Director, Biotech Strategy Lead

ICON is a global healthcare intelligence and clinical research organisation united by a mission to bring new medicines and treatments to patients faster.

As a Director, Biotech Strategy Lead, you will play a key role in shaping innovative clinical development strategies and solutions for biotechnology clients globally. Acting as a strategic advisor, therapeutic area expert, and thought leader, you will bring deep understanding of drug development, clinical operations, and the biotech environment to create differentiated solutions that address client needs and support business growth.

What you do

• Shape differentiated clinical development and operational strategies for biotechnology opportunities, translating client objectives and scientific requirements into innovative, practical, and commercially competitive solutions.
• Serve as a strategic advisor to clients and internal stakeholders, supporting opportunity assessments, capability presentations, proposal strategy, bid defenses, and senior-level client engagements.
• Lead the strategic development of proposals and solutions, partnering across Business Development, Operations, Finance, Medical, Scientific, and therapeutic area teams to develop compelling responses to RFIs, RFPs, budgets, and other client requirements.
• Build trusted relationships with biotechnology clients, understanding their development priorities, advocating for their needs internally, and identifying opportunities to expand partnerships and portfolios.
• Provide strategic oversight from solution development through execution, evaluating operational feasibility, financial assumptions, risks, KPIs, KRIs, quality indicators, and performance data to help ensure proposed strategies translate effectively into delivery.
• Bring therapeutic area and drug development expertise to business strategy, providing insight into emerging scientific, clinical, operational, and market trends and helping teams translate these into differentiated client solutions.
• Strengthen ICON's market positioning and capabilities through cross-functional collaboration, continuous improvement, knowledge sharing, and participation in client meetings, conferences, webinars, scientific forums, and other thought leadership activities.

Your profile

• Bachelor's degree in Life Sciences, Business Administration, or a related discipline; a scientific or biological sciences background is highly valued.
• Approximately 9 or more years of experience within the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, CRO, clinical research, or drug development environment, with strong knowledge of clinical development and trial operations.
• Demonstrated experience supporting business development activities, including proposal strategy, opportunity assessment, client presentations, bid defenses, and development of client-focused solutions.
• Strong understanding of the biotechnology drug development environment, with therapeutic area expertise and hands-on clinical or operational study execution experience highly valued.
• Proven ability to develop strategic, operational, and commercially viable solutions, including assessment of financial assumptions, delivery models, business risks, performance metrics, and operational feasibility.
• Experience leading complex cross-functional initiatives and influencing stakeholders within a global, matrixed organization without relying on direct reporting-line authority.
• Executive-level communication, presentation, negotiation, and relationship-management skills, with the ability to engage senior client and internal stakeholders and gain alignment around complex recommendations.
• Strong business acumen, analytical thinking, sound judgment, and ability to translate scientific, clinical, operational, and commercial considerations into practical strategies and solutions.
• Live in Beijing and able to travel approximately 25% based on business and client needs.

Rewards & Benefits

• Competitive base salary and performance related incentives
• Health and wellbeing programmes including medical, dental, and vision coverage where applicable
• Retirement and pension plans
• Life assurance and disability coverage
• Employee assistance programmes and wellbeing resources
• Learning and development opportunities through structured training and career pathways