VP & Global Head, Discovery Chemistry and DMPK, Oncology Targeted Delivery

Role Summary

Early Oncology is focused on attacking cancer from multiple angles through innovative modalities, unlocking the power of combination approaches, and building treatment regimens with greater depth, durability, and precision.

The VP & Global Head, Discovery Chemistry and DMPK is a pivotal enterprise leader within the Oncology Targeted Delivery (OTD) organization, accountable for advancing the next wave of innovation across Small Molecules, Antibody Drug Conjugates (ADCs), and Radioconjugates (RCs). This role provides strategic, scientific, and organizational leadership for a global Discovery Chemistry and DMPK function responsible for the discovery, optimization, and preclinical characterization of core modalities that enable the OTD portfolio.

Reporting to the SVP, Biologics Engineering & Oncology Targeted Discovery, the role leads a globally distributed organization and is accountable for driving projects from target selection through candidate nomination and IND-enabling stages, ensuring scientific excellence, portfolio impact, and operational delivery. The successful leader will combine deep scientific expertise with strong enterprise leadership, shaping strategy, building capability, and fostering a high-performing, collaborative culture across key R&D sites.

Key Responsibilities

• Set functional vision and strategy: Provide strategic leadership and direction for the Discovery Chemistry & DMPK function, ensuring its priorities, capabilities, and scientific contributions are clearly represented at the highest levels of the organization.
• Drive OTD strategy execution: Partner with the senior leadership team to shape and execute the OTD strategy, supporting delivery against business objectives and scorecard commitments.
• Deliver portfolio impact: Lead the discovery, optimization, and preclinical characterization of modalities supporting the OTD portfolio across small molecules, ADCs, and RCs, progressing programs from target selection through candidate nomination and towards IND.
• Build future-ready capability: Evolve scientific, technical, and organizational capabilities to meet current and anticipated portfolio needs, while ensuring resources are deployed effectively to maximize performance and business value.
• Lead across interfaces: Work closely with OTD functional leaders and critical partner functions, particularly Discovery Sciences, Clinical Pharmacology & Safety Sciences, and Pharmaceutical Sciences, to coordinate portfolio composition, execution, prioritization, and cross-functional deliverables.
• Develop exceptional leaders and teams: Lead, coach, and develop the senior leadership team within Discovery Chemistry and DMPK, strengthening organizational performance, collaboration, and communication across strategic R&D sites in Cambridge UK, Cambridge MA and Gaithersburg US.
• Ensure operational excellence: Provide effective operational leadership to achieve business objectives, meet financial commitments, and ensure compliance with all relevant regulations, policies, and legal requirements.
• Shape portfolio prioritization and innovation: Drive portfolio prioritization decisions informed by scientific opportunity, strategic fit, and external trends; remain at the forefront of emerging science and identify future opportunities for industry leading innovation such as the application of automation and AI to drug discovery workflows.
• Advance modality and platform innovation: Contribute to the broader strategic direction of OTD by establishing and advancing novel synthetic modalities and platform capabilities.
• Represent the function in governance: Serve as the senior scientific representative for the function at key governance forums, including the Oncology Research Board, providing expert input, critique, and guidance to strengthen portfolio decisions.
• Cultivate external partnerships: Build and maintain productive collaborations with leading academic institutions, external partners, and scientific collaborators to access breakthrough science and enable strategic platform development.
• Strengthen external scientific reputation: Maintain and elevate the scientific standing of the Discovery Chemistry and DMPK organization through high-impact publications, presentations at major scientific congresses and symposia, and trusted external relationships across industry and academia.

Candidate Profile

The successful candidate will be a highly respected scientific and business leader with a strong track record in drug discovery, deep expertise in discovery chemistry and DMPK, and demonstrated ability to lead global organizations through strategic growth and transformation. They will bring a combination of scientific credibility, enterprise mindset, strong judgment, and the ability to influence at senior levels internally and externally.

