Director, Life Sciences Consulting, UK + EMEA

Full time

CF is a leading consultancy dedicated to making an enduring impact on health and healthcare. We work with leaders and frontline teams to improve health, transform healthcare, embed life science innovation and boost growth through investment.

We have extensive experience of collaborating with top life science companies, including pharma, biotech, medical devices and diagnostics. By combining deep insights into health systems with cutting-edge market research, real-world evidence, and strategic digital solutions, we accelerate the adoption and performance of innovations. 

We also create optimal policy conditions for healthcare advancements through evidence-based thought leadership, taking a proactive stance on key issues. This comprehensive, 360 approach aids clients in improving uptake of technologies, for the benefit of patients everywhere.

CF’s life sciences consulting, research and data capabilities combines deep knowledge of health systems with unparalleled access to healthcare data. We hold direct access to record-level data on 57 million patients in England and leverage the the world’s largest, linked, longitudinal patient-level data set. 

Our approach

As a trusted partner to both health systems and the life sciences industry, CF supports pharma understand and navigate the path to innovation uptake. 

We support clients with an in-depth understanding of healthcare systems and patient pathways, market research, real world evidence, digital products and strategy to drive innovation uptake and performance. We have a deep understanding of different disease pathologies and pathways and worked extensively across multiple therapeutic areas, including cancer, neurology, cardiovascular diseases, and rare diseases.

Through our strong relationships with leaders – we have worked with the majority of the 20 biggest pharma companies and in depth work with health systems– we facilitate productive collaborations between life sciences, government and health systems partners, payors and providers. We also create the right policy conditions for innovations to thrive through highly impactful thought leadership reports that take a proactive stance on key issues. This comprehensive, 360 approach aids clients in improving uptake of technologies, for the benefit of patients everywhere.

Our life sciences offer

Whilst we work closely with local affiliates, regional and global colleagues across the medicines life cycle, our particular emphasis is in market preparation and pre-launch, and post-launch support. We recognise that every uptake challenge is unique, which is why our offer covers the breadth of possible needs. Our key focus is on system shaping which can include value proposition, pathway transformation, population health management, case finding for rare disease, facilitating partnerships with health systems, establishing value based agreements. 

CF’s unique combination of consultancy, award winning data science and data engineering capabilities, and strong track record in research positions us to support you with meaningful evidence generation and strategy and application of real world data.  

This is an exciting opportunity to join our Life Sciences consulting team at a senior level, focusing on the global life sciences sector, with emphasis on consulting, research and data capabilities. Working alongside the Managing Partner, Business Development Manager, and wider CF leadership team, you will contribute to the growth and development of our life sciences offering, driving work that supports sustainable growth and innovation uptake in the industry. You will bring a strong brand, a growing reputation, and extensive experience in life sciences consulting.

Our purpose

To have enduring positive impact on health and healthcare.

Our mission

To be invaluable to our clients, supporting them to innovate and make lasting improvements and to build an exceptional company that attracts, develops, and retains a trusted and uniquely talented team.

Our strategic intent

We are focussed on building the leading consulting company dedicated to the health sector. We serve the entire sector including healthcare systems (providers, payors, regulators), life sciences (pharma, biotech, devices, and diagnostics), health investing, health tech (data, digital and apps) and the wider suppliers to the sector (infrastructure, consumables and supporting services). Our clients in life sciences focus primarily on big pharma as well as mid-size pharma and biotech, devices and health tech.

Our consulting is renowned for its use of data and the insights this creates. We have access to more UK healthcare data than any other company and are expert it its safe use for delivering healthcare, improving health, managing services, supporting uptake of innovation, undertaking research, and generating evidence. We are expanding our footprint across Europe, with a focus on France, Germany and Swizerland, where we aim to leverage our expertise to drive impactful change in these Life Sciences markets. As we grow internationally, we are excited to bring our innovative solutions and deep sector knowledge to new regions, helping to shape the future of health systems globally.

We are growing a team of expert consultants who want to be at the leading edge of the profession and who have a passion for health. With structured career development from Analyst to Partner in a model of apprenticeship, mentorship, and formal training alongside opportunities to work in industry we are cultivating the leaders of the future. We support future leaders to grow and develop their own unique focus that builds on their expertise, our capabilities and creates value for our clients.

Role summary

The Director will lead delivery teams to provide high-quality, impactful consulting services. You will build and manage client relationships, leveraging significant delivery experience to ensure projects are completed within scope, time, and budget. As a senior leader, you will also take ownership of the commercial aspects of client engagements, manage risks, and direct teams of both management and technical consultants.

In addition to delivering exceptional work, the Director will play a key role in business development—identifying new opportunities, building client relationships, and contributing to the growth of the Life Sciences practice. You will help shape compelling proposals, and work alongside the Partner team to meet revenue targets.

