Senior Transactions Director (BDO)

Position: Senior Transaction Director (Business Development Operations)

Location: Gothenburg, Sweden

Introduction to the role:

The Business Development Operations (BDO) team is a stand-alone business unit within AstraZeneca that pursues a range of value-enhancing business development opportunities that have a clear strategic fit with our portfolio and commercial capabilities. These transactions can be alliances and strategic acquisitions to enhance our portfolio and pipeline in our main therapy areas, externalisation activity to broaden or accelerate the value in our pipeline, or divestments to streamline our focus.

The Senior Transaction Director will play a pivotal role in leading all aspects of the transactional phase of business development opportunities within AstraZeneca. This includes driving alliances, strategic acquisitions, externalisation activity, and divestments that align with our portfolio and commercial capabilities. The successful candidate will oversee the entire transaction process, engaging with prospective partners, negotiating contracts, and finalizing deals. Additionally, the role involves leading the initial evaluation and external marketing phase for externalisation and divestment projects.

This role offers the opportunity to work flexibly across all AstraZeneca therapy areas and lead multi-functional teams in progressing transactions through to completion.

Key Responsibilities:

• Establish and independently lead international, senior level, diverse, multifunctional teams to prosecute transactions in all therapy areas, at all different Development phases with a primary focus on Phase 1 and beyond as well as on market deals in any geography. Such teams may include senior scientific, technical and commercial representatives eg from R&D, Commercial, Legal, Finance and Operations.
• Interpret and synthesise data gathered from 3rd parties, desk sources and internal AZ knowledge and distil facts down to the key aspects, balancing the needs of AZ and the counterparty in building business cases.
• Work with leadership to ensure appropriate prioritisation and ranking of transactions across the business.
• Identify transaction risks and opportunities and make clear recommendations to senior management to progress or to close.
• Interacting at Board level with Partners, Targets, Investment Banks, Law Firms and other consultants and advisers.
• Manage the relationship with the potential partner in the transaction phase in a timely and professional manner.
• Ensure that AZ remains competitive in 3rd party deal process and is positioned as the partner of choice.
• Work with Senior Due Diligence Directors to ensure due diligence assessments focus on key risks.
• Constructing and negotiating optimal deal structure in discussions with internal and external stakeholders, including working with the Evaluation Director/Team from the Term Sheet phase of the project
• Using the highest level of communication skills, written and verbal, prepare and present deal propositions to relevant governance bodies including the Board of Directors
• Lead the deal negotiation and closure.
• Ensure post closure activities are fully completed.
• With the Evaluation Director (when applicable) and other relevant team members, develop, manage and maintain stakeholder relationships including internal accountability to devise and lead a high quality stakeholder management strategy involving CEO and SET, other Governance groups, Science Committee and AZ PLC Board of Directors.
• Contribute to stakeholder updates as appropriate.
• Ensure that appropriate records are maintained and that decision support documentation is uploaded as appropriate.
• Ensure effective handover to relevant Alliance- Integration Manager including preparation of any mandated handover documentation (e.g. Executive Summary).
• Ensure thorough deal learning reviews are undertaken and learnings are shared across the business development & deal making community.

Essential Skills/Experience:

• Degree level education
• Extensive experience (>7 years) in leading multiple, large, international, multi-functional project teams of senior professionals.
• Proven Business Development track record in leading the negotiation and execution of significant late stage and on market transactions.
• Broad knowledge of pharmaceutical business, process and activities
• Strong analytical skills and ability to ascertain the relevant issues from large masses of information.
• Strong interpersonal and team leadership skills
• Experience and effectiveness in the presentation of written and verbal business cases to the most senior Management.
• Knowledge of alternative deal structures and legal principles applicable to a range of deal types
• Numerate and have financial literacy
• Strong negotiation skills and experience working in an intense deal environment.

Desirable Skills/Experience:

• Second degree, e.g. MBA. PhD
• Good knowledge of disease areas, drug development activities and commercial processes.

Why Join Us?

At AstraZeneca, we encourage you to look beyond our company and shape the wider external environment. We ensure policymakers understand, and take into consideration, our industry when managing national and international frameworks. Be part of a team of specialists that is valued and crucial to the growth of AstraZeneca. Here you are encouraged to apply entrepreneurial and innovative thinking to make things happen in a creative, yet rigorous, environment.

When we put unexpected teams in the same room, we unleash bold thinking with the power to inspire life-changing medicines. In-person working gives us the platform we need to connect, work at pace and challenge perceptions. That's why we work, on average, a minimum of three days per week from the office. But that doesn't mean we're not flexible. We balance the expectation of being in the office while respecting individual flexibility. Join us in our unique and ambitious world.

Are you ready to lead the way in shaping the external environment? Join us at AstraZeneca where you can make an impact!

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.