Job Description
Associate Principal, Global Drug Development Consulting & Expertise Centre
Role Overview
The Global Drug Development Consulting & Expertise Centre Lead is a senior leadership role responsible for building and scaling a global consulting capability from India, while delivering high-impact client engagements across the drug development value chain.
This role sits at the intersection of:
- End-to-end consulting project delivery and client
- Deep Drug Development domain expertise
- Knowledge services and global capability building
The Consulting & Expertise Centre Lead will act as a trusted advisor to senior R&D leaders, a builder of teams and offerings, and a key contributor to practice growth, working closely with Principals and Partners across regions.
What You'll Do:
Client Leadership & Consulting Delivery
- Lead complex, multi-workstream consulting engagements across Clinical Development, Regulatory and Pharmacovigilance
- Serve as a client partner to senior Director-, VP-, and C-suite stakeholders within global R&D organizations
- Interpret client needs and problem statements, understanding complex challenges in context and helping to interpret business and technology requirements
- Deliver solutions, translating strategy into executable roadmaps and produce high-quality outputs that exactly meet client needs
- Ensure high-quality delivery excellence across strategy, operating model design, process transformation, system-enabled change, system implementations, data initiatives, AI initiatives
- Represent ZS as a thought leader in client discussions, workshops, and executive forums
Practice & Capability Building
- Growing R&D consulting capability in India, expanding and leading the team of practitioners, engaging with senior clients and principals across the practice
- Growing and leading our team of deep experts with scientific, domain, functional, standards, regulations expertise across life sciences industry and collaborative initiatives initiative
- Collaborating to increase the value and impact of our knowledge services and industry research capability
- Develop and mentor high-performing teams across consulting, analytics, and domain experts
- Establish delivery standards, reusable assets, playbooks, and best practices across Drug Development
- Act as a local leader in India for the Drug Development consulting, expert and knowledge capability, working closely with global practice leadership
- Balance utilization, quality, and scalability to support sustainable growth of the practice
Business Development & Growth
- Identify new client opportunities and expand existing accounts through trusted relationships and collaboration with global drug development leads
- Lead proposal development, including RFP responses, proactive value propositions, detailed solutioning, and commercial considerations in close collaboration with global drug development leads
- Partner with Principals and Partners to shape new offerings aligned to evolving R&D and clinical innovation trends
- Contribute to long-term practice strategy, investment priorities, talent planning, location strategy and global ways of working
Thought Leadership & Market Impact
- Develop internal and external thought leadership on topics such as:
- Future of Clinical Development and Clinical Trials
- R&D Operating Model Transformation
- Regulatory Evolution
- Digital, Analytics, Platform and AI enablement across R&D
- Contribute to white papers, points of view, and conference presentations
- Stay at the forefront of regulatory, technology, and operating model changes in global Drug Development
What You'll Bring:
- Advanced degree in Life Sciences, Pharmacy, Biotechnology, Medicine, Engineering, or related field (MBA or equivalent preferred)
- 15+ years of experience across Drug Development, R&D consulting, or life sciences transformation roles
- Strong domain expertise across one or more of:
- Clinical Development
- Regulatory Affairs
- Pharmacovigilance / Drug Safety
- R&D Operations
- Proven experience leading large-scale consulting or transformation programs with global teams and global clients
- Demonstrated ability to build and lead high-performing teams, multi-disciplinary teams with high degrees of co-ordination and collaboration
- Strong client presence with experience influencing senior stakeholders
- Prior experience in top-tier consulting or global life sciences organizations
- Experience with R&D technology platforms (e.g., Veeva, Oracle, Medidata, AWS, ECS)
- Background in operating model design, process harmonization, and change management and proven results to create value for clients
- Experience working in or building global delivery / offshore consulting models with a clear point of view on how to optimize this model for both the client and the company
- Track record of business development and account growth understanding sales processes, pipeline management, pricing excellence
- Executive-level communication and storytelling with high attention to detail, messaging and tailoring to audience
- Ability to operate at both strategic and hands-on levels, unafraid to roll sleeves up
- People-first leader with a coaching mindset, with progressive techniques, high priority on inclusion and creating a sense of belonging on the team
- High ownership, entrepreneurial mindset, and bias for impact whilst solving for both the client and the company.
ZS is a global consulting firm; fluency in English is required, additional fluency in at least one European or Asian language is desirable.
Candidates must possess work authorization for their intended country of employment. An on-line application, including a cover letter expressing interest and a full set of transcripts (official or unofficial), is required to be considered.
ZS offers a competitive compensation package with salary and bonus incentives, complete medical/dental/life insurance programs and retirement savings benefits. We are an Equal Opportunity Employer.
Job Classification
Industry: Management Consulting
Functional Area / Department: Healthcare & Life Sciences
Role Category: Healthcare & Life Sciences - Other
Role: Healthcare & Life Sciences - Other
Employement Type: Full time
Contact Details:
Company: ZS
Location(s): Pune
Keyskills:
Clinical Research
Life Sciences
Technology
Drug Safety
Consulting
Drug Development
Clinical Development
Pharmacovigilance
Drug Discovery
Clinical Trials