Specialist – IP (Patents)

The Specialist – IP (Patents) plays a critical role in supporting Haleon by providing high-quality intellectual property intelligence, analysis and strategic insight across the full innovation lifecycle for our R&D organisation and Cross Category IP issues and initiatives.

Working within the Legal function and under the direction of our Patent Attorneys, the role partners very closely with R&D stakeholders, including the Senior Directors, Platform Leads and Project Leads, to inform innovation, technology and partnering decisions. The role combines deep expertise in patent searching, information science and intelligence analysis with the ability to synthesise complex patent, scientific and commercial information into clear, actionable business and IP recommendations.

The Specialist – IP (Patents) supports the identification of innovation opportunities, assessment of external technologies and partners, development of IP strategies and roadmaps, and execution of patent protection and freedom-to-operate activities. The role is instrumental in helping Haleon make informed decisions about where to innovate, how to protect valuable innovations and how to manage intellectual property risks.

Key Responsibilities:

Innovation Intelligence, White Space & Technology Insights

• Proactively engage with scientists, innovation teams and project stakeholders to identify emerging technologies, concepts, invention opportunities and potential external partnerships at the earliest stages of development, ensuring IP opportunities, risks and strategic considerations are identified even before formal project briefs, invention disclosures or prototype designs are available.

• Develop and deliver patent landscapes, white space analyses and technology assessments to support innovation strategy and investment decisions.

• Identify emerging technologies, scientific developments, competitor activities and patent filing trends relevant to Haleon's strategic priorities.

• Conduct analyses to support "where-to-play" decisions for R&D programmes.

• Integrate patent, scientific, technical and commercial information to identify opportunities, risks and areas for strategic focus.

• Monitor evolving technology areas and provide regular intelligence updates to stakeholders.

• Translate complex datasets into concise, actionable recommendations for technical and business audiences.

External Innovation & Partner Assessment

• Support the evaluation of external innovation opportunities, including universities, start-ups, technology companies and other potential collaboration partners.

• Conduct IP due diligence and assess the strength, quality and strategic relevance of third-party patent portfolios.

• Identify opportunities, risks, ownership considerations and potential freedom-to-operate issues associated with prospective partnerships and licensing opportunities.

• Provide IP intelligence and analysis to support partnership, licensing and collaboration recommendations.

IP Strategy Support

• Provide analytical support to the Patent Attorney in the development of IP strategies and portfolio roadmaps.

• Identify opportunities for patent protection and portfolio development arising from R&D activities.

• Contribute to the assessment of potential IP risks and support the development of risk mitigation strategies.

• Support strategic decision-making through the delivery of evidence-based insights and recommendations.

• Help ensure alignment between innovation objectives, commercial priorities and IP strategy

Patent Searching & Analytical Support

• Design and execute sophisticated patent searches using a range of commercial and public databases.

• Conduct prior art, patentability, state-of-the-art, validity and invalidity searches.

• Analyse patent portfolios and competitor patent activity.

• Develop search methodologies and analytical frameworks to support complex research questions.

• Prepare clear reports and presentations communicating search findings and their commercial implications.

Filing, Prosecution & Freedom-to-Operate Support

• Support invention harvesting activities and facilitate invention disclosure generation across the innovation portfolio.

• Work directly with inventors and project teams to identify, capture and develop patentable inventions.

• Prepare patent application materials, invention summaries and supporting documentation for Patent Attorney review and filing.

• Support delivery of annual patent filing objectives through proactive identification and development of patent opportunities.

• Support the Patent Attorney in patent drafting, filing and prosecution activities as required.

• Conduct and support freedom-to-operate analyses and investigations.

• Assist with evidence gathering, prior art evaluation and technical analyses relevant to patent prosecution and portfolio management.

• Support ongoing portfolio reviews and maintenance activities.

• Contribute to IP risk assessments associated with research, development and commercialisation activities.

Stakeholder Management

• The role will work across Legal and R&D, collaborating with a diverse network of stakeholders to provide timely and high-quality IP intelligence and support. Key stakeholders include:

Legal

• Patent Attorneys

• Members of the wider Legal and Intellectual Property teams

Research & Development

• Senior Directors, Platform Leads, Project Leads, Scientists, researchers and innovation teams.

• The successful candidate will be able to communicate complex IP concepts and analyses clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences, influencing decisions through insight, evidence and sound judgement.

Skills & Experience:

Essential

• Bachelor's degree in Life Sciences, Chemistry, Pharmacy, Information Science, Library and Information Science, or another relevant scientific, technical or information management discipline.

• 5 - 7 years' experience in patent searching, patent information, IP intelligence or a related intellectual property role.

• Experience supporting front-end innovation, breakthrough innovation, technology development, technology scouting and/or early-stage R&D programmes.

• Demonstrated experience conducting patent landscapes, white space analyses and technology trend assessments.

• Experience supporting freedom-to-operate, patentability and prior-art analyses.

• Experience assessing patent portfolios and conducting IP due diligence.

• Proven ability to synthesise large and complex datasets into clear business-focused recommendations.

• Demonstrated experience applying information science principles and methodologies to the collection, organisation, analysis and synthesis of patent, scientific, technical and commercial information.

• Experience developing complex search strategies across multiple information domains and translating diverse datasets into actionable business intelligence.

Preferred

• Experience within FMCG, consumer health, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, medical devices or broader life sciences sectors.

• Experience supporting external innovation, licensing, collaboration or technology acquisition activities.

• Experience working closely with patent attorneys, scientists and senior innovation leaders.

Technical Knowledge

• Strong understanding of patent systems, patent searching methodologies and intellectual property principles.

• Expertise in developing and executing advanced search strategies across multiple information sources.

• Strong analytical and information science capabilities, including data gathering, interrogation and synthesis.

• Knowledge of patent portfolio analysis, competitor intelligence and technology trend assessment.

• Understanding of freedom-to-operate considerations and patent lifecycle management.

• Strong grounding in information science principles, including information retrieval, search strategy design, taxonomy development, knowledge organisation, analytical methodologies and insight generation.

• Ability to integrate and synthesise information from patent, scientific, technical and commercial sources to support strategic decision-making.