Summit Therapeutics plc

Director, Commercial Excellence

Summit Therapeutics plc$203K — $253K *
Pharmaceuticals & Biotech
8 - 10 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Bachelor's degree required; advanced degree preferred in business, life sciences, or related field.
  • 10+ years of experience in the life sciences industry.
  • 5+ years in pharmaceutical or biotech commercial operations with direct responsibility for key functions.
  • Oncology experience is strongly preferred; experience with buy-and-bill or biomarker-driven specialties is a plus.
  • Experience in launch environments, building commercial operations infrastructure from the ground up is necessary.
  • Proficient in Veeva CRM or similar platforms; familiarity with incentive compensation systems is required.
  • Strong collaborative skills to work effectively with diverse teams across various functions.

Responsibilities

  • Design and administer incentive compensation plans, ensuring accuracy and resolution of disputes.
  • Develop and manage territory design and alignment processes while maintaining data accuracy.
  • Configure and enhance CRM systems in partnership with IT and ensure data quality management.
  • Establish and oversee targeting and segmentation methodologies for healthcare professionals and organizations.
  • Define national KPI standards for consistent measurement across locations.
  • Collaborate daily with Marketing, Market Access, Medical Affairs, and Finance to harmonize operational processes.
  • Support audit readiness and compliance in operations and reporting requirements.

Benefits

  • Work in a dynamic, growth-oriented biotech environment.
  • Opportunities for professional development and growth within the organization.
  • Collaborative work culture with cross-functional teams.
  • Engagement in impactful oncology initiatives enhancing patient lives.
  • Flexibility with travel limited to 20%, primarily for significant meetings and alignments.
Full Job Description
Overview of Role:

The Director, Commercial Excellence is a headquarters-based role within Summit Therapeutics Commercial Operations. This role owns the governance and execution layer of the Commercial Excellence function - incentive compensation administration, territory design and change management, CRM configuration and administration, targeting and segmentation methodology, field reporting standards, and the national KPI framework. The Director reports to the Senior Director, Commercial Excellence and is the day-to-day operational counterpart to Marketing, Market Access, and Medical Affairs Operations, and Market Research ensuring every function operates from a consistent, compliant, and well-governed infrastructure. This is a role for someone who thrives on building from scratch, can manage multiple workstreams simultaneously, and understands that operational excellence in oncology commercial launch is the foundation that makes field execution possible.

Role and Responsibilities:
  • Own incentive compensation design and administration - plan design, quota setting, goal crediting, dispute resolution, and payment accuracy across the full field organization
  • Own territory design and alignment - build and maintain the territory structure, manage alignment changes through a defined change governance process, and ensure roster accuracy at all times
  • Own CRM configuration and administration - partner with IT and the Director of Commercial Data and Technology to configure, maintain, and continuously improve the CRM; own business requirements, user access, and data quality
  • Own targeting and segmentation methodology - define and maintain the HCP and HCO targeting approach, manage decile assignments, and ensure targeting outputs are operationalized in the CRM and field tools
  • Define and govern national KPI standards - establish field reporting definitions, maintain the national KPI framework, and ensure consistent measurement across all geographies
  • Serve as the operational counterpart to Marketing, Market Access, and Medical Affairs Operations - own the day-to-day working relationship with each function, ensure aligned processes, and resolve operational conflicts before they reach the field
  • Support Finance and Compliance on process governance, audit readiness, PDRP compliance, and Sunshine Act reporting requirements
  • Own roster management, sales crediting, and goal setting administration - maintain accurate headcount data, manage new hire and termination checklists, and ensure crediting rules are applied correctly
  • Partner with the Field Excellence team to ensure operational infrastructure is correctly translated into field-level intelligence - own the systems and processes that Field Excellence draws on to serve each sales leader
  • All other duties as assigned


Experience, Education and Specialized Knowledge and Skills:
  • Bachelor's degree required; advanced degree in business, life sciences, or a related field preferred
  • Minimum of 10+ years of relevant experience in the life sciences industry
  • Minimum 5+ years of experience in pharmaceutical or biotech commercial operations, with direct ownership of incentive compensation, territory alignment, or CRM administration
  • Oncology experience strongly preferred; buy-and-bill and biomarker-driven specialty experience a plus
  • Launch experience required - must have experience building or inheriting a commercial operations infrastructure during a product launch, not simply maintaining a running system
  • Deep working knowledge of Veeva CRM or equivalent; familiarity with IC administration platforms (Xactly, NICE/Varicent, or similar) required
  • Strong cross-functional collaboration skills - this role works daily with Marketing, Market Access, Market Research, Medical Affairs Operations, Finance, Compliance, and the Field Excellence team; the ability to resolve competing priorities without escalation is essential
  • High attention to detail and comfort with data - IC errors and territory misalignments have direct compliance, payroll, and field morale consequences; precision is not optional in this role
  • Travel up to 20% - primarily for national meetings, POA preparation, and field alignment activities


This is the pay for this position

Pay Transparency

$203,000-$253,000 USD

Actual compensation packages are based on several factors that are unique to each candidate, including but not limited to skill set, depth of experience, certifications, and specific work location. This may be different in other locations due to differences in the cost of labor. The total compensation package for this position may also include bonus, stock, benefits and/or other applicable variable compensation.

Summit does not accept referrals from employment businesses and/or employment agencies in respect of the vacancies posted on this site. All employment businesses/agencies are required to contact Summit's Talent Acquisition team at [email protected] to obtain prior written authorization before referring any candidates to Summit.

About Summit Therapeutics plc

Summit Therapeutics is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development, and commercialization of novel medicines to treat rare diseases with high unmet medical need. The company's lead product candidate, Ridinilazole, is a precision antibiotic that has the potential to treat Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) with a superior clinical profile compared to existing CDI treatments. Summit Therapeutics is also developing a pipeline of additional product candidates targeting genetic diseases and other indications.
Learn more about Summit Therapeutics plc
Size
105 employees
Market Cap
$842.6 million
Industry
Founded
2003
5 Year Trend
+9910%
Revenue
$1 million
NASDAQ

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