Your role and responsibilities

We are looking for a Director, Client Services - Life Sciences Practice Lead to join our growing team of experts. This role reports to the Global Head of Healthcare and Life Science, with travel to clients as needed.

This position carries two accountabilities that reinforce each other:
- First, they lead the Life Sciences practice at Hakkoda, an IBM company, owning the segment's strategy, offerings, pipeline health, talent, and reputation across pharma, biotech, medtech, diagnostics, CROs, and life sciences distribution.
- Second, they are a hands-on Client Services Director on our most strategic Life Sciences accounts: the primary representative of the delivery capabilities of Hakkoda, an IBM company to those clients and the executive accountable for growing them.

The ideal candidate is an expert in their clients' businesses, challenges, and goals, with established trusted relationships at the most senior client levels. They are fluent in how Life Sciences works: the R&D-to-commercial value chain, the regulatory environment (GxP, 21 CFR Part 11, data integrity, validation), the data domains that matter (clinical, safety, RWD/RWE, commercial, supply chain and manufacturing), and the business pressures behind them (pipeline productivity, launch performance, cost of quality, and the push to make AI usable in a regulated setting). They can sit across from a Head of Clinical Operations, a Chief Commercial Officer, a Head of Quality, or a CDO and be credible on their agenda, then translate that agenda into a data and AI program on Snowflake that Hakkoda, an IBM company can deliver.

For the practice, the Director defines where Life Sciences plays and how it wins. They own the practice plan (target sub-segments, priority accounts, offerings, and the revenue and margin plan behind them), shape and package offerings around the questions Life Sciences leaders are actually funding, and build on existing accelerators such as Clinical Trial Operations, Pharmacovigilance Signal Management, Batch Release and Continued Process Verification, Commercial Launch Analytics, FDA AI Readiness and Continuous Compliance, and Trusted Research Environment. They turn delivered work into repeatable IP, set the practice's stance on regulated delivery, and act as the Life Sciences face of Hakkoda, an IBM company to both go-to-market channels, IBM client partners and Snowflake account teams, so that sellers reach for us first. They build the Life Sciences bench, serve as the escalation point and quality bar for Life Sciences delivery across all accounts, and represent the practice externally through conferences, partner events, and published content.

On accounts, the Director personally leads a portfolio of strategic Life Sciences accounts. They consult on the best path forward to achieve the client's strategic goals, build relationships from the primary point of contact through the C-suite, align with the client's partner account teams (Snowflake, IBM, Sigma, Alation, Fivetran) on a shared account plan, and hold indirect responsibility for all delivery services on their portfolio. They pursue opportunities for additional services, review client margins against Finance targets, lead the pitch process on existing accounts, draft and negotiate SOWs and amendments, mentor Engagement Managers on account management, and serve as the point of escalation on client issues, from cross-workstream performance problems to SOW and SLA conversations. They handle difficult client and employee conversations directly, solve resourcing and personnel issues as they arise, keep client and employee retention high across every track, facilitate staffing across tracks and the broader HCLS bench, and make the business case for hires and promotions.

This job can be performed from anywhere in the US.

Required education

Bachelor's Degree

Preferred education

Master's Degree

Required technical and professional expertise
• 10+ years in consulting or professional services with a track record of leading and growing client accounts, including 5+ years serving Life Sciences clients (pharma, biotech, medtech, diagnostics, or CRO).
• Demonstrated P&L or portfolio ownership: you have owned revenue, margin, and utilization targets and hit them.
• Executive presence and trusted relationships at the VP and C-level in Life Sciences organizations.
• Working knowledge of the modern data stack and cloud data platforms, ideally Snowflake, and the ability to shape data, analytics, and AI programs even if you are not hands-on in the code.
• Familiarity with regulated delivery in Life Sciences: GxP, 21 CFR Part 11, data integrity, and validation expectations.
• Experience building and leading teams of consultants, engagement managers, and architects, including hiring and developing leaders.
• Strong commercial skills: proposal and SOW development, pricing and margin management, negotiation, and escalation handling.
• Proven ability to define a practice or segment strategy, including target sub-segments, priority accounts, and an offering portfolio, and to execute against a revenue and margin plan.
• Track record of building and qualifying pipeline with sales leads and co-owning pursuit strategy, solutioning, and proposal quality on priority deals.
• Experience serving as the escalation point for client and delivery issues across multiple accounts and workstreams.
• Ability to assess team-to-client fit and distribute staffing and bandwidth across accounts and a shared bench.
• Bachelor's degree in Business, Life Sciences, Computer Science, or an equivalent field.

Preferred technical and professional experience
• Partner Ecosystem Experience: Experience selling and delivering through partner ecosystems (Snowflake, IBM, or comparable hyperscaler and platform channels).
• Life Sciences Domain Depth: Depth in one or more Life Sciences domains: clinical operations, drug safety and pharmacovigilance, commercial analytics, manufacturing and quality, or real-world data.
• Offering Development: Experience packaging services into repeatable offerings or accelerators and taking them to market.
• Practice Leadership: Prior practice, vertical, or industry leadership role at a consultancy or systems integrator.
• Thought Leadership: Experience representing a practice through conference presence, partner events, and published content.
• Regulated Delivery Methodology: Experience contributing to delivery methodology and sales playbooks for regulated industries.

OTHER RELEVANT JOB DETAILS

IBM offers a competitive and comprehensive benefits program. Eligible employees may have access to:

- Healthcare benefits including medical & prescription drug coverage, dental, vision, and mental health & well being

- Financial programs such as 401(k), cash balance pension plan, the IBM Employee Stock Purchase Plan, financial counseling, life insurance, short & long- term disability coverage, and opportunities for performance based salary incentive programs

- Generous paid time off including 12 holidays, minimum 56 hours sick time, 120 hours vacation, 12 weeks parental bonding leave in accordance with IBM Policy, and other Paid Care Leave programs. IBM also offers paid family leave benefits to eligible employees where required by applicable law

- Training and educational resources on our personalized, AI-driven learning platform where IBMers can grow skills and obtain industry-recognized certifications to achieve their career goals

- Diverse and inclusive employee resource groups, giving & volunteer opportunities, and discounts on retail products, services & experiences

We consider qualified applicants with criminal histories, consistent with applicable law.

This position was posted on the date cited in the key job details section and is anticipated to remain posted for 21 days from this date or less if not needed to fill the role.

IBM will not be providing visa sponsorship for this position now or in the future. Therefore, in order to be considered for this position, you must have the ability to work without a need for current or future visa sponsorship.

The compensation range and benefits for this position are based on a full-time schedule for a full calendar year. The salary will vary depending on your job-related skills, experience and location. Pay increment and frequency of pay will be in accordance with employment classification and applicable laws. For part time roles, your compensation and benefits will be adjusted to reflect your hours. Benefits may be pro-rated for those who start working during the calendar year.