Director, Commercial Data Strategy & Enablement

Vertex Pharmaceuticals • Boston, MA

13h • Hybrid

About The Position

The Director, Commercial Data Strategy & Enablement will lead the strategy, governance, and enablement of commercial data assets, platforms, and capabilities across Vertex. Partnering with Commercial, Digital & Technology, Data & Analytics, Finance, Market Access, Patient Support, and external vendors, this leader will ensure that high-quality, trusted, and accessible data supports strategic decision-making. The role defines and executes a scalable commercial data roadmap, establishes standards for data quality, governance, and adoption, and enables business teams to turn data into actionable insights.

The successful candidate combines commercial acumen, data strategy expertise, and change-management capabilities to advance a data-driven culture across Vertex’s commercial organization. The Director serves as a strategic advisor to senior leaders, leads and develops a high-performing team, and ensures commercial data practices align with privacy, compliance, security, and pharmaceutical industry requirements.

The position is hybrid-eligible or on-site eligible. In the hybrid designation, employees may work remotely up to two days per week; the on-site designation involves five days per week on-site, with ad hoc flexibility. Flex status is subject to Vertex policy and may change.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in business, analytics, data science, information systems, life sciences, or a related field.
• Typically 10 or more years of progressive experience in commercial data strategy, data management, analytics, digital transformation, or related disciplines.
• Significant experience supporting commercial functions in biotechnology, pharmaceutical, healthcare, life sciences, or a similarly regulated industry.
• Demonstrated success developing and executing data strategies that improve decision-making, operational effectiveness, and measurable business outcomes.
• Experience leading cross-functional, enterprise-scale data governance, data quality, and data enablement initiatives.
• Strong understanding of commercial data domains, including sales, marketing, customer relationship management, market access, payer, patient support, and third-party healthcare data.
• Proven ability to influence senior stakeholders, build cross-functional alignment, and manage competing priorities in a complex organization.
• Experience leading and developing teams, including direct reports and/or matrixed teams.
• Excellent communication, executive presentation, strategic problem-solving, and change-management skills.
• Ability to work effectively in a hybrid or on-site environment and collaborate with teams across locations.
• Knowledge of commercial data strategy and roadmap development; data governance, stewardship, and operating-model design; data quality management; master and reference data management; data catalog, metadata, and lineage concepts; data architecture, integration, and data-product principles; cloud data and analytics platforms; business intelligence, dashboarding, and self-service analytics; CRM and commercial engagement platforms; commercial data sources; privacy, security, access management, and compliance controls; KPI definition and value realization; and agile delivery and product-management practices.

Nice To Haves

• Advanced degree in business administration, data science, analytics, information systems, or a related discipline.
• Experience with pharmaceutical commercial platforms and data ecosystems, such as CRM, omnichannel engagement, field force effectiveness, market research, and real-world data solutions.
• Experience with modern cloud data technologies, including data warehouses, lakehouses, APIs, and data integration tools.
• Familiarity with data visualization and analytics tools such as Power BI, Tableau, or similar platforms.
• Knowledge of SQL, Python, or other analytical programming languages.
• Experience enabling artificial intelligence or machine learning use cases within commercial operations.
• Certifications in data management, cloud technologies, product management, project management, or agile methodologies.
• Experience supporting product launches, indication expansions, or global commercial data transformation programs.

Responsibilities

• Develop and lead the enterprise commercial data strategy, aligning data investments and priorities with commercial objectives, brand strategies, and patient-focused outcomes.
• Define a multi-year roadmap for commercial data capabilities, including acquisition, integration, governance, analytics enablement, self-service access, and performance measurement.
• Partner with Commercial leadership and cross-functional stakeholders to identify business questions, prioritize use cases, and translate needs into scalable data solutions.
• Establish and oversee commercial data governance, including ownership, stewardship, data quality standards, metadata management, privacy, access controls, and issue resolution.
• Improve the availability, consistency, usability, and reliability of commercial data across customer, healthcare provider, payer, specialty pharmacy, patient services, field engagement, sales, and marketing domains.
• Collaborate with Digital & Technology and Data & Analytics teams to design and implement modern data architecture, data products, reporting environments, and analytics capabilities.
• Enable adoption of commercial data and analytics tools through training, communications, playbooks, and operating models for business users and data stewards.
• Establish KPIs to measure data quality, platform adoption, business value realization, operational efficiency, and data-capability maturity.
• Advise senior leaders and communicate data strategy, risks, opportunities, and recommendations to technical and non-technical audiences.
• Lead, develop, and mentor a high-performing team of data strategy, governance, and enablement professionals.
• Manage external data-provider, technology-partner, and consulting-firm relationships, including vendor selection, performance management, and contract-related collaboration.
• Ensure commercial data practices align with applicable privacy, compliance, security, and pharmaceutical industry requirements.
• Monitor evolving data, analytics, artificial intelligence, and commercial technology trends and drive continuous improvement.

Benefits

• Annual bonus eligibility.
• Annual equity awards.
• Medical, dental, and vision benefits.
• Generous paid time off, including a week-long company shutdown in the summer and winter.
• Educational assistance programs, including student loan repayment.
• Commuting subsidy.
• Matching charitable donations.
• 401(k).
• Other benefits and resources supporting employees’ career, financial, family, and wellbeing needs.

What This Job Offers

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