Director in Corporate Alliance Management

Do you like to build relations and partnerships with the brightest scientific minds and innovators? Would you like to help manage alliances that may create tomorrow’s breakthrough medicines to improve the lives of people living with chronic disease? 

Then you might be our new Director in Corporate Alliance Management in Global Business Development based out of our office in Bagsværd close to Copenhagen. Bring your expertise to Novo Nordisk and apply now for a life-changing career!

The Position
For a century, we’ve partnered with leading scientists to transform ideas into ground-breaking therapies. As we expand into new areas, we are more than ever in search of high-potential innovation and strategic partnerships to complement our existing capabilities.

Global Business Development is where we continue our founders’ quest for bold ideas and outside perspectives. Embodying the same pioneering spirit, we seek partnerships with the potential to revolutionise life science and scout the world for sparks of innovation that we can turn into solutions for patients.

As our new Director in Corporate Alliance Management, you will have an important and very independent role in supporting the execution of Novo Nordisk’s external innovation strategy. 

Your main responsibilities will be focused on:

• Managing a portfolio of strategic alliances by ensuring the execution of contractual obligations and mutual agenda building, and maintaining an interactive relation with the external partners as well as the internal Novo Nordisk teams
• Having the overall facilitating responsibility of securing value generation through our partnerships and alliances and preparing and leading strategic recommendations to senior management and being on top of risk mitigation plans
• Being responsible for alliance kick-off meetings, facilitation of steering committees, alliance terminations, conflict resolutions, driving identification and execution of alliance amendments
• Developing tools and best practices for portfolio management across all our strategic alliances, ensuring operational excellence by setting the benchmark for industry standards
• Representing Corporate Alliance Management as a centre of excellence, connecting stakeholders and sharing knowledge across, within, and outside of our organisation to ensure consistent and excellent Alliance Management  

Ability to travel up to 10% of the time, including internationally is required.

Qualifications
To succeed in this role, you have:

• Strong knowledge of the pharma value chain and business with 8+ years of relevant experience in pharmaceutical or biotechnology organisations and a master’s degree in international business, stakeholder management, business communication, natural sciences, or similar AND
• A demonstrated track record of managing pharma collaborations / alliances and the ability to create and maintain strong professional networks with external partners and internal stakeholders
• An in-depth understanding of contracts and ability to translate complex contract terms and conditions into simple outlines to support strategic and operational elements
• Excitement to drive end-to-end Alliance Management with Project Management best practices
• A firm understanding of multicultural impact on business relationships including experience in working in an international context and environment
• The ability to balance strategic & big picture thinking with an eye for details in day-to-day operations

As a person you show strong interpersonal skills, empathy, and can collaborate cross-functionally, across organisations and cultures. You enjoy taking initiative and have a strong personal drive and dedication to your work and to people. You have a strong ability to manage and resolve complex issues and conflicts and bring a can-do attitude. You are a strong communicator and demonstrate proactive stakeholder management at all levels, as well as understand the value of structure and systematization. Lastly, you like to challenge current perceptions and drive change.

About the Department
Corporate Alliance Management handles a complex portfolio of strategic external alliances across the value chain with focus on clinical and commercial stage across all therapeutic areas in Novo Nordisk. Responsibilities include leading the strategic discussions and decision-making processes to effectively lead external collaborations and partnerships. The Corporate Alliance Management team is anchored in Corporate Integration & Alliances Management in Global Business Development based in Novo Nordisk’s Headquarters in Bagsværd, Denmark.

Global Business Development is the main business development unit of Novo Nordisk. Here, we gather best-in-class strategists, analysts, dealmakers, and specialists in post-deal management to form a team of future-focused experts. We forge external collaborations and bring in innovation and companies that share our purpose, mission, and values. Our culture of teamwork, transparency, and accountability drives our work to enable leaps of transformation beyond ordinary incremental changes. That’s why we embrace the transformative power of partnerships and collaboration. For us, alliances come down to creating more value than we could accomplish independently. More scientific breakthroughs. More discoveries. More expertise. More impact.

Working in Novo Nordisk
At Novo Nordisk, we don’t wait for change. We drive it. We’re a dynamic company in an even more dynamic industry, and we know that what got us to where we are today is not necessarily what will make us successful in the future. We embrace the spirit of experimentation, striving for excellence without fixating on perfection. We never shy away from opportunities to develop, we seize them. From research and development, through to manufacturing, marketing, and sales – we’re all working to move the needle on patient care.

Contact
For more information, please contact VP of Corporate Alliance Management, Lasse Funch Hamza Jacobsen, at LFUJ@novonordisk.com

Deadline
25 June 2025.

Applications will be screened on an ongoing basis, so we encourage you to submit your application as soon as possible.

You do not need to attach a cover letter to your application, but please include a few sentences about why you are applying in your resume or CV. To ensure an efficient and fair recruitment process, please refrain from adding a photo to your CV.