Head Third Party Operational Strategy - Central and Speciality Lab

Company Overview:
At GSK, we are united by our bold ambition to positively impact the health of 2.5 billion people over the next decade. Our Research & Development (R&D) teams are committed to discovering and delivering transformational vaccines and medicines that prevent and change the course of disease. By combining science, technology, and talent, we are revolutionizing medical discovery and advancing our understanding of human biology and disease mechanisms. Together, we aim to get ahead of disease and improve lives globally.

Job Description:
As Head of Third Party Strategy in Platform Sciences at GSK, you will play a pivotal role in driving the laboratory strategy for central and speciality laboratories used in therapeutic programs across early and late-stage clinical development. You will lead a team of third party oversight (TPO) professionals ensuring operational excellence, resource alignment, and compliance with regulatory and scientific standards. This role requires cross therapeutic area scientific knowledge, strong leadership, strategic vision, and the ability to collaborate across multidisciplinary teams to deliver high-quality laboratory strategies and oversight that support GSK’s mission to get ahead of disease.

Key Responsibilities:

Strategic Direction and Operational Excellence

• Define and communicate a clear strategic direction for third-party laboratory partnerships, ensuring alignment with GSK’s overall objectives.
• Lead efforts to uphold operational excellence across these partnerships, consistently aiming for the highest standards of service and delivery.

Team Leadership and Development

• Mentor and support Third Party Oversight (TPO) and study teams, guiding them in the identification of suitable external partners, expertise, and technologies.
• Foster a collaborative environment that encourages professional growth and knowledge sharing among team members.

Vendor Management and Performance

• Establish robust performance expectations for vendors, maintaining ongoing dialogue and conducting regular performance reviews.
• Proactively monitor key performance indicators, driving continuous improvements in trial delivery in collaboration with Design Assurance and BTALS teams.

Issue Resolution and Contract Support

• Serve as the escalation point for third-party issues that cannot be resolved at the project team level.
• Provide expert input during contract negotiations and assist procurement teams in dispute resolution, ensuring favourable outcomes for GSK.

Stakeholder Engagement

• Maintain strong, effective relationships with both internal and external stakeholders.
• Support the Global Clinical Operations (GCO) Therapeutic Area (TA)and Biosample Therapeutic Area Lead (BTAL) teams in developing optimal trial strategies and identifying process improvements to achieve cost-effective delivery.

Technology and Process Optimisation

• Collaborate with the tech and digital team to identify and evaluate technology-enabled solutions that can expedite programme delivery.
• Seek and support opportunities for process innovation throughout all phases of partnership.

Compliance and Continuous Improvement

• Ensure all activities are compliant with country regulations, GSK Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), Good Clinical Practice (GCP), and other relevant regulations.
• Conduct regular lessons learnt sessions to promote ongoing team development and embed a culture of safety and continuous improvement.

Cross-functional Collaboration and Review

• Lead periodic cross-functional review meetings with Contract Research Organisation (CRO) partners, analysing performance data to identify trends and new opportunities for process enhancement.
• Collaborate with internal teams such as Design Assurance, Procurement, and Digital/Tech to support due diligence and operational activities.

Risk Management and Governance

• Oversee portfolio-level risk management activities, maintaining and monitoring SOPs and key performance indicators for vendor performance.
• Document and implement vendor communication and escalation plans to ensure efficient and effective governance.

Strategic Partnerships and Transformation

• Build and sustain strong, long-term relationships with key third-party partners, overseeing governance processes that support GSK’s strategic needs.
• Lead joint steering committees, ensuring collaborations are aligned with project timelines and strategic objectives.
• Identify new opportunities for strategic alliances and work closely with business development teams to shape future strategies.
• Implement strategic transformation initiatives to enhance delivery outcomes with third-party vendors.

Required Skills and Qualifications:
We are looking for professionals with the following qualifications and skills to achieve our goals:

• Doctoral degree, Master’s degree, or Bachelor’s degree and equivalent experience.
• Extensive experience in the pharmaceutical industry, particularly in Laboratory management.
• Demonstrated experience in strategy deployment and communication planning with third parties.
• Proven ability to work in cross-company, matrix team environments.
• Strong background in clinical trial design, laboratory execution, and clinical biomarker development/operations.
• Expertise in central laboratory operations, including study start-up, sample tracking/reconciliation, and analysis.
• Extensive experience in outsourcing processes and vendor management/oversight.
• Experience coordinating multiple demands and timelines, stakeholder influence, and managing expectations
• Strong understanding of regulatory guidelines and legal requirements within major markets  
• Demonstrated ability to present to senior leaders to achieve required investments
• Demonstrated ability to lead a group or team and define strategy for that group
• Strong understanding of clinical safety, PK Bioanalysis, PD Biomarker, Exploratory Biomarker, Immunogenicity, and/or cellular assay technical limitations and associated regulations and certifications

Preferred Qualifications:
The following qualifications would be advantageous:

• Knowledge of therapeutic areas such as Vaccines, Oncology, Respiratory, Immunology, or Infectious Diseases.
• Demonstrated success in coaching and mentoring teams.
• Ability to thrive in a matrix environment and leverage influencing and relationship-building skills.
• Experience in developing and implementing agile, creative solutions to solve business challenges.
• Adaptability to changing priorities in a dynamic work environment.

• Excellent organizational, interpersonal, and written/verbal communication skills with internal and external partners.

Why Join GSK?
At GSK, you’ll be part of a team that is transforming the future of healthcare. You’ll have the opportunity to lead innovative projects, mentor talented colleagues, and contribute to improving lives worldwide. We offer a dynamic and inclusive work environment that fosters growth, innovation, and accountability.

Why GSK?

Uniting science, technology and talent to get ahead of disease together.

GSK is a global biopharma company with a purpose to unite science, technology and talent to get ahead of disease together. We aim to positively impact the health of 2.5 billion people by the end of the decade, as a successful, growing company where people can thrive.

We get ahead of disease by preventing and treating it with innovation in specialty medicines and vaccines. We focus on four therapeutic areas: respiratory, immunology and inflammation; oncology; HIV; and infectious diseases – to impact health at scale.

People and patients around the world count on the medicines and vaccines we make, so we’re committed to creating an environment where our people can thrive and focus on what matters most. Our culture of being ambitious for patients, accountable for impact and doing the right thing is the foundation for how, together, we deliver for patients, shareholders and our people.

GSK is an Equal Opportunity Employer. This ensures that all qualified applicants will receive equal consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity, and sexual orientation), parental status, national origin, age, disability, genetic information (including family medical history), military service or any basis prohibited under federal, state or local law.

We believe in an agile working culture for all our roles. If flexibility is important to you, we encourage you to explore with our hiring team what the opportunities are.

Should you require any adjustments to our process to assist you in demonstrating your strengths and capabilities contact us at UKRecruitment.Adjustments@gsk.com where you can also request a call.

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