Senior Director – Oncology

This is a fully remote position, open to applicants in United States, +2 more countries.

📋 Description

• Provide strategic leadership in operations, coaching, and oversight at the portfolio level for the oncology project management organization.

• Guide, mentor, and cultivate an oncology project management team across Phase 1, late-stage, regulatory filing, and global launch initiatives.

• Develop and coach Project Managers to recognize critical path dependencies and oversee cross-functional execution.

• Implement tailored development plans, succession planning, and proactive recruitment strategies.

• Manage team capacity, workload distribution, and strategies for burnout prevention.

• Maintain oversight of the health of oncology programs, including milestones, critical paths, and project risks.

• Translate clinical development plans into comprehensive operational roadmaps.

• Directly oversee projects or programs as necessary to address resource or staffing shortages.

• Prepare project teams for governance committees through thorough preparation and data-driven pre-reads.

• Frame complex executive decisions through analyses of trade-offs involving timelines, costs, resources, and risks.

• Facilitate the identification of risks, the creation of mitigation plans, and the execution of contingencies.

• Anticipate FTE resource bottlenecks and collaborate with functional heads and the Resource Management Team.

• Oversee budgets for oncology programs, including variances, commitments, and multi-million-dollar allocations.

• Lead initiatives for process optimization and the adoption of standardized project management tools, risk frameworks, and enterprise planning systems.

• Integrate and maintain the Orchestra Team Operating Model within early-stage project teams.

• Foster collaborative drug discovery and early development teams across various functional silos.

• Align daily operations with the strategic pillars of the department.

⛳️ Requirements

• Extensive experience in drug development project management within the biopharma sector.

• Direct line management experience supervising, developing, and staffing project management professionals.

• A proven history of leading a team of PMs that have successfully advanced molecules from Phase 1 through regulatory submission and global commercial launch.

• Comprehensive understanding of the complete clinical drug development lifecycle (from Phase 1 to launch) and global regulatory frameworks.

• Knowledge of oncology-specific regulatory and developmental pathways, including fast-track processes, companion diagnostics, and FDA Project Optimus.

• Practical experience with enterprise project management systems, schedule analytics, and FTE capacity planning models.

• Advanced skills in Planisware, Smartsheet, and resource forecasting modeling.

• Exceptional people developer with a commitment to coaching and creating collaborative, high-performing matrix teams.

• Strong executive presence and influence; adept at navigating ambiguity and building consensus among senior R&D and commercial leaders.

• Proven track record in organizational design, change management, and establishing project management coaching frameworks.

• Bachelor’s degree in Life Sciences, Engineering, or a related field is required.

• An advanced degree is preferred (Ph.D., PharmD, MS, or MBA).

• PMP or an equivalent project management certification is preferred.

🏝️ Benefits

• Discretionary annual cash bonus or incentive compensation.

• Discretionary equity grants.

• Medical insurance.

• Dental insurance.

• Vision insurance.

• 401k retirement savings plan.

• Flexible paid vacation.