Senior Director, Business Development

Role Overview

• Provide leadership, direction, and resource stewardship to the Advanced Synthesis (ADS) sales function
• Lead the West Coast Business Development team, with a primary focus on driving new CDMO business
• Partner closely with the commercial development team to support strategic growth initiatives, expanding the customer base, strengthening client relationships, and driving revenue growth
• Drive expansion into new therapeutic areas and geographic markets
• Collaborate with marketing and technical teams to effectively position service offerings and grow market share
• Lead, mentor, and develop a high-performing sales and business development team, fostering a strong “hunter” mentality
• Promote a culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement
• Partner with operations, R&D, and quality teams to ensure seamless execution and high levels of client satisfaction
• Provide insights on market trends, customer needs, and competitive dynamics to inform service development and pricing strategies

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Life Sciences or Engineering required (e.g., Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Pharmaceutical Sciences); Master’s and/or MBA preferred
• 12+ years of experience
• Established network within the pharmaceutical and biotech sectors, particularly within the West Coast territory
• Prior experience in CDMO business development required
• Previous people management experience required
• Willingness to travel (~40%) for client meetings, site visits, internal meetings, and industry conferences
• Demonstrated hunter mindset , with the ability to coach teams in proactive, opportunity-driven sales strategies
• Strong strategic thinking and analytical problem-solving skills
• Excellent communication and networking abilities, with a track record of building internal and external stakeholder relationships
• Ability to develop tailored solutions that address customer needs and gaps
• Solid understanding of: Clinical drug development phases
• Small molecule drug substance (process development and manufacturing, including late-phase requirements)
• Oral solid dosage forms (formulation development and manufacturing)
• GMP and regulatory requirements
• Skilled in managing long sales cycles by adapting strategies based on client feedback, behavior, and market conditions
• High ethical standards, with a focus on transparency and trust-building
• Strong awareness of market trends and competitive landscape, with the ability to align strategies to long-term business goals
• Comfortable leveraging digital marketing to engage clients and generate leads
• Effective negotiator with experience managing both external client agreements (MSAs, CSAs, T&Cs) and internal cross-functional alignment.

Benefits

• flexible work arrangements
• professional development