest and drive diligence to quickly come to “go” or “no go” decisions

Leads cross-functional evaluations of all aspects of therapeutic drug programs from preclinical through clinical stages across the relevant assessment areas: proposed clinical benefit, mechanism, preclinical data, manufacturing, regulatory strategy, clinical development path, intellectual property and commercial potential

Participates in and, ideally leads negotiations in business transactions

Works effectively with legal, finance, commercial, clinical and scientific teams and make business development proposals to senior management

Considers broad corporate priorities and participate in strategy planning for financial investment trade-off decisions required

Physical Requirements

5-10% overnight travel required.

Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree preferred

Experience Level: 8+ years of relevant experience required. Experience in pharmaceutical or biotechnology organizations preferred.  Advanced degree may be substituted for experience as appropriate

Demonstrated record of presenting to senior management of partnership opportunities

Demonstrated ability to build rapport with therapeutic and functional area leader

Strong analytical skills required to provide sound inputs into financial evaluations

Strong presentation skills

Proven ability to lead all elements of due diligence and deal negotiation

Ability to identify and prioritize risks across functional areas, weigh those appropriately with benefits of investment, and effectively frame business decisions for senior management

Ability to successfully navigate internal dynamics, experience working in a matrix organization preferred

The base compensation range for this position is $187,000 to $279,000. Base compensation is determined based on a number of factors. This position is also eligible for a company bonus based on individual and company performance. Novo Nordisk offers long-term incentive compensation and or company vehicles depending on the position's level or other company factors.

Employees are also eligible to participate in Company employee benefit programs including medical, dental and vision coverage; life insurance; disability insurance; 401(k) savings plan; flexible spending accounts; employee assistance program; tuition reimbursement program; and voluntary benefits such as group legal, critical illness, identity theft protection, pet insurance and auto/home insurance. The Company also offers time off pursuant to its sick time policy, flex-able vacation policy and parental leave policy.

We commit to an inclusive recruitment process and equality of opportunity for all our job applicants.

At Novo Nordisk, we're not chasing quick fixes – we're creating lasting change for long-term health. For over 100 years, we've been driven by a single purpose: to defeat serious chronic diseases and help millions of people live healthier lives. This dedication fuels our constant curiosity and inspires us to push the boundaries of what's possible in healthcare. We embrace diverse perspectives, seek out bold ideas, and build partnerships rooted in shared purpose. Together, we're making healthcare more accessible, treating and defeating diseases, and pioneering solutions that create change spanning generations. When you join us, you become part of something bigger – a legacy of impact that reaches far beyond today.

Novo Nordisk is an equal opportunity employer. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, ethnicity, color, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, protected veteran status or any other characteristic protected by local, state or federal laws, rules or regulations.

If you are interested in applying to Novo Nordisk and need special assistance or an accommodation to apply, please call us at 1-855-411-5290. This contact is for accommodation requests only and cannot be used to inquire about the status of applications.

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Job details

Seniority
Director
Function
BD&L & Strategic Planning
Therapeutic area
Not listed
Location
Cambridge, United States
Employment type
Not listed

How this role compares

Computed from every other active BD&L & Strategic Planning role in our database, not just this employer's listings.

We currently track 40 comparable Director BD&L & Strategic Planning roles across 20 biopharma companies.

40Comparable roles tracked
39Currently active
20Companies hiring similar roles
11Countries represented

Salary context

7 of 40 peers report a salary range (USD, annualized)

Peers share this role's job function and a matching or adjacent seniority level -- not necessarily the same therapeutic area or country.

This roleSubject Not listed on this posting
Lowest disclosed · Director Global Strategic Projects · Merck KGaA $165,100/yr – $247,700/yr
Highest disclosed · Sr Director, Corporate Strategy & Projects · Gilead Sciences, Inc. $261,375/yr – $338,250/yr
Peer group range $206,400 – $299,813 (median $244,150)

Where these roles are based

Top locations among the 40 comparable roles

United States17
China9
Germany4
United Kingdom2
Switzerland2
Israel1

+ 5 more countries

Seniority mix

40 of 40 peers have a known seniority level

Director34
Senior Director4
Principal2

Therapeutic area mix

10 of 40 peers have a known therapeutic area; the rest are genuinely unlabeled, not hidden

Immunology5
Oncology2
Neuroscience2
Respiratory1

Similar opportunities

The closest matches from our peer group, ranked by how similar they are, not how well you'd qualify for them -- treat this as market context, not a guaranteed shortlist; a weak match is labeled as one below.

60%similar
Amgen Inc. Remote, United States Director
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
Amgen Inc. South San Francisco, United States Director
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
Boehringer Ingelheim Fremont, California, United States Director
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
Merck KGaA Burlington, Massachusetts, United States Director
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
Merck KGaA Burlington, Massachusetts, United States Director
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
Teva Pharmaceuticals Parsippany, United States Director
Same function Same seniority Same country

Notify me about similar jobs

Get an email when we spot other openings like this one – same job function, comparable seniority, roles you'd actually want to see.

How we calculate "similar"

No black box, no LLM guesswork: a deterministic score built from four normalized attributes. Here's this role's own peer group at different match levels, so you can see the mechanism, not just the result.

Every comparison starts from the same 100-point budget: 25 for working in the same function, 40 for the same therapeutic area, 20 for the same or adjacent seniority, 15 for the same country. A dimension we can't confirm on both sides contributes nothing, never a guess, never a free pass.

60%
Oncology Strategy Director
Amgen Inc. · Remote, United States · Director
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
60%
Director Global Strategic Projects
Merck KGaA · Burlington, Massachusetts, United States · Director
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
60%
Director, Search and Evaluation
Teva Pharmaceuticals · Parsippany, New Jersey, United States · Director
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
60%
Director, Corporate Strategy & Projects
Gilead Sciences, Inc. · Foster City, United States · Director
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
Unmatched or unknown dimensions score exactly the same: 0 points, never a partial guess. A role we know almost nothing about beyond its function bottoms out at 25%; it never inflates to 100% just because there's little to compare against. Seniority uses a defined ladder (Associate → Manager → Associate Director → Senior → Principal → Director → Senior Director → Executive/VP) so "Director" and "Senior Director" count as adjacent, but "Director" and "Executive/VP" do not.