Juvena Therapeutics, Inc. is a regenerative medicine biotechnology startup inviting applicants for Senior of Program and Alliance Management to assist in helping drive our drug discovery platform and preclinical development programs. Candidates should be excited to join a company focused on the discovery and development of novel disease-modifying biologics that promote tissue regeneration by inducing tissue-specific rejuvenating phenotypes. We are discovering and developing various biologics that can promote disease-modifying effects such as increased stem cell activity, increased muscle regeneration, increased metabolism, reduced chronic or localized inflammation, and reduced fibrosis.

You will serve as the hands-on program and alliance manager of a Discovery and Platform project portfolio core to Juvena’s strategy working at the interface of senior leadership and strategic partners. You will help plan, coordinate, and communicate R&D KPIs to drive portfolio management processes of operational objectives. You will also play a critical role in managing and fostering relationships with strategic partners, ensuring that collaborations deliver value to all stakeholders. You will serve as the primary point of contact for alliance partners, working cross-functionally to ensure alignment, track milestones, and resolve challenges.

The position is full-time, partly on-site. This is the perfect opportunity for someone interested in the exciting and fast-paced environment of a startup company and looking to make a difference in improving people’s lives through science.

*Title commensurate with experience

Company Summary

Juvena Therapeutics is on a mission to discover and develop biologics for rare and chronic degenerative diseases by mining the secretomes of human pluripotent stem cells through a machine learning (ML)-enhanced platform. Juvena’s approach integrates proteomics, transcriptomics and imaging with phenotypic human in vitro disease model screening and extensive preclinical validation to mine stem cell secretomes as a rich source of new medicines for chronic and rare diseases. We are advancing leads for muscular dystrophies, muscle atrophy, injury, and osteopathies. Since our launch in mid-2018, Juvena has discovered and validated 22 hits for neuromuscular, skeletal, and metabolic diseases. Juvena is advancing a lead program for Myotonic Dystrophy Type 1, a rare autosomal dominant, progressive muscle-wasting disease.

Juvena Therapeutics has secured venture capital, NIH, and CIRM funding to develop their top lead to a clinical-stage investigational new drug, to build their stem cell secretome database, and to leverage their discovery platform to rapidly identify and validate novel protein-based drug candidates for multiple rare and chronic diseases across inflammatory, cardiometabolic and hepatic therapeutic areas.

At Juvena we embrace a diversity of backgrounds, experience and approaches that all combine to lead us to world-class scientific results in an inclusive environment.

Company Location

640 Galveston Dr. Redwood City, 94063

Strong preference for onsite work at our office, but open to hybrid or remote working arrangements.

The candidate must be legally authorized to work in the U.S.

Key responsibilities

Working with senior leadership and other stakeholders, lead the establishment of integrated KPIs, R&D program plans, and portfolio management processes that provide a foundation for driving operational objectives, deliverables, governance, execution, and timelines.
This is a key leadership role within Juvena Therapeutics, Inc., facilitating across internal technical and cross-functional teams, as well as owning the external pharmaceutical relationship management
Translate operational outputs into executive governance tactics/strategies
Drive the potential pharma collaboration alliance management efforts, building strong relationships with external and internal stakeholders. Serve as the main contact for G&A matters and handle any contract issues or disputes that arise, working closely with the Head of Finance and Operations to manage payments and contracts and budget issues
Manage meetings, including setting agendas, scheduling, and capturing meeting minutes.
Work alongside scientists as peers, transforming their insights and work into actionable information/intelligence for program leads and executives to base key decisions off of
Develop and directly manage project portfolio plans for a) the Discovery programs through IND-filing for multiple Therapeutic Areas, and for b) the Platform program including Data Science/Bioinformatics/AI-ML projects.
Monitor ongoing projects for potential risks and develop proactive mitigation strategies with management and the relevant R&D teams. Identify, track, and support resolution efforts for all program-related issues and effectively communicate to relevant internal and external contractor teams via regular and ad-hoc status updates.
Drive resource planning and impact analysis of priority change/pivot scenarios. Manage changes to project scope, ensuring that all impacts and changes are approved and appropriately communicated.
Liaise with external partners such as pharmaceutical companies and critical suppliers.
Develop and maintain project/portfolio dashboards, reports, and metrics including timeline GANTTS and status summaries.
Step in as necessary to drive down general administrative or technical debt associated with a fast moving start-up environment

Position Qualifications

This position is a great fit if you have/are:

MS or PhD + PMP certification (Scientific or Computational focused advanced degree is a plus).
3+ years of relevant experience in alliance management or business development experience in the life sciences sector
Proven Track Record: Demonstrated success in managing high-impact partnerships, with an emphasis on deep cross-functional collaboration in biotechnology. Experience with biologics or drug discovery alliances is preferred. Alliance management experience initiating and advancing an internal portfolio with strategic partners
Industry Knowledge: Strong understanding of the biotechnology industry, regulatory considerations, and market trends.
5+ years of program management experience in pharmaceutical industry R&D.
Skills: Excellent communication, relationship management, negotiation, and collaboration skills, with the ability to drive alignment across cross-functional teams.
Track record of advancing R&D programs through Discovery to developmental candidate nomination
Ability to wear many hats with a team-first attitude.

Compensation and Benefits

$135,000- $175,000 annual salary

On top of a competitive salary for this role of $135,000- $175,000, we offer Medical, Dental, Vision, paid holidays, 401k plan with partial company match, generous stock options, and a target bonus. Salary range and total compensation is based on candidate qualifications, skill level and internal equity.

Apply Now

Please email your CV and Cover Letter to apply@juvena.mysites.io with the title of the position as the subject line.

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