Senior Director, Cardiovascular and Cardiometabolic Translational Biology

Job description

We create a place where people can grow, be their best, be safe, and feel welcome, valued and included. We offer a competitive salary, an annual bonus based on company performance, healthcare and wellbeing programmes, pension plan membership, and shares and savings programme. We embrace modern work practises; our Performance with Choice programme offers a hybrid working model, empowering you to find the optimal balance between remote and in-office work. Discover more about our company wide benefits and life at GSK on our webpage Life at GSK | GSK Senior Director, Cardiovascular and Cardiometabolic Translational Biology The Respiratory, Immunology, and Inflammation Research Unit (RIIRU) uses immune science to address underlying organ dysfunction and disease, building a pipeline of medicines to transform treatment and care. Our diverse team of industry-leading experts turns scientific exploration into value for patients and GSK. We span the full R&D journey, from early discovery and mid-stage development to launching late-stage medicines. By combining leading datasets, capabilities and methods with decades of scientific expertise, we are reshaping how we develop and deliver new medicines. GSK is expanding cardiovascular and cardiometabolic capabilities within RIIRU, initially focusing on cardiovascular disease as a key co-morbidity across respiratory, renal, hepatology and neurodegeneration. The next step is to sharpen the strategy, deepen internal expertise and build a portfolio that complements existing disease-area programmes. This is an opportunity to build, rather than inherit, a scientific direction. As the senior Translational Biology expert in cardiovascular science, you will evaluate existing targets, develop a human-first strategy, identify collaboration and business development opportunities, and guide investment priorities. You will provide key scientific recommendations within a matrix, partnering with clinical, genetics, genomics, disease-area and portfolio leaders. You will shape the strategy, scientific network and future portfolio, with immediate visibility across four established disease areas where cardiovascular biology can improve patient outcomes. Early involvement in emerging collaborations - including relationships with academic institutions and potential international partners - will allow you to bring together internal target science, external innovation and business development to build a differentiated portfolio. The remit spans cardiovascular, vascular and cardiometabolic biology rather than a narrow single-disease specialism, offering senior influence without direct authority and the freedom to convene experts and turn evidence into portfolio recommendations. For candidates seeking to be located at our Stevenage site, this role will temporarily be based at Stevenage. However, the Company plans to relocate its offices to Cambridge, UK. The location of this role will therefore subsequently change to Cambridge, UK in accordance with timelines to be set by the Company. The relocation is currently proposed to take effect by early 2029. In this role you will Scientific and Translational Leadership (Individual Contributor): Provide scientific leadership to progress an existing preclinical and clinical cardiovascular portfolio by defining clear, human-relevant mechanistic hypotheses Provide scientific leadership to progress an existing preclinical and clinical cardiovascular portfolio by defining clear, human-relevant mechanistic hypotheses Drive programs focused on cardiovascular disease biology, including vascular inflammation, endothelial dysfunction, fibrosis, remodeling, thrombosis, pulmonary vascular disease, heart failure-related mechanisms, and cardio-renal-metabolic disease pathways. Deliver translational strategies that incorporate human genetics, multi-omics, and reverse translation to strengthen target confidence and clinical relevance. Drive programs focused on cardiovascular disease biology, including vascular inflammation, endothelial dysfunction, fibrosis, remodeling, thrombosis, pulmonary vascular disease, heart failure-related mechanisms, and cardio-renal-metabolic disease pathways. Deliver translational strategies that incorporate human genetics, multi-omics, and reverse translation to strengthen target confidence and clinical relevance. Provide leadership on biomarker strategies, including target engagement, pharmacodynamic, disease activity, risk stratification, and patient-selection biomarkers that enable confident translation from preclinical models to clinical studies. Monitor scientific and competitive landscapes to identify emerging opportunities and potential portfolio risks and recommend evidence-based actions. Provide leadership on biomarker strategies, including target engagement, pharmacodynamic, disease activity, risk stratification, and patient-selection biomarkers that enable confident translation from preclinical models to clinical studies. Monitor scientific and competitive landscapes to identify emerging opportunities and potential portfolio risks and recommend evidence-based actions. Matrix leadership and scientific influence: Align stakeholders on study design, data interpretation, and decision quality across target selection, progression, and translational planning. Drive clarity on critical experiments, success criteria, and go/no-go recommendations. Ensure rigor, reproducibility, and fit-for-purpose model selection while mentoring project teams through hands-on scientific problem solving. Cross-functional collaboration: Deliver efficient target selection and progression and to support clinical programs through integrated translational plans. Partner closely with disease area biology, clinical and translational scientists, biostatistics, DMPK, pathology, safety, and platform teams to interpret complex datasets and connect preclinical findings to clinical endpoints, patient populations, and study design. Innovation: Identify opportunities to develop novel therapies, next-generation translational approaches, human-relevant model systems, and advanced analytical methodologies that accelerate drug discovery and development across cardiovascular and organ dysfunction pathways. Business development: Contribute to identification, evaluation, and scientific diligence of business development opportunities, particularly those focused on cardiovascular, vascular, cardio-renal, and cardio-metabolic mechanisms. External partnerships: Establish and maintain strategic collaborations with academic institutions, contract research organizations, and external experts to access cutting-edge technologies, unique patient datasets, advanced model systems, and translational capabilities. Build a network of key opinion leaders spanning cardiovascular, respiratory, renal, and metabolic disease. Compliance and quality: Drive the discovery and advancement of innovative cardiovascular assets while ensuring adherence to relevant policies, regulatory expectations, and quality standards. Resource stewardship: Provide input to portfolio resourcing and external spend planning by defining critical-path experiments and recommending efficient use of internal capabilities and external partners to maximize scientific impact and translational success. Why you? Basic Qualifications & Skills: We are looking for professionals with these required skills to achieve our goals: MD/PhD or PhD in a relevant scientific discipline (e.g., Cardiovascular Biology, Cell/Molecular Biology, Genetics, Pharmacology, Immunology, or related field) with extensive experience in preclinical biology and forward and reverse translation. Extensive experience in the pharmaceutical or biotechnology industry, with a strong focus on cardiovascular disease, vascular biology, cardio-renal disease, pulmonary vascular disease, heart failure, fibrosis, inflammation, and/or cardiometabolic disease. Deep understanding of tar