Vice President Program Management - CDC Global Solutions (Toronto)

Senior Director / VP of External Partnerships Location: Toronto preferred; hybrid/remote considered with regular travel to Toronto Reports to: Co-founder & Chief Scientific Officer CDC is proud to be retained by a fast‑growing, AI‑enabled pharmaceutical formulation company operating at the intersection of machine learning, robotics, and deep formulation science – accelerating drug product development in partnership with biopharma and CDMO organisations. This role is for someone who has operated in a CDMO or CRO environment and knows what it actually takes to deliver high‑quality formulation development programs. It is a rare prospect to step into a senior leadership role where science, delivery, and strategic client partnership all converge. Key Responsibilities • Serve as the primary relationship owner for multiple external R&D partnerships. • Manage 3-4 concurrent client R&D projects, or oversee one large strategic agreement. • Lead all client communications: progress updates, technical readouts, steering discussions, and escalation management. • Own and identify project execution plans, timelines, milestones, risks and deliverables. • Understand formulation development workflows well enough to challenge assumptions, identify technical risks, and communicate trade‑offs to clients. • Work with internal scientists to frame experimental design, formulation strategy, data packages, and next‑step recommendations. • Present data and project outcomes to client teams with clarity, confidence, and credibility. • Manage and support a team of approximately 3-4 experimentalists and/or robotics operators. • Coach team members on project execution, communication quality, client readiness, and operational discipline. • Partner with business development and scientific leadership to expand successful client relationships into larger, longer‑term collaborations. • Identify opportunities for follow‑on projects, platform expansions, and strategic agreements. • Support proposal scoping, project design, and technical input for new partnership opportunities. Required Experience • Significant CDMO experience – essential. • Strong pharmaceutical science background, ideally in OSD, modified release, biologics, injectables, or other complex formulation areas. • Experience managing technical R&D programs, client‑facing projects, or complex development workstreams. • Demonstrated ability to manage multiple concurrent projects with different stakeholders, timelines, and priorities. • Prior alliance management, program leadership, or strategic account ownership experience. • Strong client‑facing presence, with the technical depth to earn credibility with formulation scientists and development leaders. • Experience presenting scientific or technical data to external customers or senior internal stakeholders. • Experience working with both emerging biotechs and large pharmaceutical companies. • Ability to manage scope, timelines, expectations, and difficult client conversations without damaging relationships. • Experience leading or coordinating technical teams, ideally including lab‑based scientists, experimentalists, or automation/robotics operators. Bonus Exposure to AI‑enabled drug development, automated experimentation, high‑throughput screening, robotics, or digital formulation workflows. #J-18808-Ljbffr

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