Associate Director, Clinical Data Translation

Planet Pharma is seeking an experienced and strategic leader to drive the development and delivery of high-impact health data initiatives that accelerate patient outcomes and advance healthcare innovation. This role sits at the intersection of clinical research, health data, digital health, and translational science, leading the identification, development, and mobilisation of complex programmes that transform data into meaningful patient benefit.

The successful candidate will work across healthcare, academia, industry, and public sector organisations to identify opportunities, build partnerships, develop investment cases, and establish clear routes from concept to implementation. This is a highly visible role requiring both strategic influence and hands-on programme leadership.

Key Responsibilities

Health Data Ecosystem Leadership

• Build and maintain senior relationships across health data ecosystems, including NHS organisations, Secure Data Environments, registries, research networks, and national healthcare initiatives.
• Engage with healthcare leaders, regulators, funders, charities, academic institutions, and industry partners to develop collaborative opportunities.
• Influence and shape health data priorities that support innovation in rare diseases, infectious diseases, and broader healthcare challenges.

Strategic Programme Development

• Identify, assess, and prioritise health data opportunities and translate them into investment-ready programmes and business cases.
• Develop strategic roadmaps, partnership models, governance approaches, and delivery plans.
• Lead cross-functional collaboration across data science, clinical, regulatory, business development, legal, and operational teams.
• Prepare governance submissions, investment recommendations, risk assessments, and executive-level decision papers.

Clinical Research & Evidence Generation

• Drive innovative approaches to leveraging routine healthcare data across clinical trial feasibility, patient recruitment, follow-up, and real-world evidence generation.
• Develop evidence strategies that support diagnostics, therapeutics, digital health solutions, and data-enabled healthcare interventions.
• Identify opportunities to improve the generation and application of healthcare insights through advanced data methodologies.

Rare Disease & Translational Science

• Partner with scientific and clinical stakeholders to improve access to health data, strengthen evidence generation, and accelerate translational research programmes.
• Support initiatives that enable faster progression from discovery to patient impact.

AI & Digital Health Innovation

• Work closely with data science and technology teams to evaluate and translate AI-enabled healthcare solutions into practical projects and programmes.
• Support the advancement of Software as a Medical Device (SaMD) and AI as a Medical Device (AIaMD) initiatives through strategic planning and stakeholder engagement.

Enterprise Leadership

• Provide matrix leadership across multidisciplinary teams to align priorities and ensure successful programme mobilisation.
• Integrate scientific, clinical, technical, governance, and operational considerations into strategic decision-making.
• Contribute to due diligence and evaluation activities for partnerships, investments, and collaborative programmes.

Programme Delivery & Governance

• Define programme objectives, milestones, governance frameworks, risks, and delivery models.
• Monitor progress against agreed objectives, KPIs, and stakeholder expectations.
• Ensure programmes maintain momentum through complexity, uncertainty, and evolving priorities.

Experience Required

Essential

• Proven experience leading complex health data, clinical research, digital health, or translational science programmes from concept through delivery.
• Strong track record of influencing senior stakeholders and making strategic recommendations in complex environments.
• Established network across healthcare, research, academic, industry, or government sectors.
• Deep understanding of health data governance, data access processes, interoperability, clinical coding, and secure research environments.
• Experience developing business cases, investment proposals, partnership models, and programme roadmaps.
• Ability to balance strategic thinking with operational execution.
• Credibility working with technical, clinical, regulatory, and delivery teams across healthcare innovation initiatives.

Desirable

• Experience working within the UK health data ecosystem and national health data programmes.
• Knowledge of AIaMD and SaMD development pathways, healthcare regulation, and clinical safety requirements.
• Experience in rare disease research, patient registries, or translational medicine.
• Familiarity with major health data initiatives, biobanks, registries, and large-scale research programmes.
• Understanding of digital health adoption, evaluation, and health technology assessment.
• Experience involving patients and public contributors in research and programme development.

Qualifications

Essential

• Advanced degree or equivalent professional experience in one of the following areas:
• Clinical Research
• Health Data Science
• Epidemiology
• Population Health
• Digital Health
• Health Informatics
• Translational Science
• Healthcare Innovation

Desirable

• Registered healthcare professional qualification (e.g., physician, nurse, pharmacist, or allied health professional).
• Postgraduate training or certification in clinical research, health data governance, digital health, clinical safety, health informatics, or related disciplines.

What We're Looking For

• Strategic and enterprise-minded leadership.
• Exceptional stakeholder engagement and influencing skills.
• Strong commercial and operational judgement.
• Ability to translate complex opportunities into funded, deliverable programmes.
• Deep understanding of healthcare data, evidence generation, and digital health innovation.
• Strong programme leadership skills with a focus on delivering measurable patient impact.