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Vice President EMEA Medical Affairs
Name of Company
ConfidentialSector
Neurology and OncologyLocation
EMEAThe Brief
Our long-standing client is a mid-sized global pharmaceutical organisation that has an established presence in neurology and oncology. Due to growth and organisational restructuring, the business sought to appoint a newly created VP medical post, which would be a critical hire in the regional executive leadership team.
Although this organisation typically uses a small handful of agencies to recruit, given the seniority of the hire, they specifically chose Pharma-Partners from amongst their preferred supplier list to deliver this recruitment assignment on an exclusive basis.
Candidate Requirements
- Qualified physician
- Significant medical affairs leadership experience such as a VP or executive medical director position
- Significant regional and/or global line management experience, leading across countries and therapy areas
- In-depth experience in either oncology or neurology, and preferably both
- Ability to work as part of a regional executive leadership team comprising various functions i.e., medical, commercial, regulatory, market access, and HR
- Preferred experience of managing cross-company collaborations and alliances/partnerships.
Challenges
- This was a newly created role and therefore needed to be enticing to candidates from the outset as 90% of candidates at this level would be passive
- Making sure we properly engaged with the right senior candidates and developed trusting relationships was absolutely critical
- Oncology and neurology are highly competitive therapy areas when it comes to securing the best talent, so this was a high pressure search.
Our Solution
- We created a thorough brief alongside the CEO and head of talent acquisition, then agreed a communication plan throughout the search process with opportunities for feedback sessions
- We held weekly catch-up meetings on process and prospective candidates we had identified
- We created highly detailed and informative CV cover sheets which fully explained each candidate’s current situation, motivations for pursuing the role, and what they knew about this particular client
- We managed a multi-layered interview process involving senior company stakeholders at CEO and CMO level
- Via our existing extensive network, market mapping and referrals, we identified 43 potential candidates with relevant experience
- We identified, briefed and met a total of 17 candidates
- Six candidates were submitted.
- Four candidates were interviewed at the first stage, and two candidates moved to final stages. One candidate selected and offered.
- We were able to deliver on all of the above within a period of seven weeks.
My recent experience with Toby was that he was thoughtful and measured in steering a path forward, allowing me to process information and appraise a potential career opportunity. He is a good listener and communicator and importantly has the skill to build rapport and TRUST, enabling the optimal outcome. Thank you, Toby