Novartis Posted July 23, 2026

Senior Clinical Development Medical Director

London (The Westworks), United Kingdom FULL_TIME
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Novartis 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

#LI-HybridWork Arrangement: Hybrid WorkingLocation: London (The Westworks), United KingdomAre you passionate about shaping the future of clinical development and making a meaningful impact in Cardiovascular/Stroke medicine? We are looking for an experienced and visionary Senior Clinical Development Medical Director (Sr CDMD) to take the lead in driving the strategic planning and execution of our cutting-edge clinical programs. As the internal medical/clinical expert in his/her field, the Sr CDMD is the Global clinical/medical lead of a section of a clinical development program or one or more large, complex trial(s), under the leadership of the Global Program Clinical Head (GPCH). This is a key leadership role requiring hands-on experience in cardiovascular/stroke /anticoagulation clinical drug development with the ability to translate emerging data into a clear clinical and regulatory path, drive delivery in a global matrix, and ensure rigorous benefit–risk decision making throughout the program lifecycle.

Major accountabilities:Your responsibilities will include, but are not limited to:Providing clinical leadership and strategic medical input for all clinical deliverables in the assigned project or section of a clinical programLeading development of clinical sections of trial and program level regulatory documentsDriving execution of the assigned clinical program and/or clinical trial in partnership with global line functions, assigned Global Trial Directors (GTDs), and regional/country medical associates, where applicableSupporting (Senior) Global Program Clinical Head (GPCH) in ensuring overall safety of the molecule for the assigned section, and may act as a core member of the Safety Management Team (SMT), supporting overall program safety reporting in collaboration with Patient Safety colleaguesSupporting the Clinical Development Head (CDH) by providing medical input into Clinical Development Plan (CDP), Integrated Development Plan (IDP) and Clinical Trial Protocol (CTP) reviews, and contributing to/driving development of disease clinical standards for new disease areasAs a medical expert, supporting the (Sr.) GPCH or CDH in interactions with external and internal stakeholders and decision boardsMay work with BR (Biomedical Research/ Translational Medical Sciences) to drive transition of pre-PoC (Proof of Concept) projects to DDP (Development Decision Point) and with BD&L (Business Development & Licensing) including target identification and due diligences together with other medical matters, as needed.Minimum Requirements:MD or equivalent medical degree is required in addition to advanced knowledge and clinical training in medical/scientific area; experience in stroke medicine and/or cardiovascular outcome trials and/or coagulation is preferred>7 years of experience in clinical research or drug developmentExperience in an academic clinical research or industry environment spanning clinical activities, particularly in Ph3 trialsWorking knowledge of cardiovascular disease and/or stroke medicine, with proven ability to interpret, discuss and present efficacy and safety data relating to clinical trial(s) and proven ability to understand and interpret basic and clinical scientific research reportsDemonstrated ability to establish effective scientific partnerships with key stakeholdersWorking knowledge of GCP, clinical trial design, statistics, and regulatory and clinical development processesPrevious global people management experience is preferred, though this may include management in a matrix environment.Commitment to Diversity and InclusionNovartis is committed to building an outstanding, inclusive work environment and diverse teams representative of the patients and communities we serve.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-cultureYou’ll receive:Competitive salary, Short term incentive bonus, Pension scheme, Health insurance, 25 days annual leave, Flexible working arrangements, Employee recognition scheme, learning and development opportunitiesBenefits and Rewards: Learn about all the ways we’ll help you thrive personally and professionally.Read our handbook (PDF 30 MB)

Job details

Seniority
Director
Function
Clinical Development
Therapeutic area
Not listed
Location
London (The Westworks), United Kingdom
Employment type
FULL_TIME

How this role compares

Computed from every other active Clinical Development role in our database, not just this employer's listings.

We currently track 253 comparable Director Clinical Development roles across 50 biopharma companies.

253Comparable roles tracked
228Currently active
50Companies hiring similar roles
17Countries represented

Salary context

119 of 253 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 · Sr. Principal Associate - QA Clinical Trial Packaging Engineer · Lilly $65,250/yr – $169,400/yr
Peer group range $117,325 – $392,100 (median $264,000)

Where these roles are based

Top locations among the 253 comparable roles

United States192
United Kingdom17
India11
Spain8
Switzerland7
Poland2

+ 11 more countries

Seniority mix

253 of 253 peers have a known seniority level

Director190
Senior Director43
Principal20

Therapeutic area mix

75 of 253 peers have a known therapeutic area; the rest are genuinely unlabeled, not hidden

Oncology39
Immunology11
Neuroscience10
Cardiovascular / CVRM6
Ophthalmology4
Respiratory3
Rare Disease2

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
Novartis London (The Westworks), United Kingdom Director
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
Novartis London (The Westworks), United Kingdom Director
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
AstraZeneca Cambridge, United Kingdom Director
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
E.R. Squibb & Sons,L.L.C. Uxbridge, United Kingdom Director
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
Vertex UK Int'l HQ/R&D Paddington, United Kingdom Director
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
Astellas Pharma Addlestone, United Kingdom 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%
(Senior) Clinical Development Medical Director
Novartis · London (The Westworks), United Kingdom · Director
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
60%
Director, Global Clinical Physician Late HOCT
E.R. Squibb & Sons,L.L.C. · Uxbridge, United Kingdom · Director
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
60%
Clinical Development Physician Medical Director Oncology (Addlestone, GB, KT15 2NX)
Astellas Pharma · Addlestone, United Kingdom · Director
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
60%
Director, Clinical Operations Asset Lead
GlaxoSmithKline Services Unlimited · UK – London – New Oxford Street, United Kingdom · 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.