Responsibilities
The role’s responsibilities are organised into four key areas:

Client Delivery

• Act as Delivery Partner on multiple client engagements simultaneously, ensuring excellent client relationships are developed in each and balancing time appropriately
• Build and maintain strong client relationships, ensuring satisfaction and successful delivery
• Lead the orchestration and delivery of complex projects to agreed scope, quality, timeframe and resources, actively providing direction to the content of the work
• Manage team performance, providing mentorship and regular feedback
• Collaborate with the Accountable Partner to ensure client engagement and problem-solving

Securing Future Work

• Develop a network of global key decision makers within the life sciences industry
• Contribute to revenue growth with existing and new clients
• Contribute to business development from awareness to winning work 
• Lead the development of distinctive, high-quality proposals and pricing strategies

Thought Leadership & Knowledge Development

• Develop a compelling and distinctive personal brand in Life Sciences globally with distinctive knowledge
• Building a reputation as a trusted advisor and thought leader  

• Role-model and lead teams in adopting best practice and embedding innovation in all work 

• Codifying  knowledge developed in client delivery and frameworks for approaches and methods used to be leveraged by other teams in proposal development and client delivery 

• Creating reference cases through our work and capturing these to share CF story of impact 
• Produce timely thought-leadership with a global lense adopting the CF brand guidelines 

People Leadership & Mentorship

• Connect with, support, coach and influence senior clients as their trusted advisor 

• Create effective team working internal to CF and in partnership with clients 

• Mentor client delivery teams to enable the growth and development of team members 

• Mentor bid managers to ensure excellent high-quality and distinctive proposals  

• Support development of staff, acting as a development sponsor to up to five team members 

• Act as faculty in training modules which relate to your strengths  

• Provide stable and situational leadership under pressure and across competing priorities  

• Role model and create the context for all staff to live the CF values and adhere to the CF code of conduct. 

• Socialise with colleagues and clients to create a meaningful and trusted relationship, fostering psychological safety for all.   

Requirements

To be successful in this role, you are likely to have a combination of the following:

Mandatory: 

• 8 years experience in a consulting role within Life Sciences globally
• 5 years of managerial experience
• Fluency in English and another European language
• Extensive project leadership experience
• Exceptional team management skills, including multi-disciplinary teams
• Excellent verbal and written communication
• People development skills
• Ability to delegate efficiently
• A strong network in the industry and / or proven sales and business development ability
• Extensive industry knowledge with an eye towards the future especially in EMEA
• Relevant degree or certification
• Flexibility to travel across the UK, EMEA and Americas

Flexible working 

We embrace a hybrid working model, combining the best of remote and in-person collaboration. Our consulting team are together in person at least four days a week with flexibility to be in the office between our core hours of 10-4pm. Our default approach is to be in-person with our clients. 

In addition, up to four weeks a year each member of staff can work entirely virtually.  

Our commitment to Diversity & Inclusion

We are committed to building an inclusive and supportive culture where diversity thrives, and all our people can excel. We only recruit, promote and reward our people based on their skills and contribution, without regard to gender, race, disability, religion, nationality, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age, marital status, or other characteristics.

We are Disability Confident Accredited, and we want you to feel comfortable and able to perform at your best in the recruitment process, if you require any reasonable adjustments for any part of the recruitment process, please let us know.

Benefits

• Holiday entitlement: 30 days year for leadership, increasing by 1 day for every year of service up to a maximum of 35 days of holiday per year
• We contribute 7% of your salary into your pension, while you contribute 3% (or more if you like)
• Access to a flexible benefits programme giving you the chance to increase pension contributions, gain access to a cash plan or benefit from a ClassPass subscription
• Annual leave purchase: employees with less than 35 days annual leave entitlement are able to purchase additional annual leave days
• Income protection: in the event of long-term incapacity and a qualifying claim, 75% of salary will be paid
• Enhanced sick pay benefit beyond Statutory Sick Pay for up to a total 12 weeks in any 12-month period
• Life insurance covering four times your basic salary in a tax-free lump sum payable to your beneficiaries in the event of your death whilst in service
• Enhanced family leave policies: additional pay for parents who have a baby or adopt
• Access to an interest-free season ticket loan, repayable by 12 monthly instalments
• Workplace nursery scheme: access to a scheme to help working parents save tax and NI on the cost of the nursery care
• Flexible working policy: including the ability to work fully remotely for up to 4 weeks a year
• An employee assistance and wellness Program: including access to telephone counselling, life coaching, interactive tools online and digital content downloadable from Lifeworks
•  Seasonal flu jabs: provided by Boots annually
•  Eye care tests: vouchers and discounts at Vision Express
•  Ride to work scheme, saving up to 42% on bikes and cycling accessories at Evans Cycles
• Membership to the Health Service Journal (HSJ)