Director of Business Development (Cambridge, MA, US)
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
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.
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.
Where these roles are based
Top locations among the 40 comparable roles
+ 5 more countries
Seniority mix
40 of 40 peers have a known seniority level
Therapeutic area mix
10 of 40 peers have a known therapeutic area; the rest are genuinely unlabeled, not hidden
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.
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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.
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.