Director, Evidence Generation- Research Planning and Methodology

Location: This position is open to candidates in Salt Lake City, UT, St Louis, MO, or Durham, NC. 

Position Summary: 

The Director, Evidence Generation Research Planning & Methodology is a strategic and scientific leader within Global Medical Evidence Generation, responsible for shaping evidence generation strategy and ensuring scientific and methodological excellence across the portfolio. 

The Director provides strategic leadership in translating medical, clinical, epidemiological, and healthcare evidence needs into integrated evidence strategies, prioritized evidence-generation plans, and fit-for-purpose scientific approaches. The role partners with Medical Affairs and cross-functional leaders to anticipate evidence needs, identify gaps and opportunities, inform portfolio priorities, and ensure that evidence-generation investments address meaningful scientific and healthcare decisions. 

As a people leader, the Director builds, leads, and develops a high-performing team of scientific and methodological experts. The Director establishes priorities and accountabilities, strategically deploys expertise across the portfolio, develops scientific and leadership capabilities, and creates an environment that promotes scientific rigor, collaboration, innovation, and continuous learning. 

The Director serves as a senior scientific advisor and strategic partner to Medical Evidence Generation leadership and key stakeholders, bringing an enterprise and portfolio perspective to evidence-generation decisions and advocating for scientific rigor, methodological innovation, and evidence strategies that maximize the impact of generated evidence. 

This role is crucial in maintaining our commitment to scientific excellence and patient-centric approaches within the competitive global healthcare landscape. 

Primary Duties:

Strategic & Scientific Leadership:

• Serve as a strategic leader within Medical Evidence Generation, shaping scientific direction, evidence priorities, and methodological standards. 
• Anticipate evolving evidence needs and champion innovative, fit-for-purpose approaches that strengthen the impact of evidence generation

People Leadership, Talent Development & Team Effectiveness

• Lead and develop a high-performing team of scientific and methodological experts, setting clear priorities, expectations, and accountabilities. 
• Strategically allocate resources and expertise across portfolio priorities, balancing scientific needs, capacity, and organizational objectives. 
• Build critical methodological capabilities through talent development, knowledge sharing, succession planning, and recruitment as needed. 
• Foster a culture of scientific rigor, constructive challenge, collaboration, innovation, accountability, and continuous learning.

Scientific & Methodological Excellence

• Establish and maintain high scientific and methodological standards across evidence-generation activities. 
• Provide expertise and oversight in areas including clinical and diagnostic study design, epidemiology, real-world evidence, biostatistics, causal inference, and evidence synthesis. 
• Ensure appropriate consideration of populations, comparators, endpoints, data sources, bias, confounding, and analytical approaches.

Integrated Evidence Generation Planning

• Lead the scientific development and evolution of integrated evidence generation plans across portfolios and disease areas. 
• Translate evidence gaps and stakeholder needs into clear, decision-oriented scientific questions and evidence strategies. 
• Guide prioritization based on scientific value, strategic relevance, feasibility, and potential impact.

Study Concept & Design Governance

• Lead scientific and methodological review of evidence concepts and study designs prior to execution. 
• Ensure proposed studies are aligned with defined evidence needs and employ fit-for-purpose methodologies. 
• Provide constructive scientific input and facilitate governance decisions related to study design and methodological quality.

Scientific Handoff and Oversight

• Define the scientific requirements and design package necessary for transition to study execution. 
• Partner with Evidence Generation Operations to ensure scientific intent is maintained through execution. 
• Provide scientific oversight and methodological consultation through study completion, interpretation, and evidence-plan refresh.

Cross-Functional Scientific Partnership

• Serve as a senior scientific partner to Medical Affairs and cross-functional stakeholders, aligning evidence strategies with key medical, scientific, and business priorities. 
• Build effective partnerships across Disease State Scientists, Regional Medical Affairs, Evidence Generation Operations, Biostatistics and Data Management, Regulatory, Market Access, and other relevant functions. 
• Represent Scientific Planning & Methodology in appropriate governance and strategic forums.

Scientific Interpretation & Evidence Communication

• Provide senior scientific oversight of evidence interpretation, ensuring conclusions appropriately reflect study design, results, strengths, and limitations. 
• Contribute methodological expertise to scientific communication and publication strategy. 
• Ensure learnings from generated evidence inform future evidence planning and scientific priorities
• Cultivates and sustains a global network of Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) and Investigators to ensure comprehensive insights into clinical research.

Education & Experience Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree in microbiology, Molecular Biology, Life Sciences, or Biomedical field required
• Doctorate degree in a scientific discipline such as PhD, PharmD, MD, DrPH, ScD, with substantial methodological expertise, or equivalent relevant qualification is strongly preferred
• 8+ years of professional experience in medical affairs, clinical development, or a related function, including the following, required:
  • Proven record of advancing science through evidence generation
  • Experience in clinical and translation research, including KOL (Key Opinion Leader) engagement
  • Proven experience in generating clinical research questions, translating these questions into viable study designs and publishing the results of these studies in peer reviewed journals, including lead authorship of peer-reviewed high-impact scientific publications
• 5+ years of direct people leadership required

Knowledge, Skills, Abilities:

• Build and maintain positive, productive interactions with colleagues
• Technical skills with mastery level commensurate to the job level, marked by specialization and innovation in the field of work.
• Drive for Results: Drive for Results while successfully removing barriers
• Influence change using skills and relationships to persuade others to adopt new ideas, behaviors, or processes.
• Understand complex information and interpret it accurately, often requiring critical thinking and analysis to grasp the full picture.
• Demonstrated ability to drive and manage multiple research activities. 
• Demonstrated expertise in the design and critical evaluation of clinical and/or observational research. 
• Experience in evidence generation, clinical research, epidemiology, real-world evidence, biostatistics, health outcomes research, diagnostics, pharmaceutical/biotechnology research, or a closely related field.  
• Proven track record of advancing scientific knowledge through peer review publications with strong preference for multiple publications with lead authorship 
• Significant recognized external expertise as reflected by conference presentations and/or lead authorship in position publications 
• Ability to establish, manage, and promote engagement and relationships with KOLs and thought leadership 
• Demonstrated experience translating scientific or medical evidence gaps into research questions and fit-for-purpose study designs.  
• Experience leading scientific work across multidisciplinary and matrixed organizations.  
• Strong record of scientific communication and ability to communicate complex methodological concepts to both scientific and non-specialist stakeholders.