Drug Discovery Manager - Chemistry

Our Parkinson’s Virtual Biotech is our flagship programme for creating new treatments for Parkinson’s, based on the needs and priorities of people living with Parkinson’s.

We are deploying £5M per year to fund preclinical and early clinical stage projects in biotechs and contract research organisations to bring new treatments to people living with Parkinson’s.

Please click here to find out more about the Parkinson’s Virtual Biotech. 

About the role 

You’ll apply expert knowledge of drug discovery principles and practices to guide the deployment of over £25m in funding through the Parkinson’s Virtual Biotech programme. As part of the Virtual Biotech team you will evaluate new project proposals, manage our interactions with funded projects, and liaise with external partners and the Parkinson’s community, whilst maintaining professional knowledge and networks. 

You’ll lead on our funding and oversight of some of our projects and support others; including developing robust project plans with the sponsor, featuring efficient use of external resource providers (e.g. for medicinal chemistry, compound synthesis, computational chemistry, crystallography, ADME/physchem profiling, IP handling).

What you’ll do:  

• Provide expert management and leadership for the charity’s ongoing preclinical projects to ensure studies are delivered on time and on budget, and participate in joint steering committees and other advisory meetings, providing expert scientific and strategic insight

• Bring new initiatives and working practices to the Virtual Biotech, as appropriate, contribute to the design and evaluation of novel compounds, and identify and evaluate candidate service providers for project work packages

• Solicit external proposals for new projects and develop internal project proposals, and critically review the relevant aspects of internal and external new drug discovery project proposals

• Represent Parkinson’s UK in collaborations, with consortia and at scientific meetings, and interact with people with Parkinson’s and involve them in projects in order to increase the opportunities to deliver new drugs that meet unmet medical needs

What you’ll bring:

• Extensive drug discovery experience with at least 5 years spent in pharma or biotech environments, and a doctoral degree in a relevant discipline (Ph.D., M.D., D.Phil.)

• Expert knowledge of small molecule drug discovery principles and practices including experience of compound design and evaluation, and experience of neuroscience drug discovery

• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to present complex information in suitable formats for both scientific and lay audiences, and ability to compile project proposals/reports suitable for scientific and non-scientific audiences

• Track record of proposing new projects, with significant experience of project management and leadership skills from initiation to completion/review including selecting and working with CROs

This is an exciting time for Parkinson’s UK and we would love you to join us!

Please apply by sending us your CV, together with a detailed supporting statement which will fully demonstrate how you meet all the criteria of the role, as stated in the "What you'll bring" section of the job description.