Senior Talent Acquisition Consultant, Early Development

Senior Talent Acquisition Consultant, Early Development will play a critical role in driving active, full life-cycle recruiting for Denali's Development organization, with a focus on early-development functions: the scientists, physicians, and program leaders who take assets from translational research and IND-enabling work through early clinical development. This is a full-time contract engagement (six months), fully remote-eligible, reporting to the Director of Talent Acquisition. This is a full req-load role, partnering directly with hiring managers, functional leaders, and HR Business Partners across Development and other functions as needed. The majority of searches are unique, highly specialized one-off roles rather than repeat requisitions, requiring deep functional knowledge to source and assess effectively. Key Accountabilities / Core Responsibilities: Full Life-Cycle Recruiting & Direct Sourcing • Own full-cycle recruiting (intake, sourcing, screening, interview coordination, offer negotiation, and close) for roles across Denali's Development function, including but not limited to: • Clinical Development & Clinical Operations (Clinical Scientists, Clinical Trial Managers, Medical Directors) • Clinical Pharmacology & Quantitative Pharmacology/Pharmacometrics • DMPK and Nonclinical Safety/Toxicology • Regulatory Affairs & Regulatory Operations • Drug Safety / Pharmacovigilance • Clinical Quality (GCP) • Medical Writing • Manage a portfolio of concurrent searches spanning Scientist/Associate through Director and Senior Director levels, calibrating sourcing strategy to seniority and scarcity of talent. Stakeholder Partnership & Candidate Experience • Act as a strategic partner to hiring managers: run intake meetings that get to real role requirements, advise on realistic market data (timelines, talent availability), and aid hiring managers in structuring and guiding the interview team. • Deliver a high-touch, transparent candidate experience for a technical, PhD/MD-heavy candidate population. • Advise HR leadership on candidate compensation expectations, keep candidates informed of and aligned to the approved salary/comp range throughout the process, and present and negotiate offers on Denali's behalf. Systems & Reporting • Manage candidates through Denali's ATS (Workday Recruiting), ensuring accurate candidate tracking, interview scheduling, and reporting. • Maintain close, ongoing coordination with the Director of Talent Acquisition, proactively surfacing progress, roadblocks, and candidate or hiring manager concerns rather than operating as a fully independent, outside resource. Qualifications/Skills: Education & Experience • 8-10+ years of full life-cycle recruiting experience, with a significant portion spent recruiting within the biotech industry (in-house or agency). • Demonstrated success recruiting for early-development / preclinical-through-early-clinical functions (e.g., Clinical Development, Clinical Pharmacology, Toxicology/Nonclinical Safety, DMPK, Regulatory Affairs, or Drug Safety). • Proven ability to independently manage a full requisition load (typically 10-15+ concurrent searches) across multiple functions and levels with minimal ramp time. • Hands-on ATS proficiency; Workday Recruiting experience strongly preferred. • Experience recruiting for both scientific (PhD-level) and clinical/medical (MD-level) populations. Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities • Strong direct-sourcing skills: you don't wait for inbound; you know how to find passive, highly specialized scientific and clinical talent. • Experience partnering with and influencing senior scientific/clinical hiring managers (Director level and above). • Familiarity with GxP (GCP/GLP/GMP) context as it relates to role requirements and candidate evaluation. • Comfortable operating with a high degree of autonomy in a lean, fast-paced, contract capacity; you can hit the ground running with light onboarding. • Excellent written and verbal communication; polished candidate- and stakeholder-facing presence. • Knowledgeable and skilled in using AI tools to speed up candidate review (e.g., resume screening, initial assessment), while maintaining sound human judgment and analysis in final evaluations and decisions.