Associate Director, Early Portfolio Alliance Management & Operations

Johnson & Johnson Johnson & Johnson · Pharma · Spring House, PA +1

Associate Director, Early Portfolio Alliance Management & Operations role at Johnson & Johnson, focusing on managing and executing early-portfolio alliances and external collaborations in discovery, preclinical, and early clinical stages within Oncology. Responsibilities include serving as an operational liaison, planning governance meetings, supporting R&D plans, tracking timelines, identifying risks, and managing budgets for alliance activities.

What you'd actually do

  1. Oversee a portfolio of discovery-to-early-clinical partnerships and collaborations, ensuring alignment to scientific objectives and corporate strategy.
  2. Serve as primary operational liaison between Janssen internal teams and external partners; coordinate cross-functional working groups and research teams.
  3. Plan and run governance and scientific meetings (e.g., JRC, JDC, JSC), prepare agendas, drive meeting logistics, track actions and deliverables, and ensure timely follow-up.
  4. Support development and iterative refinement of joint research and development plans; monitor scientific progress and recommend adjustments with partner teams.
  5. Create, maintain, and communicate timelines and milestone trackers; anticipate integration points and dependencies across internal and external activities.

Skills

Required

  • Demonstrated knowledge of drug development and early-stage R&D processes.
  • Experience in alliance management, partner-facing roles, or cross-functional project management in pharma/biotech.
  • Strong interpersonal and communication skills; ability to build working relationships across scientific, clinical, legal, finance, and external partner teams.
  • Excellent organizational skills with the ability to oversee multiple programs and priorities concurrently.
  • Capacity to assess risks and lead the development and implementation of mitigation strategies.
  • Comfortable with meeting facilitation, agenda-setting, and tracking actions to closure.
  • Ability to interpret scientific data and translate implications into operational actions.

Nice to have

  • Prior experience leading discovery/preclinical/Phase 1 collaborations or alliances in oncology.
  • Experience working with external partners across geographies and with industrial/academic partners.
  • Proficiency with project management and collaboration tools