Evidence Strategy Lead

At a glance Location: (UK/UAE) Occasional travel to client sites and conferences. Reports to: Co-founder Level: Senior / Director-equivalent Engagement: Full-time

About the role

We are hiring an Evidence Strategy Lead to be the strategic voice in front of our clients on integrated evidence planning, real-world data, and innovative clinical trial design. This is a senior, client-facing role focused on shaping how a programme generates evidence across its lifecycle not on programming or executing analyses (we have specialist teams and platforms for that). You will own the integrated evidence narrative for the assets you support: identifying what evidence is needed, when it is needed, who needs it (regulators, HTA bodies, payers, clinicians), and how it is best generated. You will pull on Inovia Bio's platforms, RWE methodologists, biostatisticians, and regulatory writers to deliver, but the strategic direction and client relationship sit with you. This role suits someone who has spent time in pharma or a consultancy leading integrated evidence plans, has a strong instinct for where RWE and innovative trial design can unlock a programme, and enjoys working directly with biotech leadership teams to shape decisions rather than working behind the scenes.

What you will do:

• Lead integrated evidence plans (IEPs)
• Design and lead end-to-end IEPs for client assets across phases of development, identifying evidence gaps across regulatory, HTA, payer, clinical, and commercial stakeholders.
• Facilitate cross-functional gap identification workshops with client teams, harmonise outputs into prioritised gap inventories, and translate them into actionable evidence-generation tactics.
• Sequence evidence-generation activities across the asset lifecycle, balancing speed, cost, regulatory risk, and downstream HTA needs.
• Own the IEP narrative and presentation to client leadership, steering committees, and partner pharma teams.
• Identify strategic opportunities for real-world data and innovative trial design
• Assess where RWE can substantively change a programme: external control arms, natural history studies, validation of endpoints, label expansion, post-authorisation commitments, HTA evidence packages, and disease epidemiology.
• Advise on innovative trial designs where conventional RCTs are not feasible or optimal: single-arm trials with external controls, hybrid designs, Bayesian borrowing, adaptive designs, basket and umbrella trials, and master protocols.
• Translate methodological options into decision-grade recommendations for non-technical client audiences, working with our biostatistics and RWE methodology teams on the technical detail.
• Align proposed evidence approaches with current regulatory thinking from EMA, MHRA, FDA, and major HTA bodies (NICE, G-BA, HAS), and anticipate how that thinking is evolving.
• Be a trusted advisor to clients and prospective clients
• Build and maintain senior relationships with biotech Chief Medical Officers, Heads of Development, Heads of Medical Affairs, and Heads of Market Access.
• Lead scoping conversations with prospective clients, translating their development challenges into Inovia Bio engagements and shaping proposals alongside the founder.
• Represent Inovia Bio's evidence strategy capability externally at conferences, advisory boards, and partner meetings.
• Identify follow-on work and expansion opportunities organically through delivery excellence on existing engagements.
• Shape how Inovia Bio works
• Feed strategic and methodological requirements back into the development of our internal platforms.
• Contribute to thought leadership: white papers, conference presentations and methodology pieces that strengthen Inovia Bio's external positioning.
• Help shape Inovia Bio's evidence strategy service line, including pricing, packaging, and quality standards.

Who we are looking for

Essential

• Significant experience in pharma, biotech, or a specialist consultancy in roles spanning clinical development strategy, RWE, HEOR, medical affairs, or regulatory strategy.
• Demonstrable track record of leading integrated evidence plans or equivalent cross-functional evidence strategies, ideally for advanced therapies, rare diseases, or other innovative modalities.
• Deep working knowledge of real-world data sources (claims, EHR, registries, hospital data) and the methodological strengths and limitations of each without needing to write the analysis code yourself.
• Strong grasp of innovative trial design and external evidence approaches: external control arms, propensity-score methods, Bayesian borrowing, single-arm trials, adaptive and master protocols.
• Fluency with EMA, MHRA, and FDA regulatory expectations on RWE and innovative designs, and familiarity with HTA evidence requirements in at least one major European market.
• Exceptional client-facing communication: able to lead senior conversations, write clearly and confidently, and translate methodological detail into commercial and strategic implications.
• Comfort operating in a small, senior, high-autonomy environment without the support structures of large consultancies.

Strongly preferred

• Postgraduate qualification in epidemiology, biostatistics, pharmacoepidemiology, health economics, medicine, or a related quantitative discipline (MSc, PhD, MD, or equivalent).
• Direct experience designing or supporting external control arm studies, natural history studies, or post-authorisation effectiveness studies.
• Experience with rare disease or advanced therapy programmes (cell and gene therapy, microbiome, RNA therapeutics) where evidence generation cannot rely on conventional approaches.
• Prior consulting or client-facing experience, with a track record of building and retaining client relationships.
• Familiarity with AI-enabled and platform-based approaches to evidence generation, and an interest in working alongside proprietary tooling.

Not required

• Programming or statistical analysis skills. You will work closely with our RWE methodologists, biostatisticians, and platform engineers, but you are not expected to write SAS, R, Python, or SQL yourself.

What we offer

• A senior seat at a fast growing Tech Bio with direct exposure to founder-level decisions and client relationships.
• Variety: a portfolio of biotech and rare disease clients across modalities and therapy areas, rather than years on a single asset.
• A platform-enabled way of working proprietary tools that compress timelines and let you focus on strategy rather than execution overhead.
• Competitive base compensation, performance bonus, and the option to discuss equity or success-fee arrangements for the right candidate.
• Flexibility on location and working pattern. We care about output and client impact, not where or when you sit at a desk.

Inovia Bio is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to building a diverse and inclusive team and welcome applications from all qualified candidates regardless of age, disability, gender identity or expression, marital or civil partnership status, pregnancy or maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, or sexual orientation. We make hiring decisions based on merit, qualifications, and business need, and we are happy to discuss reasonable adjustments to our recruitment process for any candidate who needs them.