Senior Director of Advanced Therapies / Riyadh

Position OverviewGermfree seeks an entrepreneurial advanced therapies leader to serve as its senior on-the-ground program integrator and direct extension of the CEO in Saudi Arabia. The position supports the development and activation of a major advanced therapies manufacturing and innovation center at King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Centre (KFSHRC).This is not a construction project management role. The successful candidate understands the continuum from preclinical and IND-enabling development through clinical translation, GMP manufacturing and clinical trials, and can turn that understanding into coordinated action across hospital leadership, scientists, engineering teams, quality and regulatory specialists, partners and subcontractors.The objective is to help deliver not just completed infrastructure, but a clinically relevant, operationally ready and sustainable advanced therapies enterprise. KFSHRC retains ownership of its clinical, regulatory and institutional decisions.Core Responsibilities· CEO representative and program integration: maintain a single integrated view of strategic objectives, milestones, interfaces, commitments, risks and decisions; lead cross-functional issue resolution and provide concise weekly CEO reporting.· Clinical translation and therapeutic pipeline: support development of a 24–36-month map of named therapeutic assets, investigators, development stages, regulatory paths, patient populations, manufacturing needs and trial timing.· IND-to-clinic expertise: facilitate assessment of IND-enabling, CMC, clinical trial activation, technology transfer and regulatory-readiness dependencies; engage appropriate subject-matter experts when specialized decisions are required.· GMP operational readiness: coordinate readiness plans for organization, staffing, quality systems, equipment qualification, process validation, environmental monitoring, tech transfer and manufacturing launch; define owners and activation gates.· Executive partnership and institutional capability: work closely and collaboratively with KFSHRC leadershop; help translate complex technical and operational questions into actionable decisions and strengthen institutional leadership capabilities.· Subcontractor and interface management: surface and escalate performance, schedule, readiness and handoff problems; drive closure with designated technical, commercial and contractual owners without assuming their authority.· Executive fellowship and partnerships: coordinate the proposed benchmarking and knowledge-exchange program with academic medical centers and ecosystem organizations.· Governance and communication: maintain integrated risk, decision and action registers; prepare steering committee materials; ensure commitments have owners, deadlines and follow-through.Required Qualifications· Bachelor’s degree in life sciences, biotechnology, biomedical engineering, pharmaceutical sciences or a related field; advanced degree preferred.· Approximately 8–15 years of progressively responsible experience in advanced therapies, cell or gene therapy, biologics development, clinical translation or GMP operations.· Practical experience across multiple stages of the therapeutic lifecycle, ideally including preclinical/IND-enabling work, CMC, GMP manufacturing and clinical trial preparation or execution.· Strong understanding of GMP quality systems, regulatory development pathways, technology transfer and operational readiness.· Demonstrated ability to lead complex, cross-functional programs and influence senior stakeholders without direct authority.· Executive-level communication, independent judgment, cultural adaptability and willingness to relocate to Riyadh.Preferred Experience· Academic medical center, translational research institute, cell/gene therapy developer or advanced therapies CDMO experience.· Direct involvement in progressing a therapeutic asset toward first-in-human trials or activating a new GMP manufacturing capability.· Experience building partnerships across academic, clinical, biotechnology and government stakeholders.· International program experience; Middle East experience helpful but not essential.Leadership ProfileHigh-energy, curious and resourceful; scientifically credible; commercially aware; comfortable with ambiguity; willing to work at both executive and detailed operational levels; skilled at building trust and driving decisions. Strong potential for broader Germfree enterprise leadership.Authority: empowered to coordinate, challenge, track and escalate program-wide issues. Contract changes, commercial commitments, technical design approvals and client-owned clinical or regulatory decisions remain with authorized owners.Assignment and BenefitsRiyadh-based expatriate role with regular on-site engagement at KFSHRC and international travel. Compensation and expatriate support to be determined by HR; anticipated elements may include relocation, housing, medical coverage and home leave, subject to company policy and applicable law.The OpportunityAn unusually broad opportunity to work directly with Germfree’s CEO and help connect world-class infrastructure to the clinical programs, talent and partnerships that enable life-changing advanced therapies. Germfree — Made for Mission Critical.