R&D Strategy Director in London

The R&D Strategy team is a dedicated unit within the Office of the Chief Scientific Officer, whose “day-job” it is to think longer term about the ambition for R&D and its progress towards achieving it, as well as to problem solve various strategic questions across R&D functions and teams. We identify and provide recommendations on key questions informing the evolution of GSK’s R&D strategy. We execute R&D-wide strategy projects aligned with the R&D priorities. We serve as a partner R&D leadership to develop various strategies and execute bespoke initiatives. We will seek to determine current performance, set ambition and propose courses of action, through continuously accessing and interpreting internal and external data (including external trends and competitive landscape).

We are looking for an R&D Strategy Director to work on core R&D strategy questions, collaborating with the strategy project lead, and senior leaders across GSK. Projects will vary significantly in nature and remit, though will typically last 3-4 months and result in concrete proposals and handover with a team responsible for strategy deployment. The Strategy Director will be a core member of project teams within the Strategy team and will engage directly with the R&D Leadership Team (RDLT) and many groups across R&D, leading multi-disciplinary matrix teams where necessary.

Career progression: The R&D Strategy Team has been a feeder group for key talent at GSK, and allows for exposure to many different parts of the business, as well as exposure to senior leaders across the organization. A successful Director in the R&D Strategy team will have numerous progression opportunities within GSK, both within the strategy team, or with a move to other business lines.

Basic Qualifications:

• Degree level in Life Sciences, Business, or other relevant areas (PhD, MBA or other post-graduate degrees preferred)
• Strategy consulting experience from a top-tier strategy consulting firm, or similar experience
• Ability to both think strategically, working at a global level, and to dive deep into operational issues when required, moving quickly between the two levels of working with a sense of urgency
• Proven capability to manage ambiguity and develop clear, evidence‑based strategies from complex and extensive datasets
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to convey complex ideas clearly and compellingly
• Solid analytical skills and the ability to manipulate complex data, propose and test hypothesis and challenge assumptions
• Rigorous project management skills, and ability to engage senior stakeholders with a balanced mix of intellectual rigour and emotional intelligence
• R&D experience, combined with intellectual curiosity and demonstrated learning agility

Our values and expectations sit at the heart of everything we do and are fundamental to our culture. As GSK continues to foster a culture of innovation, performance, and trust, the successful candidate will demonstrate the following capabilities:

• Agile and distributed decision-making – using evidence and applying judgement to balance pace, rigour and risk
• Effective management of individual and team performance
• Committed to delivering high quality results, overcoming challenges, focusing on what matters
• Experience implementing and leading change initiatives
• Commitment to sustaining energy and well-being, building team resilience
• Continuous learning mindset, focus on building skills and sharing knowledge both internally and externally
• Ability to translate strategy into action through clear narratives, motivation, objective setting, and delegation
• Strong relationship building and collaboration skills, with the ability to manage trusted internal and external stakeholders
• Commercial and financial acumen, including budgeting and forecasting experience

Closing Date for Applications – 26th May 2026 EOD

Please take a copy of the Job Description, as this will not be available post closure of the advert. When applying for this role, please use the ‘cover letter’ of the online application or your CV to describe how you meet the competencies for this role, as outlined in the job requirements above. The information that you have provided in your cover letter and CV will be used to assess your application.

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. Please note should your enquiry not relate to adjustments, we will not be able to support you through these channels. However, we have created a Recruitment FAQ guide. Click the link where you will find answers to multiple questions we receive.