Business Development and Licensing Lead (Global) in Belfast

VANRATH is working with a leading animal health organisation to appoint a Global Business Development & Licensing Lead on a fully remote basis. This is a rare opportunity for a seasoned dealmaker to move beyond transaction execution and genuinely influence the direction of a global product portfolio.

The Opportunity

• A fully remote position with international scope
• End-to-end ownership of licensing and collaboration deals, from first contact to handover
• Real influence over portfolio and pipeline strategy
• A commercially ambitious business with strong backing and a healthy pipeline

The Role

• Spotting and pursuing opportunities
• Get under the skin of the company's portfolio, research pipeline and commercial priorities so you can judge fit quickly
• Hunt out potential deals - whether that's licensing assets in or out, acquiring technologies, or partnering with other businesses
• Map the competitive terrain across therapeutic areas to find the gaps worth playing in
• Keep a healthy pipeline of prospects warm and a steady dialogue going with potential partners

Assessing the deal

• Pull together the right people from across research, clinical, regulatory, commercial, finance, legal, manufacturing and IP to pressure-test each opportunity
• Run both quick first-pass reviews and deeper assessments, weighing the science, the strategic logic, where it sits competitively, and whether the numbers stack up
• Steer the due diligence effort across every relevant discipline
• Build the business case and the financial picture behind it - valuations, scenarios and revenue forecasts that account for risk

Shaping and closing

• Design deal terms that balance ambition against risk, drawing on the full toolkit of upfront payments, milestones, royalties, equity stakes and shared funding
• Run the negotiation, or support it, pulling in legal, finance and senior leaders to land the best possible terms
• Set out the negotiating approach for colleagues, flagging the sticking points and the trade-offs on the table
• Win internal buy-in and sign-off, including the papers and presentations that go in front of the executive team

Managing the relationship

• Build and protect strong working relationships with partners, prospects and the wider industry
• Fly the flag for the business at partnering events, scientific gatherings and industry forums
• Hand finished deals over cleanly to the operational teams, with the goals, governance and success measures clearly set out
• Stay involved in alliance governance, such as joint steering committees, to keep agreements on track

Reading the market

• Keep a close eye on where the industry is heading, what deals are going for, and what competitors are up to
• Feed regular, sharp insight back to senior management on opportunities worth chasing and risks worth watching
• Keep the BD&L systems and records current, so the full picture of deals and partner activity is always to hand

What You'll Need

• An advanced degree in Life Sciences or a related discipline (MSc, PhD or similar); an MBA or comparable business qualification would be a real plus
• At least ten years in a similar BD&L capacity within animal health, backed by a clear record of deals you've closed - in-licensing, out-licensing, co-development or strategic alliances
• A ready-made network across the animal health industry
• Sharp strategic judgement and a track record of making sound calls
• Confidence with financial modelling, valuation and scenario planning
• The ability to take scientific, clinical and commercial data and draw out what it actually means for the business
• A firm grasp of how licensing and collaboration agreements are structured, plus the IP and commercial terms that go with them
• Persuasive communication and negotiation skills, with a knack for building agreement across different levels and functions
• The capacity to juggle several deals at once without losing momentum

Skills: business development, licensing, global sales director, animal health, health

Benefits: Work From Home, Excellent Benefits (Industry Leading)