Essential Requirements

• PhD or equivalent in Chemistry or a related scientific discipline.
• Extensive pharmaceutical or biotechnology industry experience, including at least 15 years in roles of increasing responsibility, with deep expertise in leading small molecule drug discovery and partnering effectively across functions.
• Proven track record of portfolio delivery, including the advancement of high-quality drug candidates into clinical development.
• Deep knowledge of discovery chemistry and DMPK principles underpinning small molecule discovery, with expert understanding of the developability factors that influence clinical success.
• Technology aware with experience and knowledge of applying AI and computational approached to solve drug discovery challenges
• Demonstrated success as a functional leader, with experience promoting, motivating, and empowering teams to achieve individual, functional, and enterprise goals.
• Strong interpersonal and stakeholder leadership skills, with a consultative style and the ability to build trust and alignment across a complex global organization.
• Significant experience leading strategic and operational change, including transformation of capabilities, structures, or ways of working.
• Credibility and external standing to lead a global scientific function and represent it effectively with senior internal stakeholders and external audiences.
• Excellent communication skills, including the ability to distill complex scientific concepts into clear, compelling messages for executive, governance, and board-level audiences.
• Strategic and entrepreneurial mindset, with the ability to identify opportunities, make high-quality decisions, and drive meaningful business impact.
• Experience shaping functional strategy in a large, multinational environment.
• Strong influencing capability, with the ability to persuade thoughtfully and achieve outcomes while maintaining constructive and effective relationships.
• Recognized expert reputation internally and externally across the industry.

Leadership Expectations

This executive will be expected to:

• Lead with enterprise perspective, balancing scientific ambition with portfolio discipline, operational rigor, and long-term value creation.
• Create an empowering culture that enables innovation, accountability, inclusion, and high performance.
• Champion collaboration across modalities, functions, and geographies to accelerate portfolio progression and strengthen delivery.
• Model scientific excellence and integrity, ensuring decisions are data-driven, patient-focused, and aligned to the highest standards of quality and compliance.
• Inspire through clarity and purpose, aligning teams around a compelling vision for the future of targeted oncology discovery.

Why This Role Matters

This is a rare opportunity to shape a globally significant oncology discovery organization at the intersection of chemistry, DMPK, targeted delivery, and synthetic modality innovation. The VP & Global Head, Discovery Chemistry and DMPK will play a critical role in delivering differentiated oncology medicines and enabling the next generation of therapeutic approaches for patients with cancer.

The annual base pay for this position ranges from $336,785 to $505,178. Hourly and salaried non-exempt employees will also be paid overtime pay when working qualifying overtime hours. Base pay offered may vary depending on multiple individualized factors, including market location, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience.  In addition, our positions offer a short-term incentive bonus opportunity; eligibility to participate in our equity-based long-term incentive program (salaried roles), to receive a retirement contribution (hourly roles), and commission payment eligibility (sales roles). Benefits offered included a qualified retirement program [401(k) plan]; paid vacation and holidays; paid leaves; and, health benefits including medical, prescription drug, dental, and vision coverage in accordance with the terms and conditions of the applicable plans. Additional details of participation in these benefit plans will be provided if an employee receives an offer of employment. If hired, employee will be in an “at-will position” and the Company reserves the right to modify base pay (as well as any other discretionary payment or compensation program) at any time, including for reasons related to individual performance, Company or individual department/team performance, and market factors. 

Date Posted

28-May-2026

Closing Date

19-Jun-2026

Our mission is to build an inclusive environment where equal employment opportunities are available to all applicants and employees. In furtherance of that mission, we welcome and consider applications from all qualified candidates, regardless of their protected characteristics. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please complete the corresponding section in the application form.

AstraZeneca embraces diversity and equality of opportunity. We are committed to building an inclusive and diverse team representing all backgrounds, with as wide a range of perspectives as possible, and harnessing industry-leading skills. We believe that the more inclusive we are, the better our work will be. We welcome and consider applications to join our team from all qualified candidates, regardless of their characteristics. We comply with all applicable laws and regulations on non-discrimination in employment (and recruitment), as well as work authorisation and employment eligibility verification requirements.