Note: The job is a remote job and is open to candidates in USA. Dechra is a growing, global specialist within the world of veterinary pharmaceuticals. The Director, Efficacy, Therapeutic Area: Endocrine/Internal Medicine is responsible for providing scientific, strategic, and people leadership for all efficacy activities across small- and large-molecule programs within the assigned therapeutic area.
Responsibilities
- Set the scientific and strategic direction for efficacy activities within the therapeutic area and translate that direction into clear execution priorities
- Build and lead a high-performing, engaged team with strong accountability, collaboration and scientific excellence
- Coach, develop, and empower Efficacy Leads to take ownership, make decisions and drive outcomes
- Establish a strong delivery culture with clear expectations for quality, timelines and cross-functional collaboration
- Act as the senior escalation point for scientific or operational efficacy challenges across programs
- Ensure efficacy strategies and deliverables align with the Co-Development (CoDev) framework and associated governance processes
- Maintain end-to-end visibility of all projects within the therapeutic area, including status, risks, dependencies and resource utilization
- Ensure efficacy activities are aligned with portfolio priorities, timelines, budgets and regulatory strategies
- Provide strategic input and recommendations to governance forums on portfolio performance, prioritization, and investment decisions
- When required, act as Project Lead for selected programs of elevated complexity or strategic importance
- Ensure scientifically robust and clinically relevant efficacy strategies, including study design, endpoint selection and success criteria
- Drive integration of disease biology, clinical practice and translational science into development programs
- Ensure efficacy strategies support regulatory approval, product differentiation and real-world clinical use
- Maintain awareness of emerging scientific and clinical developments and translate these into program and portfolio direction
- Lead the development, validation and life cycle management of in vitro and in vivo disease models required to support proof of concept, dose selection, and efficacy demonstration
- Ensure models are fit for purpose, well characterized and scalable for use across multiple programs
- Align model development priorities with current and future portfolio needs, ensuring readiness ahead of demand
- Drive continuous improvement in model relevance, predictive value, scalability and scientific impact
- Partner closely with GMTE to align efficacy capabilities, disease models, and translational tools with target product profiles and business strategy
- Translate future portfolio concepts into clear scientific capability roadmaps and model-development plans
- Identify and evaluate emerging therapeutic targets, technologies, and innovation opportunities
- Establish and maintain strategic collaborations with key opinion leaders, academic institutions, CROs and specialist consultants
- Build a high-performing external network capable of supporting translational research and development programs
- Provide scientific leadership in due diligence and external partnership evaluations
- Partner closely with Regulatory Affairs, Safety, CMC, Clinical Operations, GMTE, Portfolio and Commercial functions to ensure integrated development strategies
- Ensure efficacy considerations are fully integrated into development planning, decision-making and execution
- Communicate scientific rationale, risks, trade-offs, and decisions clearly across project teams and governance forums
- Serve as a member of the Product Development Leadership Team (PDLT) and the DRD Extended Leadership Team (DRD-ExLT)
- Accountable for efficacy capability, scientific standards, model development and performance within the therapeutic area
- Delivery of efficacy programs to agreed timelines, budgets, and regulatory quality standards
- Strength and readiness of efficacy strategies to support regulatory approval and product differentiation
- Readiness, robustness and utilization of disease models and enabling scientific platforms
- Effectiveness of cross-functional collaboration and integration
- Strength, scalability and productivity of external scientific partnerships
- Capability, engagement and development of the Efficacy team
- Makes balanced, risk-based decisions considering scientific, regulatory and commercial factors
- Applies structured, scenario-based thinking to evaluate options, anticipate risks and guide decision-making
- Builds and leads high-performing teams with strong ownership and accountability
- Influences across functions and with external stakeholders through scientific credibility, clarity and consistency
- Creates a culture of collaboration, transparency, and delivery excellence
- Develops and coaches Efficacy Leads and scientists
- Builds long-term capability through succession planning, mentoring and recruitment
- Establishes clear expectations for performance, behaviors and decision-making
Skills
- Experience in companion-animal or equine clinical practice or research
- 10+ years' experience in veterinary pharmaceutical or biopharmaceutical R&D
- Experience designing and delivering efficacy programs aligned with VICH, GCP and GLP requirements
- Experience interacting with regulatory agencies (FDA-CVM, USDA, EMA-CVMP, UK-VMD)
- Experience developing, validating and applying disease models
- Track record of delivering multi-site and/or multi-national studies
- DVM, BVMed, or equivalent or Biomedical or animal science degree with significant experience in veterinary drug development
- Ability and willingness to travel nationally and internationally as required
- Market-informed mindset in application of scientific research
- Working knowledge of pharmacokinetics
- Advanced degree (MSc, PhD, doctorate), specialty board certification, or diploma
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