Associate Director, Discovery Program & Alliance Management

Apellis Pharmaceuticals • Waltham, MA

4d • $174,400 - $261,500

About The Position

Opportunity awaits those up to the challenge of developing transformative therapies across a broad range of debilitating diseases. Summary: The Associate Director, Discovery Program & Alliance Management Program Management will support the Discovery Early Asset team, clinical development team and related alliances. They will also serve as a cross‑functional program manager for early‑ and late‑stage business development initiatives - coordinating diligence activities, managing timelines and risks, facilitating decision‑making, and ensuring cross-functional alignment.

Requirements

• Minimum of 8 years industry experience in finance, forecasting or analytics, with a valuation/DCF skillset
• Program management experience is preferred
• Prior experience in small Biotech or large Pharma environments is preferred
• Bachelor’s degree required
• Track record of having managed successful programs or projects
• Understanding of the drug development process and working knowledge of the essential activities for all key functional areas
• Ability to work cross-functionally and facilitate decision-making between different departments
• Strong communicator with the ability to work with scientific and commercial team members at all levels
• Collegiate team player that has a customer service approach and is solution-oriented
• Solid presentation and excellent interpersonal skills
• Innovative and flexible to adapt to the dynamic needs of a fast-growing biotech company

Responsibilities

• Drive Discovery Early Asset Team meetings including agenda creation, meeting management and minutes
• Drive alliance management with partners in Discovery including contract updates and conflict resolution
• Monitor individual Key Initiative progress, identifying potential issues, and coordinating necessary adjustments across projects within the program
• Manage budget and timelines effectively across different projects within the program
• Identify potential risks, developing mitigation strategies, and proactively addressing issues that could impact program success
• Maintain clear communication with key stakeholders, including manager, program and project teams, senior leadership, clients, and internal departments, ensuring alignment and buy-in
• Regularly monitor progress against program goals, generate reports, and identify areas for improvement
• Ensure program deliverables meet quality standards and adhere to established processes
• Lead cross-functional program management for BD diligence efforts, ensuring structured planning, timeline management, risk mitigation, and coordination across scientific, clinical, regulatory, finance, and commercial stakeholders
• Drive conference planning and contract flow of ongoing negotiations
• Support evaluation of external opportunities by partnering with BD and Corporate Strategy to develop analytics and business cases that inform partnership, licensing, and acquisition decisions
• Drive governance and communication for BD programs, preparing executive-level updates, coordinating decision points, and ensuring alignment across leadership teams and functions
• Manage other ad hoc ongoing and new projects as bandwidth allows

Benefits

• Apellis offers a comprehensive benefits package, including a 401(k) plan with company match, inclusive family building benefits, flexible time off, summer and winter shutdowns, paid family leave, disability and life insurance, and more!
• Visit https://apellis.com/careers/benefits/ to learn more.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director