Senior Group Director, Clinical Scientist - Immunology

Are you an accomplished clinical scientist and people leader who can combine strategic clinical-development leadership with rigorous study execution? This role offers the opportunity to shape immunology programs, build clinical-science capability, and lead a high-performing team focused on delivering decision-ready evidence for patients with serious immune-mediated disease. We are seeking a Senior Group Director, Clinical Scientist, Immunology to drive clinical science across our immunology portfolio and lead a team of scientists.

The Senior Group Director, Clinical Scientist is a senior scientific and functional leader with accountability across people leadership, capability development, portfolio resourcing, program and study strategy, and clinical science delivery. The role line manages Clinical Scientists, contributes to departmental leadership, and will also serve as Clinical Scientist for programs and studies. Working in close partnership with Program and Study Physicians, Global Clinical Program Leads, Translational Medicine, Bioscience, Clinical Operations, Biostatistics, Data Management, Pharmacovigilance, Regulatory, and external partners, the role converts clinical-development strategy into high-quality, inspection-ready execution and clear recommendations for governance.

Key Accountabilities

People leadership, resource management and functional capability

·       Line manage Clinical Scientists across recruitment, onboarding, objectives, performance, succession, career development, retention, and project and study allocation.

·       Build an inclusive, high-performing team through clear expectations, feedback, coaching, mentorship, development plans, and appropriate delegation and oversight.

·       Balance portfolio demand, capability, development opportunities, and business priorities; anticipate capacity and skill gaps and propose practical resourcing solutions.

·       Contribute to departmental leadership, operating-model decisions, talent and resource reviews, issue resolution, and non-drug scorecard priorities; may serve as Clinical Science Skills Lead, strengthening procedures, training, communities of practice, and continuous improvement in quality, consistency, efficiency, and inspection readiness.

Portfolio, program and cross-functional leadership

·       Provide portfolio-level Clinical Science insight to prioritize work, connect evidence needs across programs, and guide transparent trade-offs and resource decisions.

·       Partner Lead with Clinical team to lead to shape strategy and execution; lead or support the Clinical Development Plan in alignment with the Target Product Profile, disease strategy, patient needs, and emerging evidence.

·       Influence Global Project Teams and senior governance through evidence-based recommendations that clarify uncertainties, benefit-risk, operational implications, and decision points; resolve cross-functional issues and lead or support external alliances with clear expectations, governance, and risk management.

Clinical development, evidence generation and scientific leadership

·       Lead clinical study design and delivery aligned with the Clinical Development Plan, ensuring objectives, endpoints, estimands, assessments, and operational choices generate decision-enabling evidence.

·       Lead or provide senior review of strategic study documents and translate protocol intent into practical site and data-collection workflows; guide study teams and external partners through clear cross-functional accountabilities and risk-based oversight.

·       Oversee clinical data review, eligibility, data cleaning, and analysis readiness; ensure traceability from endpoints to outputs and integrate efficacy, safety, PK/PD, biomarker, and translational evidence into clear recommendations with the responsible Physician or Clinical Lead.

·       Partner with the Study Physician and Pharmacovigilance on safety surveillance, reconciliation, aggregate trends, and safety-review materials; escalate findings requiring medical judgment and ensure documented issue closure, regulatory compliance, and inspection readiness.

·       Lead or review Clinical Science contributions to regulatory submissions, health-authority interactions, publications, and scientific disclosures; maintain consistency across outputs, translate external developments into strategy, and represent Clinical Science with external stakeholders.

Essential Qualifications and Skills

·    Advanced clinical or scientific degree, such as PhD, PharmD, MD, or an equivalent qualification in a relevant life-sciences discipline.

·    Typically 10 or more years of relevant clinical-development experience, including substantial experience leading clinical programs or complex studies and delivering through global matrix teams.

·    Demonstrated line-management experience, including talent selection, objective setting, performance and development conversations, resource allocation, and coaching of scientists at different career stages.

·    Deep knowledge of end-to-end clinical and pharmaceutical drug development, clinical-trial methodology, benefit-risk evaluation, and global regulatory expectations.

·    Proven authorship, leadership, or senior review of clinical development plans, protocols, amendments, Investigator’s Brochures, informed consent forms, safety documents, regulatory materials, analysis plans and outputs, and Clinical Study Reports.

·    Extensive experience with clinical and safety data review, interpretation of integrated evidence, and preparation of decision-quality recommendations for governance and senior leadership.

·    Proven ability to influence and deliver at senior leadership level, internally and externally, and to lead effectively across functions without direct authority.

·    Strong collaborative communication, problem solving, issue management, and conflict-navigation skills, with a solution-focused and accountable approach.

·    Working knowledge of ICH-GCP, inspection readiness, global health-authority expectations, and clinical quality systems.

·    Ability to manage multiple priorities, make sound judgments with incomplete information, and maintain a high standard of scientific and operational quality.

• undefined

Essential Qualifications and Experience

·    Clinical development expertise in one or more immunology disease areas and experience with innovative therapeutic modalities, including cell therapy, biologics, or other advanced therapies.

·    Experience leading a discipline, skill group, community of practice, or departmental capability initiative.

·    Experience with portfolio planning, departmental resource management, operating-model design, or delivery of functional scorecard objectives.

·    Experience leading external alliances or collaborations with academic institutions, investigators, consortia, service providers, CROs, or strategic partners.

·    Understanding of translational medicine, biomarkers, clinical pharmacology, biostatistics, data science, safety, regulatory, CMC, and commercial considerations across the development lifecycle.

·    External scientific credibility demonstrated through publications, presentations, professional networks, or recognized contribution to the field.

·    Familiarity with clinical review and analytics tools including AI and with data-analysis environments

·    Ability to travel nationally and internationally as required.

The annual base pay for this position ranges from $233,586.40 - $350,379.60 USD. Our positions offer eligibility for various incentives—an opportunity to receive short-term incentive bonuses, equity-based awards for salaried roles and commissions for sales roles. Benefits offered include qualified retirement programs, paid time off (i.e., vacation, holiday, and leaves), as well as health, dental, and vision coverage in accordance with the terms of the applicable plans.

Date Posted

10-Nov-2026

Closing Date

29-Nov-2026

Our mission is to build an inclusive environment where equal employment opportunities are available to all applicants and employees. In furtherance of that mission, we welcome and consider applications from all qualified candidates, regardless of their protected characteristics. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please complete the corresponding section in the application form.

AstraZeneca embraces diversity and equality of opportunity. We are committed to building an inclusive and diverse team representing all backgrounds, with as wide a range of perspectives as possible, and harnessing industry-leading skills. We believe that the more inclusive we are, the better our work will be. We welcome and consider applications to join our team from all qualified candidates, regardless of their characteristics. We comply with all applicable laws and regulations on non-discrimination in employment (and recruitment), as well as work authorisation and employment eligibility verification requirements.