Business Support Manager

We're partnering with a leading life sciences organisation to recruit a Business Support Manager who will play a pivotal role within the office of a senior scientific leader. This is a high?impact position that blends executive support, strategic coordination, and operational delivery - ideal for someone who enjoys work that goes far beyond traditional EA responsibilities.

You'll act as a trusted partner, ensuring priorities run smoothly, communication flows effectively, and key initiatives move forward with pace and clarity.

What You'll Do Executive & Strategic Support

• Manage a complex forward-looking agenda, ensuring priorities, commitments, and deadlines are well?structured and achievable.
• Prepare high?quality briefing packs, board materials, written communications, speeches, and presentations.
• Attend meetings on behalf of the scientific leadership office where required, ensuring actions and follow?ups are tracked and delivered.
• Drive business planning processes, leadership meeting rhythms, and internal projects.
• Conduct research, prepare insights, and support strategic decision?making through concise analysis and recommendations.

Operational & Project Coordination

• Oversee the day?to?day flow of information and communication within the scientific leadership office.
• Manage inbox communications, triaging, prioritising, and drafting responses with discretion and accuracy.
• Coordinate regular meetings with senior leaders, ensuring agendas, materials, and actions support effective collaboration.
• Support cross?functional projects and ensure execution of key plans and initiatives.

Representation & Stakeholder Engagement

• Engage confidently with senior internal and external stakeholders, ensuring strong and trusted relationships.
• Handle sensitive matters with professionalism, integrity, and sound judgement.
• Represent the scientific leadership office as needed and provide clear, accurate reporting and follow-through.

• Significant experience supporting senior executives, ideally within life sciences, R&D, biotech, or a comparable scientific environment.

• Understanding of life sciences, lab operations, or R&D organisations - gained through education or work experience.

• Strong background drafting board papers, briefing notes, and executive-level communications.

• Experience navigating complex organisations; exposure to non-profits or multi-stakeholder environments is a plus.

• Excellent analytical skills and the ability to summarise complex information clearly and persuasively.

• High-level organisational skills, meticulous attention to detail, and strong prioritisation capability.

• Advanced interpersonal skills and emotional intelligence - able to collaborate, influence, and build trust across senior levels.

• Strong project coordination experience with confidence managing multiple streams simultaneously.

• Advanced Microsoft Office skills plus strong capability with SharePoint and digital/AI-enabled tools., * Mature judgement, discretion, and integrity - comfortable handling sensitive and confidential matters.

• Proactive, resourceful, and solutions?driven; able to anticipate needs ahead of time.

• Calm under pressure, adaptable, and resilient in fast-moving environments.

• Professional, positive, and confident engaging with diverse senior stakeholders.

• Able to respond quickly and appropriately to rapidly evolving situations.

Planet Pharma was founded by a dedicated team of professionals with extensive experience supporting the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and device industries. Our goal is to create an organization that strengthens the employer-employee dynamic by connecting clients with talent. This results in making staffing more personal and creating enduring, valuable relationships. We value communication with our clients and make it our priority to have the hiring process be as fast and successful as possible. We leverage cutting-edge technology and flexible service delivery models that provide efficient, personalized solutions for your business. Our global headquarters is in Northbrook, IL and branch offices are based across the United States and Europe.