Senior Director, Head of Inflammation & Rare Disease

Does it excite you to provide medical and scientific leadership for innovative Inflammation & Rare Disease programs, and do you have experience leading teams across early clinical, late-stage development and lifecycle activities? If this sounds like you, and you are ready to take on a broad area of responsibilities, then you could be our new colleague.

Your new position

As Senior Director, Head of Inflammation & Rare Disease in Medical & Science, the role provides day-to-day medical and scientific leadership for Zealand Pharma’s Inflammation & Rare Disease projects across early clinical, late-stage development, and lifecycle. Reporting to the SVP, Head of Medical & Science, the position sets direction, ensures scientific rigor, and drives execution through strong cross-functional collaboration. This is a people leadership role with accountability for leading and developing a team of Medical Specialists supporting key portfolio priorities.

We offer exciting responsibilities:

• Provide day-to-day medical and scientific leadership for Medical Specialists working within Inflammation & Rare Disease projects
• Lead, coach, and develop the Inflammation & Rare Disease department, including performance management and capability building
• Shape and drive medical and scientific strategy across the development value chain for programs in scope
• Guide clinical development plans, including trial design input, endpoint strategy, and evidence generation to support decision-making
• Act as senior medical/scientific partner to cross-functional stakeholders (e.g., Clinical Development, Regulatory, Safety, Biometrics, and partner interfaces as relevant)
• Lead external scientific engagement (e.g., KOL interactions, advisory boards, congress planning) in line with internal standards and compliance requirements

Your profile

The ideal candidate is a collaborative and inclusive strong people leader with excellent medical judgment and a pragmatic, delivery-focused mindset. The role requires comfort operating in a complex, cross-functional environment and the ability to translate medical and scientific insight into clear direction for teams and projects. Communication is structured and effective across both scientific and non-scientific stakeholders.

• MD required; PhD preferred
• Minimum 5 years of proven people leadership experience (required), including coaching and leading high-performing teams
• Strong experience in biotech/pharma within medical/scientific leadership across clinical development and/or lifecycle activities
• Rare disease expertise preferred; inflammation experience is an advantage
• Demonstrated capability to influence strategy and decisions across senior stakeholder groups and governance settings
• Strong scientific communication skills, including engagement with external experts and contributions to medical/scientific materials

Your new team

You will head the Inflammation & Rare Disease department within Medical & Science, leading a team of highly skilled and dedicated medical specialists.  The department works closely with cross-functional project teams to provide medical and scientific input that strengthens development strategy and execution from early clinical through late-stage and lifecycle activities. The team partners broadly across the organization and with external experts to support high-quality decision-making and impactful outcomes.

Let's bond and be bold

We have a unique culture, characterized by excellent teamwork and strong engagement across the organization. And we want you to help us strengthen this culture.

Making bonds is at the core of everything we do. From discovering and developing the best new peptide drugs for patients, to engaging with our partners or connecting with each other. We bond through curiosity and playfulness as a team, allowing ourselves to challenge common thinking and drive future innovation. Join us and let's bond and be bold.

Interested in bonding with us? Then please apply no later than April 30, 2026, or as soon as possible. The applications will be reviewed as they come in. While a cover letter is not required, please include a few sentences in your CV explaining your motivation for applying.

For further information, please contact SVP, Head of Medical & Science, Simon Skibsted: SSkibsted@zealandpharma.com.

We are committed to an inclusive recruitment process and welcome applications from all job applicants.

About Zealand Pharma A/S

Zealand Pharma A/S (Nasdaq: ZEAL) is a biotechnology company focused on advancing medicines for obesity and metabolic health. Combining more than 25 years of peptide R&D expertise with a proprietary data platform that leverages advanced data-driven and AI/ML approaches, Zealand Pharma aims to lead a new era in obesity and metabolic health. To date, more than ten Zealand Pharma-invented drug candidates have entered clinical development, of which two products have reached the market and three candidates are in late-stage development. The Company has collaborations with global pharmaceutical and biotechnology partners for research, development, and commercialization. Founded in 1998, Zealand Pharma is headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark, with a U.S. presence in Boston, Massachusetts. Learn more at www.zealandpharma.com.

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