UK Collaborations Lead

Site Name: UK - Hertfordshire - Stevenage Posted Date: Jun 1 2026

Job Overview

Collaborating with external academic partners is central to GSK's ambition to accelerate the development of transformative medicines for patients. Harnessing cutting edge science and technology from world class research institutes and commercial partnerships is critical to strengthening our innovation pipeline and expanding R&D capability to benefit patients.

If you are motivated by building and delivering high impact partnerships, operating entrepreneurially within a complex ecosystem, and influencing across boundaries to help translate scientific excellence into patient value, the UK Collaborations Lead role offers a unique leadership opportunity. As UK Collaborations Lead, you will play a pivotal role within GSK's Strategic Partnerships team, working with colleagues within the Research Externalisation and Operations Group in establishing and leading high quality strategic partnerships with cutting edge global research institutions and commercial partners.

Working across a multidisciplinary matrix, you will establish and manage partnerships that connect external innovation with internal scientific and business priorities, ensuring collaborations are structured to deliver differentiated science, sustainable value, and long term impact for GSK and its partners.

Key Responsibilities

• Accountable for delivery of key UK strategic collaborations (e.g. Cambridge-GSK Translational Immunology Collaboration).
• Develop and nurture trust based relationships with internal and external partners and other key stakeholders, ensuring alignment with GSK values and long term vision. This is an enterprise role which requires working across a complex matrix.
• Shape the development, evolution and delivery of a network of partnerships, science and portfolios to maximise the value to GSK.
• Establish, implement, and optimise GSK and collaborative scientific research activities, in partnership with collaborators.
• Drive GSK interests as member of external collaborations scientific and operational teams for UK collaborations.
• Drive engagement and collaborate with internal partners and senior stakeholders, to develop, review, prioritise, and access existing and new collaborative project opportunities.
• Work closely with global collaborations team to maximise synergies between collaborations, including optimal placement of projects and capability mapping to drive the optimal balance of internal and external science.
• Contribute to scientific assessment of value for UK collaborations and recommendations for extension or termination and monitoring of budget allocated to the collaborations.

Basic Qualifications

• PhD degree or equivalent experience in scientific discipline.
• Strong experience as a Research Scientist or Drug Discovery Leader in the pharmaceutical or academic research environments.
• Demonstrated experience initiating and/or leading complex external academic research collaborations relevant to early drug discovery including target discovery and validation, translational human data, platform technologies or clinical translation.
• Experience applying AI enabled tools or digital technologies to streamline workflows, automate reporting, enhance data analysis, or support decision making relevant to early drug discovery processes.
• Experience in influencing senior leaders and working in complex environments.
• Experience developing strategies and in operationalising strategic decisions, providing leadership in multifunctional teams.
• Demonstrated experience in thinking outside the box to solve key operational and/or research related challenges, with demonstrable impact on time to execution, deliverables or other impact on the project.
• Experience in communicating complex concepts to diverse audiences.

Preferred Qualifications

• Understanding of the legal, intellectual property, compliance and governance issues that impact translational science in the academic industry interface.
• Experience of implementation of data management principles around large scale data focused collaborations.
• Knowledge of project management principles.
• Experience working in translational science that supports early drug discovery.

Equal Opportunity Statement

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 and genetic information (including family medical history), military service or any basis prohibited under federal, state or local law.