Director Of Strategic Partnerships

Senior Director of External PartnershipsLocation:
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 is a role for someone who has operated in a CDMO or CRO environment and knows what it actually takes to deliver high-quality formulation development programs. This is a rare opportunity 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:
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.
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