[Hiring] Senior Director, Pharma Partnerships @CareDx, Inc.

Role Description

The Senior Director Pharma Partnerships role is responsible for developing and executing CareDx's biopharma partnership strategy across its oncology and transplant diagnostics businesses. This leader will identify, develop, negotiate, and expand strategic relationships with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies seeking biomarker and data generation solutions.

This role serves as CareDx's senior commercial leader for biopharma partnerships and will be responsible for building a sustainable growth engine for pharma partnering, including:

• Strategic account development
• Opportunity creation
• Pipeline generation
• External relationship expansion

The Senior Director will work closely with executive leadership to shape the long-term vision, strategy, and operating model for CareDx's Pharma Partnerships organization while driving measurable partnership revenue and strategic value creation.

This highly visible role requires scientific and commercial acumen, executive relationship management, and demonstrated success closing complex biopharma partnerships. The successful candidate will be expected to:

• Create new partnership opportunities
• Influence market direction
• Establish CareDx as a preferred partner for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies across transplant and oncology

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in life sciences, business, healthcare, or a related field. Advanced degree such as an MBA, MS, PhD, PharmD, or MD preferred.
• 15+ years of experience in biopharma partnerships, business development, strategic accounts, alliance management, molecular diagnostics, precision medicine, or a related field.
• Demonstrated success developing, negotiating, and closing complex partnerships with pharmaceutical or biotechnology companies that have significant business impact.
• Experience leading opportunities through scientific evaluation, proposal development, financial assessment, negotiation, contracting, implementation, and cross-functional change management.
• Proven ability to establish networks of influence and build trusted relationships with senior pharmaceutical leaders across scientific, clinical, commercial, and business functions.
• Experience creating governance processes, operating mechanisms, and alliance structures that enable autonomous execution and sustained partnership growth.
• Strong understanding of the role of diagnostics and biomarkers across translational research, clinical development, and commercialization.
• Ability to synthesize complex scientific, technical, operational, and financial information into clear partner value propositions, executable programs, and strategic business cases.
• Excellent executive communication, presentation, negotiation, and relationship-management skills, with the ability to persuade diverse audiences and navigate differing viewpoints.
• Demonstrated ability to align leaders around complex priorities, lead cross-functional change initiatives, and influence effectively in a matrixed organization.
• Ability to manage multiple complex opportunities and partner relationships simultaneously while setting clear priorities, clearing roadblocks, and remaining accountable for outcomes.
• Existing relationships across transplant and oncology pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.
• Willingness to travel approximately 25-40%, including customer meetings, industry conferences, scientific congresses, and internal leadership engagements.

Requirements

• Build and scale CareDx's Pharma Partnerships organization, including organizational design, talent acquisition, capability development, and operating processes as business needs evolve.
• Establish the operating model, talent strategy, governance framework, performance metrics, and best practices that support sustainable growth of the Pharma Partnerships function.
• Create scalable systems for portfolio management, account prioritization, pipeline management, forecasting, and performance measurement.
• Partner closely with R&D, Medical Affairs, Laboratory Operations, Bioinformatics, Regulatory, Legal, Finance, and Commercial teams to ensure successful development and execution of partnership opportunities.
• Serve as the executive sponsor for strategic pharmaceutical relationships, ensuring alignment on partnership objectives and identifying opportunities to expand collaboration over time.
• Collaborate closely with the Alliance Management responsible for project execution, operational governance, and delivery of active partnerships, ensuring seamless transition from deal execution to operational implementation.
• Mentor and develop current and future team members while fostering a culture of accountability, collaboration, innovation, and growth.

Benefits

• Competitive base salary and incentive compensation
• Health and welfare benefits, including a gym reimbursement program
• 401(k) savings plan match
• Employee Stock Purchase Plan
• Pre-tax commuter benefits
• Living Donor Employee Recovery Policy allowing up to 30 days of paid leave annually for organ or bone marrow donation