Job Summary:

The Director, Program Management provides strategic and operational leadership for one or more cross-functional drug development programs from candidate selection through clinical development and commercialization planning. This individual serves as a core member of the Product Team and a strategic partner to the Product Team Lead (PTL), enabling execution of the integrated development strategy through robust planning, governance, decision support, risk management, and team effectiveness.

The Director, Program Management is responsible for translating program strategy into integrated executable plans, ensuring cross-functional alignment, driving accountability for deliverables and milestones, and enabling timely, high-quality decision-making. The role serves as the operational architect of the program, ensuring visibility to critical path activities, key risks, dependencies, and strategic tradeoffs across functions.

Requirements

Key Responsibilities:

Strategic Program Leadership

• Partner with the PTL and functional leaders to develop and maintain integrated development plans aligned with corporate and portfolio strategy.
• Facilitate cross-functional alignment on program objectives, priorities, milestones, and development strategy.
• Develop and evaluate strategic options, scenarios, and decision frameworks to support program progression and governance decisions.
• Anticipate program risks, opportunities, and resource constraints and translate them into actionable recommendations.
• Support development of governance-ready recommendations, including analysis of timeline, budget, resource, and risk implications.

Program Planning and Execution

• Own development and maintenance of integrated program timelines and critical paths spanning Research, Clinical Development, Clinical Operations, Regulatory Affairs, CMC, Biometrics, Translational Sciences, Quality, Commercial, and Finance.
• Ensure dependencies across functions are identified, managed, and communicated.
• Monitor program performance against milestones and proactively drive mitigation and recovery plans when risks or delays emerge.
• Establish clear accountability for deliverables, decisions, and action items across the Product Team.
• Drive operational excellence and execution rigor throughout the program lifecycle.

Governance and Decision Enablement

• Lead preparation for governance reviews, executive updates, portfolio reviews, and key program inflection points.
• Coordinate development of decision packages, recommendations, and briefing materials.
• Ensure communications clearly articulate tradeoffs, options, assumptions, risks, and recommended actions.
• Maintain transparency around critical program decisions and associated outcomes.
• Support readiness for major development milestones, data readouts, regulatory interactions, and investment decisions.

Risk and Portfolio Management

• Establish and maintain program management processes (Risks, Assumptions, Issues, Dependencies, and Decisions).
• Facilitate proactive identification and mitigation of program risks.
• Evaluate potential impacts to timeline, cost, scope, quality, and portfolio priorities.
• Collaborate with Finance and functional leaders on scenario planning and forecast assessments.
• Escalate issues and recommendations appropriately to leadership and governance bodies.

Team Leadership and Communication

• Drive Product Team effectiveness through disciplined meeting management, decision tracking, and follow-through.
• Facilitate productive discussions across diverse technical disciplines while fostering alignment and accountability.
• Serve as a trusted partner to senior leaders and functional representatives.
• Support continuous improvement of program management tools, processes, governance models, and best practices across the organization.

Required Qualifications:

• BS/MS/PhD in Life Sciences, Pharmacy, Biomedical Sciences, Engineering, or related discipline.
• 10+ years of biotechnology or pharmaceutical industry experience.
• 5+ years of experience leading cross-functional drug development programs.
• Demonstrated understanding of the drug development lifecycle from discovery through registration.
• Experience supporting regulatory submissions, clinical development, CMC, and governance processes.
• Strong knowledge of program planning methodologies, portfolio management principles, and risk management frameworks.
• Exceptional communication, facilitation, and stakeholder management skills.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Oncology drug development experience strongly preferred.
• Experience supporting programs through IND and early clinical development milestones.
• Experience in both small biotechnology and matrixed organizational environments.
• PMP certification and/or MBA desirable.

Critical Success Factors

The successful candidate will:

• Think strategically while driving operational execution.
• Influence without authority across complex matrix organizations.
• Translate ambiguity into actionable plans.
• Enable rapid, high-quality decision making.
• Build trust and alignment across functions.
• Drive accountability without becoming the decision maker.
• Maintain focus on critical path, risk mitigation, and achievement of program milestones.

Pay & Benefits:

The anticipated annual base salary for this position ranges from $210,000 to $235,000 depending on relevant skills, experience, and education. In addition, this position is eligible for target bonus, long-term-incentives, 401k retirement savings plan with company match, and a comprehensive benefits package which includes medical, dental, vision, life, and disability insurance.