Director Business Development Transactions Early & Late Stage, Moorgate, London

Job Description

We have an exciting opportunity for a Director Business Development Transactions Early & Late Stage to be based in Moorgate, London.

This role is hybrid and requires presence onsite 2 days a week.

The Transactions group within the Business Development & Licensing organisation in London is responsible for Early Stage (pre-Proof of Concept in humans) licensing opportunities and Late Stage (late Phase III through marketed) commercial partnerships that advance our company’s Human Health portfolio.

The team evaluates, structures, and executes collaborations that drive sustainable growth, including commercial collaborations (e.g. co-promotion, co-marketing, distribution/supply localisation) and in-licensing/out-licensing deals.

As the Director, Business Development Transactions you will lead the evaluation, structuring, negotiation, and execution of both Early and Late Stage for transactions in the pharmaceutical arena for the European hub.

You will drive cross-functional diligence for commercial deals, develop clear commercial value propositions, and deal economics, and lead internal governance through to signature and launch.

Success requires strong commercial judgment and financial rigor - ability to assess deal financials and value drivers - paired with sufficient scientific and clinical fluency to engage credibly with internal experts and external partners.

What you will do:

• Lead commercial Business Development opportunities from evaluation through execution.
• Drive cross-functional diligence and business case development, synthesizing commercial (market, access, competitive landscape), medical/scientific, regulatory and manufacturing/supply chain inputs into a clear value proposition and go/no-go recommendations.
• Lead internal deal governance and stakeholder alignment (e.g., decision memos, approvals, trade-off framing), bringing teams together to solve complex problems and enable timely signature and launch readiness.
• Own the end-to-end transaction process and project management cadence (workplans, timelines, risks/issues), partnering closely with Legal, Finance and Alliance Management to ensure clear decision-making and effective handover to execution teams.
• Develop and challenge deal financials, including revenue/cost assumptions, scenarios/sensitivity analyses, and valuation outputs to support negotiation strategy.
• This role may also support Phase II/III deal evaluations as part of ongoing professional development.

You will interface with leaders and teams across Search & Evaluation Team, Research & Development, Commercial, Marketing, Market Access, Finance, Medical, Regulatory, Manufacturing/Supply Chain, Legal and Patents, and Alliance Management. The role requires strong influencing skills with external counterparties and the ability to lead internal deal teams through ambiguity to timely, high-quality decisions.

You will operate on a small but high intensity team with significant responsibility for helping our company achieve its ambitious Business Development & Licensing goals.

Education:

• Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree (MBA) preferred.
• Candidates must demonstrate sufficient scientific/clinical fluency to engage credibly with internal experts and external partners.

Required experience:

• Substantial experience in pharmaceutical commercial business development and/or partnering, with demonstrated ownership of deal workstreams and experience executing commercial collaborations and/or in-licensing/out-licensing of Late Stage assets.
• Hands-on experience with Early Stage licensing and commercial collaboration deal structures and terms, and familiarity with relevant market benchmarks.
• Demonstrated leadership and structured problem-solving skills, including the ability to frame complex issues, develop options and drive alignment across diverse stakeholders.

Skills/Competencies:

• Excellent deal execution skills, including ability to develop negotiation strategy, manage contracting/legal processes, and partner effectively with  internal stakeholders and external partners.
• Proven ability to communicate clearly with executive leadership and to influence decisions through concise synthesis of science, strategy, risk and financial trade-offs.
• Excellent judgment in structuring and negotiating agreements, escalating issues appropriately, and balancing risk, scientific uncertainty and strategic value.
• Balanced of scientific, commercial and deal financial acumen (e.g., scenario analysis, profit-share economics, valuation) and sufficient scientific and clinical fluency to pressure-test assumptions and align stakeholders on key value drivers and risks.
• Self-motivated, attention to detail, and proven ability to work well on teams.

Our ability to excel depends on the integrity, knowledge, imagination, and skill of our team, with an inclusive culture of respect, encouragement, and teamwork. Members of our global team have the opportunity to collaborate with talented and dedicated colleagues, while developing their own careers.

Closing date for applications: 17th July 2026

Required Skills:

Preferred Skills:

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Search Firm Representatives Please Read Carefully 
Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA, also known as Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC, Rahway, NJ, USA, does not accept unsolicited assistance from search firms for employment opportunities. All CVs / resumes submitted by search firms to any employee at our company without a valid written search agreement in place for this position will be deemed the sole property of our company.  No fee will be paid in the event a candidate is hired by our company as a result of an agency referral where no pre-existing agreement is in place. Where agency agreements are in place, introductions are position specific. Please, no phone calls or emails. 

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