Academic Alliances, Associate Director

The Academic Alliances, Associate Director will speak with groups in academia, convert episodic interactions to lasting relationships, and will identify, consolidate, and centralize business critical networks; including, but not limited to, grow and improve existing relationships with key collaborators, expand new relationships that will result in research projects, and accelerate acquisition of technologies and biological samples for use in Exact Sciences’ product development and clinical research efforts.

This position will cultivate relationships with leading academic medical centers and cancer prevention networks, negotiate collaboration agreements, and ensure that those collaborations deliver against contract expectations and align to Exact Sciences’ strategic priorities.

This position will orchestrate relationship management and build trust between Exact Sciences and the research collaborators.

The Academic Alliances, Associate Director will function as a liaison between complex internal and external organizations and stakeholders across functions such as research and development, clinical, medical affairs, and commercial business units.

This position will support a collaborative environment that promotes positive teamwork where all members are working for the good of Exact Sciences.

This position will demonstrate outstanding relationship-building, collaboration, and communication.

This position is field based.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities Develop and lead all aspects of assigned projects; including, but not limited to, planning, budget, resources, risk management, quality goals, and priorities.

Identify and pursue key institutions or networks that can help Exact Sciences procure its research and sample acquisition goals.

Establish trusted partner relationships with both vital research investigators, as well as senior leaders of key academic institutions, health systems, and professional cancer prevention networks.

Assess alignment of priority targets with Exact Sciences’ overall strategy and research/clinical needs.

Collaborate with pipeline leadership to define an aligned strategy for each academic institution and/or professional network, with both a customer focus and an Exact Sciences enterprise-wide view.

Create and maintain novel multi-year collaborations with academic institutions and/or professional cancer prevention networks to fill research gaps, acquire biologic samples, and bring in new technologies for evaluation to Exact Sciences, as needed.

Leverage Exact Sciences’ executive, commercial, research and development, medical, clinical, and product development relationships to surface and solidify priority target relationships; develop clear, cross-functional strategies to develop, secure, and maintain relationships.

Collaborate with Exact Sciences’ cross-functional teams, such as research and development, medical, clinical affairs, and commercial, to ensure projects and activities remain complimentary and strategically aligned.

Create a mutual exchange with collaborators to share Exact Sciences’ pipeline and strategic prioritization and coordinate dialogue with a network of all key external stakeholders, such as site leadership, key opinion leaders, scientists, research staff, and industry-affairs office personnel.

Achieve effective and timely triage of issue resolution across the alliance relationships to include integration and facilitation of interactions with key, internal, and customer-facing stakeholders and mobilize them to respond to customer needs through early and frequent engagement with clinical and research and development partners.

Keep Exact Sciences’ functions apprised of major activities, visits, issues, and opportunities at the sites.

Ensure and monitor progress at the academic site level and engage pipeline leadership on a regular basis to review and adjust based on research or business needs.

Build excitement for Exact Sciences’ research and development collaborations and clinical studies at key institutions through regular meetings and sharing of Exact Sciences’ strategic priorities.

Coordinate with clinical affairs to understand and support global project goals; including, but not limited to, site recruitment, patient recruitment, marketing, and public relations for clinical development projects.

Coordinate closely with the medical affairs team to drive key opinion leader’s engagement at priority institutions as they emerge from site relationship.

Maintain deep familiarity with clinical study protocols and operational plans, as well as progress against patient recruitment and sample acquisition goals and actively engage in improving performance at institutions, as needed.

Communicate clearly and frequently with all levels of the organization, such as pipeline team members, project team members, core and extended, functional managers, commercial organization, research and development, medical and clinical affairs, key opinion leaders, stakeholders, and partners.

Attend off site-meetings and conferences to build and solidify relationships, as needed.

Conduct all activities in an ethically and legally compliant manner.

Maintain morale and support employee engagement initiatives.

Promote an open, collaborative environment built on trust to foster positive teamwork.

Apply excellent organization and communication skills.

Ability to partner effectively with colleagues across multiple functions and at all levels of the enterprise.

Ability to partner with decision makers, such as health system administrators, leading physicians, clinical researchers, and strategic C-Suite level leaders.

Ability and flexibility to navigate through ambiguous and changing healthcare landscape.

Ability to comprehend key research and clinical priorities and communicate them to potential partners.

Ability to align with complex strategic transactions.

Apply problem-solving and interpersonal skills.

Operate with a positive attitude and with a strong desire to take ownership of many different relationships and projects.

Ability to work independently and manage multiple timelines while maintaining the team focus.

Apply strong leadership skills with geographically dispersed teams.

Uphold company mission and values through accountability, innovation, integrity, quality, and teamwork.

Support and comply with the company’s Quality Management System policies and procedures.

Maintain regular and reliable attendance.

Ability to act with an inclusion mindset and model these behaviors for the organization.

Ability to work nights and/or weekends, as needed.

Ability to work on a mobile device, tablet, or in front of a computer screen and/or perform typing for approximately 90% of a typical working day.

Ability and means to travel between Madison locations.

Ability to travel 60% of working time away from work location, may include overnight/weekend travel.

Qualifications Minimum Qualifications Master’s Degree in Business Administration, Life Sciences, or related field as outlined in the essential duties; or Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration, Life Sciences, or related field as outlined in the essential duties and 2 years of relevant experience in lieu of a Master’s Degree.

8 years of experience in academia or biotech industry in pharmaceuticals, medical device, diagnostics, or relevant commercial experience with appropriate scientific acumen in an oncology or immunology-related field.

6 years of experience developing and securing strategic healthcare institution collaboration relationships, with an organization such as contract research, or other medical device, diagnostic, or pharmaceutical company.

6 years of experience creating and managing industry-academic collaborations.

Demonstrated ability to act tactically and analyze issues and opportunities at the institution and understand the impact to the business with limited supervision.

Demonstrated ability to find, build, and grow relationships with C-level executives, principal investigators, and clinical research/study coordinators.

Demonstrated knowledge of project and program management methodology and techniques.

Demonstrated knowledge of the U.S.

healthcare system and institutions with strong external relationships in the U.S.

Proficient computer skills to include Internet navigation, Email usage, and word processing.

Proficient in Microsoft Office to include Excel, Word, Outlook, and PowerPoint.

Authorization to work in the United States without sponsorship.

Demonstrated ability to perform the essential duties of the position with or without accommodation.

Preferred Qualifications Ph.D.

in Life Sciences, or related field as outlined in the essential duties.

10 years of experience in academia or biotech industry in pharmaceuticals, medical device, diagnostics, or relevant commercial experience with appropriate scientific acumen in an oncology or immunology-related field.

Proven knowledge of the broader clinical sample provision market.

Strong negotiation skills with experience influencing key decisions.

In depth knowledge of overall project planning and project management.

Deep familiarity and/or experience with clinical study development, clinical protocol objectives, site recruitment, and site management.