At Lilly, the work is demanding because patients are waiting. We unite caring with discovery to help make life better for people around the world, knowing that every decision, every detail, and every day matters. Headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, our over 50,000 employees around the globe take on complex challenges to discover and deliver life-changing medicines, strengthen how health is understood and managed, and support the communities we serve. This is hard, urgent, selfless work—but it’s work worth doing. If you’re driven by purpose and ready to bring your best to work that truly matters for patients, we invite you to join us.

Position Summary:

The Associate Director, Oncology Discovery Contracting in the Business Operations team serves as a recognized contracting, internal business process and S2P partner within the Early Phase Oncology organization, supporting drug discovery and development through the drafting, negotiation, and management of complex procurement-facing agreements. This individual will support custom scientific engagements across key discovery research areas spanning early phase biology, chemistry and scientific technologies. This role requires a combination of scientific literacy and contracting expertise to effectively partner with research teams, understand the nature of the work being contracted, and drive sound, risk-based contracting decisions. The Associate Director exercises a high degree of independent judgment, drives process improvements across the contracting function, and builds strategic relationships with internal and external stakeholders to proactively identify and resolve complex operational and business challenges impacting the Oncology Business Unit – the expectation is that the Associate Director will help shape how contracting is done, not just execute it.

Key Objectives/Deliverables

• Serve as a key contracting resource within the Early Phase Oncology organization, leading cross-functional collaboration with Project Management, Scientific, Legal, Subject Matter Experts, Business Operations, and Finance to support Lilly Oncology’s pipeline needs and functional objectives in compliance with established internal policies and risk mitigation strategies

• Serve as a recognized internal expert on procurement contracting, providing authoritative guidance to business teams and influencing decisions on complex compliance and contractual issues within the business area

• Drive custom scientific contracting engagements across early phase biology, chemistry and scientific technology business areas, partnering closely with research and operations teams to understand scope and independently lead negotiation of the full range of applicable agreement types

• Develop tailored contracting solutions and scalable processes that address the evolving needs of supported business areas and close gaps before they become operational issues

• Independently lead all phases of contract drafting and negotiation, effectively coordinating Legal and SME input and making sound, risk-based decisions that impact the function or geography

• Oversee regular engagements with PM teams to proactively advise on upcoming third-party contracting needs, including scope, deliverables, timelines, prioritization, and risk considerations impacting the business area

• Build and maintain strategic relationships with third-party suppliers, identifying requirements and influencing contracting approaches that advance the business area’s interests while anticipating and resolving key operational and business risks, partnering with the third-party risk management team and exercising independent judgment to escalate or mitigate issues with functional impact

• Provide expertise and guidance to business partners in the procure-to-pay process including purchase requisition submission, managing budgets, invoicing reconciliations to ensure internal compliance, and identifying opportunities to optimize financial stewardship

• Maintain awareness of regulatory and industry developments relevant to discovery research contracting, and apply that knowledge to identify risks, inform contract strategy, and recommend process improvements

• Manage and develop a small team of contracting professionals, fostering their growth through active coaching, timely feedback, and adherence to Lilly’s Performance Management system; set clear expectations, hold team members accountable, and proactively address performance issues to ensure team effectiveness

Basic Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree required; master’s degree in biology or a related scientific discipline and/or MBA preferred, along with scientific literacy and/or background in a relevant biological discipline and the ability to engage credibly with research scientists in areas such as exploratory research, translational science, and large molecule biology

• 5+ years of applicable experience, including contract management and research experience, with an advanced degree (MBA, master's, or Ph.D.), or 7+ years without an advanced degree, including procurement facing contracting to support discovery and development efforts in a biotechnology or pharmaceutical setting

• Qualified applicants must be authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis. Lilly will not provide support for or sponsor work authorization or visas for this role, including but not limited to F-1 CPT, F-1 OPT, F-1 STEM OPT, J-1, H-1B, TN, O-1, E-3, H-1B1, or L-1.

Preferred Qualifications:

• An advanced degree (MBA or MS, Ph.D., in a biological science), combined with contracting experience supporting drug discovery research functions such as exploratory research, translational science, or large molecule biology

• Demonstrated experience making independent, risk-based decisions on complex contracting matters with functional or cross-organizational impact, knowing when to escalate and when to act

• Strong contract drafting, review, analysis and negotiation skills across a variety of contract types

• Recognized ability to serve as a key resource, influence complex issues across the business area or function, and interact effectively with senior stakeholders

• Exceptional organizational skills with the ability to independently manage and lead a team across a high volume of concurrent workstreams; approaches work with an owner’s mindset and consistent sense of urgency, takes initiative to anticipate issues, meets strict deadlines, and drives tasks to completion while maintaining quality

• Demonstrated success designing and implementing information management systems and processes with measurable impact across closely related work teams or business areas

• Experience with project management, finance, procurement, and contract lifecycle management software

• Experience in software licensing procurement, including negotiating SaaS, data platform, and AI/ML tool agreements in a life sciences or research context

• Fluency with AI tools and a demonstrated willingness to embrace and apply emerging AI and technology solutions to improve the efficiency and quality of contracting work

• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, with a demonstrated ability to proactively communicate status, risks, and issues to stakeholders at all levels to drive work forward and resolve matters in a timely manner

• Excellent attention to detail and critical thinking skills

• MS Office skills (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint)

Lilly is dedicated to helping individuals with disabilities to actively engage in the workforce, ensuring equal opportunities when vying for positions. If you require accommodation to submit a resume for a position at Lilly, please complete the accommodation request form (https://careers.lilly.com/us/en/workplace-accommodation) for further assistance. Please note this is for individuals to request an accommodation as part of the application process and any other correspondence will not receive a response.

Lilly is proud to be an EEO Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, religion, gender identity, sex, gender expression, sexual orientation, genetic information, ancestry, national origin, protected veteran status, disability, or any other legally protected status.

Our employee resource groups (ERGs) offer strong support networks for their members and are open to all employees. Our current groups include: Africa, Middle East, Central Asia (AMECA), Black Employees at Lilly (BE@Lilly), Chinese Culture Network (CCN), EnAble, Evolve, Lilly Indian Network (LIN), Organization of Latinx at Lilly (OLA), Pride (LGBTQ+ Allies), Veterans Leadership Network (VLN) and Women’s Initiative for Leading at Lilly (WILL).

Actual compensation will depend on a candidate’s education, experience, skills, and geographic location. The anticipated wage for this position is

$127,500 - $204,600

Full-time equivalent employees also will be eligible for a company bonus (depending, in part, on company and individual performance). In addition, Lilly offers a comprehensive benefit program to eligible employees, including eligibility to participate in a company-sponsored 401(k); pension; vacation benefits; eligibility for medical, dental, vision and prescription drug benefits; flexible benefits (e.g., healthcare and/or dependent day care flexible spending accounts); life insurance and death benefits; certain time off and leave of absence benefits; and well-being benefits (e.g., employee assistance program, fitness benefits, and employee clubs and activities).Lilly reserves the right to amend, modify, or terminate its compensation and benefit programs in its sole discretion and Lilly’s compensation practices and guidelines will apply regarding the details of any promotion or transfer of Lilly employees.

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