Manager/Senior Manager of Diligence and Program Strategy
Chicago, Illinois
On-site / Hybrid
About the Chicago Biomedical Consortium
The Chicago Biomedical Consortium (CBC) project is a nonprofit translational venture platform for academic biotherapeutics and biotech products. The CBC advances academic discoveries from our Member Universities into clinical and commercial pathways for public benefit.
The CBC works with universities, technology transfer offices (TTOs), and, most importantly, faculty inventors to validate early scientific findings, draft development plans, build and run scientific operations, set strategic positioning, and establish the commercial groundwork that turns a laboratory finding into an investor-ready asset. The CBC’s goal is to hand off the work to a Seed or Series A investor. We provide the advisory infrastructure, scientific translation, regulatory strategy, and commercial framing that convert a research program into a licensable asset that can be brought into a company and financed — and we train the next generation of translational-biomedicine entrepreneurs in the process.
The CBC is funded by philanthropy and Federal dollars to “patiently” build scientific projects into investable data packages and companies that will benefit Illinois, and eventually, the Midwest. While we retain some ownership of programs that run through our unique “Greenhouse” model, our goal is to build value for founders, investors, and the Illinois biotech ecosystem. We are the missing link that turns the “Valley of Death” into a navigable journey that ends with early-stage, institutional, or pharma investment.
About the Diligence & Program Strategy Team
The Diligence and Program Strategy (DPS) team is responsible for (1) delivering comprehensive assessments to determine which academic translational biotech innovations are attractive for CBC investment and development, and (2) addressing key strategic questions to support program advancement once a program is in flight. The team uses structured evaluation frameworks and “reasons to believe” analyses to conduct rigorous scientific, clinical, and commercial assessment of relative program attractiveness.
The DPS team works in close partnership with the Program Management and Scientific Operations (PMSO) team. DPS leads all evaluation and pre-funding stages with PMSO support; PMSO leads all post-funding execution with DPS strategic support. Both teams contribute to program sourcing.
The DPS team reports to the SVP of Diligence and Program Strategy. The Manger/Senior Manager role is an individual-contributor position — it does not have direct-report personnel management responsibilities — but is a core member of the team and is expected to grow as the CBC and the team mature.
About the Role
Reporting to the SVP of Diligence and Program Strategy, the Manager/Senior Manager of Diligence and Program Strategy is an early-career individual contributor on the CBC’s DPS team. The Manager/Senior Manager executes pieces of scientific, clinical, and commercial diligence on candidate programs under the direction of the SVP and the DPS Director, and contributes to strategic analyses for programs already in flight.
This role is structured for a sharp, high-performing scientist who is one to two years out of a PhD (or equivalent) and is looking to build a career in translational biotech evaluation. The Manager/Senior Manager is expected to perform well-scoped analytical work with strong supervision early on, and to grow steadily into more independent diligence and PI-facing work over time.
Key Responsibilities
- Execute scientific diligence components: Conduct literature reviews, target and mechanism analyses, and translational-risk assessments on candidate programs. Identify key technical risks and propose potential “killer” experiments under the direction of the Director and SVP (in collaboration with PMSO).
- Commercial and competitive analysis: Build competitive landscape maps, comparable-company analyses, and initial market-sizing assessments. Pull and synthesize information from drug development and investor databases.
- Target product profile and positioning support: Contribute to the development of target product profiles and product-positioning analyses, with review and direction from the Director and SVP.
- Primary research support: Help design and conduct primary research with KOLs and other experts — preparing discussion guides, scheduling, taking structured notes, and synthesizing findings into the CBC decision materials. Direct PI engagement begins with shadowing and grows over time.
- Diligence package preparation: Prepare and quality-check diligence decks, memos, and decision documents for the SVP and the CBC’s Scientific Review Board / Venture board.
- Project management support: Manage timelines, task tracking, and deliverable readiness for assigned diligence workstreams. Coordinate with Entrepreneurial Fellows, interns, and external contributors on scoped pieces of work.
- Funding application support: Support the Director and PMSO with research and drafting for non-dilutive funding applications.
Qualifications
- Manager –
- Undergraduate degree in a life-science discipline or related discipline.
- 1-2 years of experience working in a life science or business role.
- Senior Manager –
- PhD in a life-science discipline (or experience-equivalent qualification).
- 1–2 years of post-graduate experience in a life science or business role.
- Detail-oriented, highly analytical, and structured thinker, with a track record of performance excellence (academic, research, or otherwise).
- Clear and concise written and verbal communication.
- Enjoys turning ambiguity into defensible recommendations.
- Highly curious but also skeptical; motivated by learning and professional growth.
- Comfort with AI research tools, Microsoft Office, and investor and drug-development databases (e.g., PitchBook, GlobalData, BiomedTracker, BCIQ); prior hands-on experience with these tools is a plus.
What You’ll Gain
- An opportunity to drive academic translational research toward therapies that could benefit patients.
- The ability to work across diverse therapeutic areas and treatment modalities, including steering emerging drug discovery platform technologies toward high-unmet-need indications.
- A systematic understanding of how to evaluate potential therapeutic technologies on technical and commercial merits.
- A structured approach to project management that scales across tasks and industries.
- Direct exposure to scientific and business advisors from venture capital, industry, and academia, and to the CBC’s Member University faculty inventors and partner institutions.
Growth Path
This role is scoped today as a structured, well-supervised entry into translational biotech diligence and strategy. We expect the Senior Manager to grow over time into more independent diligence ownership, deeper PI engagement, and eventually toward a Director-level scope — with ample opportunity to learn directly from the SVP, the DPS Director, and the CBC’s broader scientific and commercial network along the way.
Compensation
- Manager – target base salary: $65,000-90,000, plus a comprehensive benefits package.
- Senior Manager – target base salary: $90,000-105,000, plus a comprehensive benefits package.
To Apply
Submit your resume and cover letter. Your cover letter should be maximum 1 page, explaining why you are an exceptional candidate for this position. Your letter should address the following:
- Why do you want this role at the CBC?
- What unique skills, experiences, and perspectives would you bring to this role, and how would they enable you to make meaningful contributions?
- What evidence demonstrates that you will succeed in this position? Describe specific accomplishments or experiences that illustrate your ability to perform the responsibilities outlined in the job posting.
- The CBC is a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing academic discoveries into startup companies, accelerating the development of new therapies for patients, and strengthening the biotechnology ecosystem in Chicagoland. Why is this mission meaningful to you, and why do you want to work for a mission-driven nonprofit organization?
Please tailor your letter specifically to this position.
▸ Apply for this job
Equal Opportunity Employer
The CBC is committed to creating a diverse work environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. The CBC provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training.
If you need assistance or accommodation to complete an application due to a disability, please contact us.
The CBC is currently under fiscal sponsorship of the Edward Charles Foundation DBA the Chicago Biomedical Consortium project. Edward Charles Foundation is an independently audited, IRS-approved 501(c)(3) public charity serving philanthropists, advisors, and family offices since 2008. The employer on record for this position is TriNet, a professional employment organization.