Position Summary:
The Executive Director, Finance will serve as the business partner and the strategic finance leader supporting SystImmune's global clinical programs. This role partners closely with Clinical Development, Clinical Operations, Alliance Management, Accounting, and senior executives to drive financial strategy, optimize resource allocation, provide robust forecasting, and ensure transparency of clinical trial costs. The leader will manage a team of finance professionals and have the accountability for end-to-end financial oversight of clinical development, including budgeting, trial cost modeling, vendor financial management, alliance finance, and FP&A support for the Clinical organization.
Key Responsibilities:
Alliance Finance
- Manage alliance finance responsibilities for partnered clinical programs, ensuring consistent budgeting, reporting, and cost-sharing in collaboration with external partners.
- Provide joint program financial updates, coordinate budget alignment with partners, and ensure accurate execution of cost-sharing terms and financial governance.
- Support cross-company working groups with transparent reporting, financial models, and documentation.
Clinical study budgeting and cost management
- Lead creation, review, and refinement of clinical trial budgets across all phases, ensuring alignment with study design, timelines, and operational assumptions
- Develop detailed cost models, enrollment-driven forecasts, and operational expenditure projections for all clinical studies.
- Partner with Clinical Operations, Medical, Regulatory, Drug Safety, Biometrics, and Program Management to ensure financial accuracy behind trial-level assumptions.
- Oversee financial aspects of contracts with CROs, laboratories, vendors, and other clinical service providers, ensuring pricing competitiveness, change order management, and efficient use of clinical resources.
- Oversee the finance team in invoice processing and manage invoice payment process with transparency and accuracy
Strategic leadership and FP&A
- Provide strategic financial guidance and decision support informed by clinical development plans and regulatory strategy.
- Provide financial leadership for portfolio decision-making, scenario planning, risk assessment, and long-range clinical resource planning.
- Oversee the clinical finance team in annual operating planning, quarterly forecasts, variance analyses, headcount planning, and functional financial reporting for the clinical development organization.
- Deliver monthly reporting packages for R&D leadership and the executive team, with insights into trial spend, vendor accruals, study progression, and financial risks/opportunities.
- Ensure compliance with internal financial policies and support audit requests related to clinical development spend.
Team Leadership & Development
- Build and lead a high-performing clinical finance team with strong business partnership capabilities.
- Champion continuous improvement of financial processes, analytics, and tools to improve accuracy, efficiency, and visibility of clinical financial data.
Required Qualifications and Behaviors:
- 12+ years of progressive finance experience in biotech/pharma, with significant exposure to clinical development, R&D FP&A, and alliance finance in a biotech or biopharma company.
- Demonstrated experience building and managing clinical trial budgets and vendor financial oversight.
- Strong understanding of global clinical development processes, clinical operations, and regulatory pathways (consistent with expectations of clinical development leaders).
- Exceptional analytical, modeling, communication, and stakeholder-management skills, and attention to detail, with a proactive approach to problem-solving.
- Experience working with external partners in alliance or co-development settings.
- Demonstrated ability to perform effectively in a rapidly evolving, high-intensity work setting, including balancing competing demands and supporting time-sensitive initiatives that may require extended work hours.
- Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, or a related field.
Preferred Qualifications:
- MBA or advanced degree in Finance, Accounting, or a related field.
- Familiarity with regulatory requirements and compliance standards in the biotech industry.
- Demonstrated success in managing projects in a fast-paced, dynamic environment
- Prior leadership and demonstrated career advancement in fast-growth biotech
- Ability to cultivate relationships across departments to enhance financial integration within the organization.
- Willingness to work across time zones in a global business environment.
Compensation and Benefits:The expected base salary range for this position is $200,000 - $270,000 annually. Actual compensation will be based on a variety of factors, including but not limited to a candidate's qualifications, experience, and skills.
While most offers typically fall within the low to mid-point of the range, we may extend an offer toward the higher end for exceptional candidates whose background and expertise exceeds the requirements of the role.
SystImmune offers a comprehensive benefits package including: 100% paid employee premiums for medical/dental/vision, also STD, LTD, a 401(k) plan with a 50% company match of up to 3% and a vesting schedule of only 5 years, 15 PTO days per year, sick leave, plus 11 paid holidays and MORE.
We offer an opportunity for you to learn and grow while making significant contributions to the company's success. 
