**Purpose of the Role**

The Head of Innovation/Next Generation Platforms is a critical strategic leader responsible for driving scientific and technological breakthroughs that enhance Evotec’s drug discovery and development capabilities. This role, reporting to the Chief Scientific Officer, a management board member,leads a dedicatedR&D team, that looks into disruptive technologies and Platform innovation, i.e., agnostic to Therapeutic Areas. He/she will lead a small number of central R&D programs with Game-changing revenue potential (“big bets”). The details on the innovation areas will need to be developed,agreed uponand monitoredin the Innovation Board. The function serves as a catalyst for transformative innovation, supporting co-development projects with partners and reinforcing Evotec’s position as a leading data-driven biotech company. Within that function it will include asmall central scouting & ideation teamthat collects and assesses innovation opportunities and presents to an Innovation board, aligned and supported in part by either the Head of Therapeutic Areas, the Head of In silico/AI or Segment Heads as far as their technology platforms are concerned.

**Why This Role is Critical**

This role is essential in shaping the future of Evotec’s innovation ecosystem, ensuring that next-generation platforms drive scientific breakthroughs and business growth. It enables Evotec’s strategic transformation, positioning the company at the forefront of industrialized drug discovery and development driven bysuperior data and AI**.**

**Key Responsibilities**

**1. Strategic Leadership in Innovation & Platform Development**

- Define and execute Evotec’s Next Generation Platforms strategy, ensuring alignment with corporate innovation goals and industry trends.This includes the selection of the Innovation areas to be proceeded going forward
- Monitor all selected Innovation programs continuously, present them in the Innovation Board and ensure progress
- Lead the development, validation, and integration/transfer into Operations of advanced biological, digital, and computational platforms to accelerate drug discovery.
- Oversee the transition of innovations from proof-of-concept to scalable solutions within Evotec’s service and partnership model.
- Act as the scientific and strategic voice for Platform innovation, representing Evotec in key external collaborations, conferences, and thought leadership forums.

**2. Cross-Functional & External Collaboration**

- Partner with R&D, Operations, and BD teams to align innovation efforts with customer needs and commercial opportunities.
- Drive co-development partnerships with biotech, pharma, and academic institutions to expand Evotec’s technology leadership.
- Collaborate with Therapeutic Area Heads to tailor platform innovations to specific disease areas (Immunology, Oncology, Neurology, Cardiovascular & Metabolic Diseases, etc.).
- Ensure seamless integration of Next Generation Platforms into Evotec’s drug discovery and development workflows.
- Establish a small central scouting & ideation team that collects and assesses innovation opportunities and presents selected major opportunities to an Innovation board

**3. Operational & Financial Oversight**

- Develop and manage the investment roadmap for Next Generation Platforms, ensuring alignment with business priorities and ROI expectations.
- Oversee budgeting and resource allocation, ensuring that platform investments are efficiently leveraged.
- Establish KPIs and success metrics to track innovation impact, ensuring scientific and commercial viability.

**4. Capability Building & Technology Acceleration**

- Lead a small scouting and ideation team that collects and assesses innovation opportunities and identifies and initiates selected next-gen innovation technology projects.
- Build, as/when required, a multi-disciplinary team of scientists, engineers, and data experts, to establish and execute these selected technology projects, fostering a culture of breakthrough innovation.
- Ensure Evotec remains at the forefront of cutting-edge science and technology in drug discovery by handing these technology projects over to Operations when fully validated.

**5. Innovation Board Leadership & Governance**

- Design, establish and lead Evotec’s newly formed Innovation Board (IB), a cross-functional governance body responsible for screening, reviewing, and deciding on R&D budget investments for innovation projects.
- Develop and implement a structured process for proposal submissions, ensuring accessibility across all functionssubmitting proposals.
- Prepare and facilitate quarterly IB meetings, chair discussions, and ensure comprehensive documentation of decisions and actions.
- Maintain a neutral and facilitative role during proceedings, summarize outcomes, and track follow-ups to ensure accountability and transparency.
- Ensure that the IB proposal review process, decisions, and outcomes are aligned with and communicated to other relevant functions such as Strategy, Transformation, Finance, Project Management, and Commercial.

**Knowledge & Experience**

- Deep expertise in technological innovation trends in the Drug Discovery and/or Biotech industry.
- Proven track record in leading innovation and technology development in biotech, pharma, or academia.
- Experience managing complex projects, and multidisciplinary stakeholder environments.
- Strong financial acumen and experience with project-based ownership for ROI’s, budget management, and resource planning.
- Strong partnership development experience, particularly in co-innovation and strategic collaborations. Solid understanding of IP and compliance-related aspects around investing into innovative technology projects and activities.
- Excellent ability to translate scientific/technological innovation into commercially viable solutions.
- PhD or equivalent experience in Life Sciences, Computational Biology, Bioinformatics, AI, or a related field.

**Competencies**

**Thought Leadership**

*Shaping Strategy:*The Head of Innovation/Next Generation Platforms is forward-thinking - consistently anticipating market shifts, understands current and future players, and proactively shapes actions to capitalize on opportunities.

*Leading Innovation:*This leaderdemonstrates the ability to develop and execute Innovation platform strategies, driving scientific platforms and aligning these with organizational goals and values.S/he shapes technology platform strategies in partnership with R&D and Operations function leaders to drive changeleads the organization in pioneering new approaches.

**Business Leadership**

*Driving Outcomes:*Demonstrates a solid understanding of commercial strategies and applies them to achieve business success.

*Building Customer Value:*frequentlyinitiates contact with customers, showing genuine interest in their needs and feedback to identify innovation opportunities for Evotec. Demonstrates a thorough understanding of customer preferences and anticipates their needs effectively. Provides well-thought-out solutions to customer issues, aiming for long-term satisfaction and value

**People Leadership**

*Influencing and collaborating effectively:* works with colleagues across functions to ensure the Innovation / Next Generation Platforms strategy is understood. Encourages strong engagement within the team, fostering a culture of collaboration and support. Integrates feedback seamlessly into work processes, using it to drive continuous improvement and innovation.

*Leading Teams: *effectively delegates,trusting team members to handle responsibilities and provides necessary support and development; consistently communicates a clear vision and direction, ensures team alignment and understanding.  Demonstrates strategic thinking in problem-solving, addressing root causes and implementing long-term solutions.

FR : Dans le cadre de sa politique Diversité, Evotec étudie, à compétences égales, toutes les candidatures dont celles des personnes en situation de handicap.

ENG : In the frame of our Diversity policy, Evotec considers, with equal competences, all applications including people with disabilities.