Translational Medicine Director/Associate*- Cardiovascular & Metabolic

Novartis BioMedical Research (BR) is the innovation hub of Novartis, driving new technologies that can translate into therapeutic breakthroughs. Within BR, the Translational Medicine (TM) division bridges drug discovery and clinical application, and the TM Discovery & Profiling (TMDP) group focuses on moving promising compounds through early clinical testing. The advertised position is a TME Director for Cardiovascular Metabolism (CVM), reporting to the CVM TM Head and responsible for shaping the translational component of drug‑development programmes. In this role you will steer global, cross‑functional teams through the proof‑of‑concept (PoC) stage and beyond. Core duties include planning, executing, and interpreting clinical trial data, overseeing clinical operations, and approving scientific methods for protocol design and data collection. You will act as medical monitor for one or more studies, communicate trial‑related matters to project teams and decision boards, convene internal and external leaders to review PoC strategies, evaluate and engage clinical sites, and manage the publication and presentation of PoC results. You will also be accountable for biomarker strategies and collaborate with research scientists on pre‑clinical support activities. The position requires a doctoral degree and an MD, ideally with subspecialty training in cardiovascular disease or endocrinology/metabolic disease. Candidates must have at least one to two years of experience in a pharmaceutical, biotech, CRO, or academic medical setting, with five or more years expected for a director‑level appointment. Recognised medical and scientific expertise, a strong record of peer‑reviewed publications, and excellent written and oral communication skills are essential. Independence in study planning, the ability to lead multidisciplinary matrix teams, a proactive innovation mindset, and fluency in English (both spoken and written) are also mandatory. Additional assets include further research qualifications such as a PhD or post‑doctoral experience, and expertise in data science, genetics/genomics, artificial intelligence applied to clinical research, or digital/wearable health technologies. The posting is hybrid (partly remote) and falls under Level 6 with a salary band of CHF 150,500, CHF 279,500. No specific location or team‑size details are provided, but the role offers a senior leadership position within a globally recognised research organisation. What the role asks for: - Doctoral degree, MD - Clinical subspecialty training in cardiovascular or metabolic disease - 1–2 years experience in pharma/biotech/CRO/academic centre - 5 + years experience for Director level - Recognised medical expertise - Recognised scientific expertise with high‑impact publications - Excellent written and oral communication skills - Ability to work independently on study planning - Leadership of multidisciplinary matrix teams - Innovation mindset for new PoC approaches - Fluent oral and written English - Additional PhD/post‑doctoral research experience (nice‑to‑have) - Expertise in data science, genomics, AI, or digital health (nice‑to‑have)