Novartis Posted September 9, 2026

Director, Therapeutic Area Strategy, Neuroscience

Cambridge (USA), United States FULL_TIME
BD&L & Strategic Planning Neuroscience Director
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About this opportunity

The Novartis Strategy & Growth, Therapeutic Area Strategy team for Neuroscience is seeking a new Therapeutic Area Strategy Director who will support the creation and update of a holistic TA strategy; provide early-phase commercial insights to project teams; guide TA-specific internal pipeline development and external licensing / acquisitions opportunities; and support integrated enterprise alignment across Biomedical Research (BR), Development, Strategy & Growth (S&G), and the Commercial US and International units.

Key Responsibilities: Brings external benchmarking, analysis and insights, and judgement to support the TA Strategy Head in developing a holistic Novartis TA strategy that achieves sustainable growth in short, mid and long-term.Brings both understanding of the pharmaceutical industry and the core Therapeutic Areas (TA) and Disease area of Neuroscience to derive insightful and differentiating competitive advantages over our peers.Provides key commercial insights to the R&D project teams, particularly for early phase programs. To do this effectively, in-market experience in the US is critical.Analyses reports and publications to extract key messages, including building product forecasts.Supports development and delivery of TA-specific strategic external insights to support identification of growth opportunities, emerging competitive challenges and support creation of a third-party view around key strategic levers, and commissions targeted primary research.Essential Requirements:  Bachelor's degree required. Advanced degree (PhD, MD or other advanced University degree) and / or equivalent experience in life science/healthcare; MBA or consulting or equivalent experience highly preferred.In-depth TA knowledge (or track record to acquire required TA expertise effectively and rapidly) in Neuroscience.Highly agile having the capacity to support a number of strategic DAs within a TA and multiple programs internal and externalSubstantial experience evaluating new product opportunities (through M&A, BD&L and internal re-search programs).At least 5+ years of Industry pharma and/or medical devices Experience in Research & Development and/or commercial functions with experience conducting, commissioning, analyzing primary researchExperience of strategy development and asset shaping early in lifecycleRecent (post 2015) local US in-market experience; local US experience includes working within the US market with the local US customers, US health care systems / systemsBenefits & RewardsThe salary for this position is expected to range between $176,400 and $327,600 per year. The final salary offered is determined based on factors like, but not limited to, relevant skills and experience, and upon joining Novartis will be reviewed periodically. Novartis may change the published salary range based on company and market factors. Your compensation will include a performance-based cash incentive and, depending on the level of the role, eligibility to be considered for annual equity awards. US-based eligible employees will receive a comprehensive benefits package that includes health, life and disability benefits, a 401(k) with company contribution and match, and a variety of other benefits. In addition, employees are eligible for a generous time off package including vacation, personal days, holidays and other leaves.Why Novartis: Helping people with disease and their families takes more than innovative science. It takes a community of smart, passionate people like you. Collaborating, supporting and inspiring each other. Combining to achieve breakthroughs that change patients’ lives. Ready to create a brighter future together? https://www.novartis.com/about/strategy/people-and-cultureJoin our Novartis Network: Not the right Novartis role for you? Sign up to our talent community to stay connected and learn about suitable career opportunities as soon as they come up: https://talentnetwork.novartis.com/networkBenefits and Rewards: Read our handbook to learn about all the ways we’ll help you thrive personally and professionally: https://www.novartis.com/careers/benefits-rewards

Job details

Seniority
Director
Function
BD&L & Strategic Planning
Therapeutic area
Neuroscience
Location
Cambridge (USA), United States
Employment type
FULL_TIME

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 21 biopharma companies.

40Comparable roles tracked
39Currently active
21Companies hiring similar roles
11Countries represented

Salary context

6 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 $176,400/yr – $327,600/yr
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 $229,965)

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

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

Immunology5
Oncology2
Respiratory1
Neuroscience1

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.

85%similar
Novartis Basel (City), Switzerland Director
Same function Same therapeutic area Same seniority
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

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.

85%
Director, Therapeutic Area Strategy, Neuroscience
Novartis · Basel (City), Switzerland · Director
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
60%
Director, Business Development/KAM, Fremont CA/Bay Area (Fremont, CA, United States, California)
Boehringer Ingelheim · Fremont, California, United States · Director
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
60%
Director, Business Development Operations and Chief of Staff
Teva Pharmaceuticals · Parsippany, United States · Director
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
60%
Director, New Products & Business Development, Solid Tumors
Johnson & Johnson · Horsham, 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.