Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals

Director, Program Management

Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals$230K — $242K *
Pharmaceuticals & Biotech
5 - 7 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Bachelor's degree in Life Sciences, Pharmacy or related discipline; advanced degree preferred (e.g., PhD, PharmD, MBA)
  • At least 5 years in biopharma industry in project or program management role
  • Experience managing clinical stage programs
  • In-depth understanding of drug development process from IND/CTA submission to registration
  • Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
  • Ability to work well in matrixed, cross-functional teams
  • Proficiency in project management software and Microsoft Office suite

Responsibilities

  • Develop program plans and drive execution by partnering with leaders and stakeholders
  • Deliver on key program milestones through collaboration across functional teams
  • Manage cross-functional team meetings, ensuring agendas and follow-up actions
  • Identify program risks and define mitigation strategies for effective scenario planning
  • Monitor and communicate progress using dashboards to assess performance
  • Support budget processes by collaborating on program assumptions and forecasts
  • Collaborate to enhance best practices in program management across the organization

Benefits

  • Collaborative working environment
  • Opportunities for professional growth and development
  • Hands-on leadership experience in high-priority development programs
  • Engagement with cross-functional teams across the organization
  • Innovative company culture focused on making a lasting impact
Full Job Description

We are seeking an energetic and motivated individual who seeks to lead from the front and is driven to make a lasting impact. The Director, Program Management, is responsible for providing hands-on leadership and support for high priority development programs within Kiniksa's global biopharmaceutical pipeline. Serving as an operational backbone for programs, this role will translate program strategy and plans into operational execution while driving the delivery of development milestones in alignment with corporate and program goals.

This is an excellent opportunity for candidates who work with a sense of urgency, enjoy distilling complexity into clarity, can effectively align inputs from different perspectives, and can think critically to synthesize information from different perspectives. Emphasis will be on prior drug development experience, good communication skills (verbal, written and non-verbal), problem-solving skills, and an adaptable growth mindset.

The ideal candidate is a high impact leader with executive presence who can see the big picture while diving deep to execute effectively.

This role is based in our Lexington, MA office. Our office-based employees follow an onsite schedule of 5 days in the office (Mon-Fri), and will report to the VP, Corporate Operations and Alliance Management.

Responsibilities (including but not limited to):
  • Develop program plans and drive execution: partner with functional leaders and key stakeholders to create the Integrated Development Plan, define critical path activities and program milestones, ensure cross-functional team awareness and readiness to execute on key activities, and drive day-to-day execution of the IDP.
  • Deliver on key program milestones: collaborate with functional team leads across clinical operations, clinical development, regulatory, CMC, nonclinical, finance, commercial, medical affairs, and quality assurance, to deliver on program milestones (e.g., regulatory submissions, health authority meetings, clinical trial enrollment targets, data readouts), and ensure continued alignment.
  • Manage cross-functional team meetings: work with team members to develop meeting agendas, ensure stakeholder preparedness for meetings, capture and distribute minutes, and ensure follow-through on action items.
  • Risk management and scenario planning: proactively identify potential program risks and challenges, work with team members to define relevant mitigation strategies, prepare data-driven scenarios to enable decision making (team level and/or senior level).
  • Monitor and communicate progress: maintain clear and accurate program, dashboards for tracking program goals and key metrics to monitor and assess program performance.
  • Support budget processes: Partner with finance team and functional leads to develop and refine program assumptions for budget purposes throughout forecasting cycles.
  • Enhance Program Management best practices - Collaborate across the Program Management team and broader organization to establish and champion best practices.

Stand Out Skills for Impact:

  • Proven leadership in cross-functional program management, driving integrated development plans and delivering key milestones across clinical, regulatory, CMC, and commercial functions
  • Strong ability to translate complex strategy into operational execution, ensuring alignment, clarity, and accountability across matrixed teams in fast-paced environments
  • Expertise in risk management and scenario planning, proactively identifying challenges and implementing data-driven mitigation strategies to keep programs on track
  • Effective communicator with executive presence, skilled in stakeholder alignment, performance tracking, and driving decision-making through clear insights, dashboards, and program governance


Qualifications and Experience:
  • Bachelor's degree in Life Sciences, Pharmacy or related discipline, advanced degree preferred (e.g., PhD, PharmD, MBA)
  • At least 5 years of experience in the biopharma industry in a cross-functional project or program management role with a track record of managing clinical stage programs
  • Understanding of the drug development process, including advancing product candidates from IND/CTA submission to late-stage development and ultimately registration with health authorities
  • Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with keen attention to detail and an unrelenting drive to deliver results in a fast-paced and dynamic environment
  • Ability to thrive in a matrixed, cross-functional team setting while cultivating positive, constructive working relationships across the organization
  • Proficiency in using standard project management software (e.g., Smartsheet) and the Microsoft Office suite (i.e., PowerPoint, Word, Excel, SharePoint, etc.)


Compensation decisions are based on objective criteria including role responsibilities, experience/qualifications, internal equity, geographic location, and external market benchmarks.

Pay Range

$230,000-$242,000 USD

About Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals

Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals is a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing, and commercializing therapies for patients suffering from debilitating diseases with significant unmet medical need. The company's pipeline includes several product candidates targeting autoinflammatory and autoimmune diseases. Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals was founded in 2015 and is headquartered in Lexington, Massachusetts. The company is committed to advancing science and improving the lives of patients through innovative research and development.
Learn more about Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals
Size
215 employees
Market Cap
$1 billion
Industry
Net Income
-$161.3 million
Founded
2015
NASDAQ

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