Director, Field Effectiveness & Operations

Xenon Pharmaceuticals•Needham, MA

1d•$222,880 - $256,100•Hybrid

About The Position

We are seeking a Director, Field Effectiveness & Operations, to develop and operate a high-performing commercial field operations function in support of Xenon’s first anticipated product launch in epilepsy. The ideal candidate is a hands-on builder with strong field operations, commercial operations, CRM, field analytics, incentive compensation, targeting, and launch-readiness experience. This person should be comfortable operating in a lean, fast-paced biotech environment, translating strategy into scalable execution, and using data, automation, and AI-enabled capabilities to improve launch performance, field productivity, and leadership decision-making. This role will serve as the operational engine for field readiness, field execution, and launch performance optimization across customer-facing commercial teams. The Director will partner closely with Field Strategy, Marketing, Market Access, Medical Affairs, Commercial Analytics, IT, Finance, HR, Legal, Compliance, and external vendors to ensure that cross-functional field teams are equipped with the right infrastructure, tools, processes, insights, and operational partnership to execute effectively and compliantly. This role will also partner on development and implementation of AI strategy to accelerate and optimize launch. This position reports to the Vice President, Commercial Operations, and will be based out of Boston, MA, USA in our Needham office. Hybrid positions require a minimum of two onsite days per week.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree in business, life sciences, analytics, healthcare, or related field preferred
10+ years of progressive experience in pharmaceutical, biotech, or life sciences commercial operations, sales operations, field effectiveness, sales force effectiveness, field analytics, or related roles
Demonstrated experience supporting launch readiness or commercial launch execution, ideally in a specialty, rare disease, neurology, CNS, or complex market environment
Strong knowledge of field operations capabilities, including CRM, territory alignment, targeting, field deployment, call planning, incentive compensation, field reporting, and performance management
Experience partnering with Sales, Marketing, Market Access, Medical Affairs, Analytics, IT, Finance, HR, Legal, Compliance, and external vendors
Demonstrated ability to translate commercial strategy into scalable operational processes, tools, dashboards, and execution plans
Strong understanding of field-facing technology platforms, CRM workflows, business requirements, data quality, and reporting adoption
Strong analytical orientation with the ability to interpret field performance, identify execution gaps, and communicate actionable recommendations to senior leaders
Practical understanding of pharmaceutical compliance considerations related to field operations, CRM, data capture, incentive compensation, and field communications
Excellent project management, cross-functional leadership, executive communication, and stakeholder management skills
Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, evolving, build-mode environment with high ambiguity and competing priorities

Nice To Haves

Experience with Veeva CRM, Salesforce, Power BI, Tableau, Snowflake, IQVIA, Symphony, claims data, specialty pharmacy data, hub/patient services data, or related commercial data assets
Experience designing or operationalizing incentive compensation plans, field force alignment models, call planning, field dashboards, account planning tools, or QBR processes
Experience with AI, machine learning, automation, or advanced analytics use cases in commercial operations, field effectiveness, omnichannel execution, or launch performance management
Experience supporting field teams across sales, access, medical, account management, or other customer-facing commercial functions
Experience in epilepsy, neurology, CNS, rare disease, specialty pharmacy, or high-science specialty markets
Prior experience building a function or capability from the ground up in a small or mid-sized biotech environment

Responsibilities

Build and operationalize Xenon’s field effectiveness infrastructure to support launch readiness, launch execution, and post-launch optimization across commercial field teams
Partner with Field Strategy, Marketing, Market Access, Medical, Data Strategy & Analytics, IT, Finance, HR, Legal, and Compliance to translate launch strategy into field-ready processes, tools, and operating rhythms
Serve as a primary Commercial Operations partner to field strategy and leadership, ensuring field execution needs are anticipated, prioritized, and translated into operational and scalable solutions.
Develop and produce field execution analytics and identify gaps in execution quality, adoption, and performance variability
Collaborate on strategy and lead operational execution of territory alignment, targeting refinement, field deployment support, and related vendor workstreams in partnership with Commercial Analytics, Sales leadership, Market Access, IT, and external partners
Own targeting operations and refinement processes, ensuring targeting outputs are accurate, actionable, timely, and aligned to commercial strategy. Collaborate on applicable targeting strategy using dynamic or hybrid data products
Translate field design, account segmentation, and targeting logic into field-ready CRM workflows, call plans, execution guidance, and KPIs
Serve as the business owner or key Commercial Operations partner for field-facing systems and tools, including CRM, field reporting, account planning tools, dashboards, and related technology platforms
Collaborate on business requirements for CRM workflows, field reporting, dashboards, account planning tools, and other field enablement capabilities
Lead incentive compensation operations in partnership with Sales leadership, Finance, HR, Legal, Compliance, and Analytics
Develop and lead IC governance, plan operations, goal-setting inputs, payout operations, issue resolution, documentation, and field communications
Support leadership decision-making by providing clear operational insights on IC effectiveness, field behavior, execution quality, and launch performance signals
Identify, develop, and implement AI-enabled and automation-based solutions that improve field productivity, launch performance, and leadership decision-making
Partner with Commercial Analytics, Data Strategy, IT, Legal, Compliance, Privacy, and business stakeholders to evaluate appropriate AI use cases across field operations and commercial execution
Partner closely with the Senior Director, Field Strategy & Enablement and commercial training team to ensure training materials, onboarding, and launch readiness programs incorporate relevant systems, processes, data, dashboards, CRM workflows, targeting, IC, and operational expectations
Manage external vendors supporting field operations, CRM, targeting, IC, dashboards, credentialing, field technology, or related workstreams
Manage and develop direct reports and/or contractors over time, including potential roles focused on incentive compensation, field operations, and field effectiveness
Operate effectively as both a strategic leader and hands-on builder in a lean, pre-launch / launch-stage biotech environment
Develop and propose short- and long-term objectives for the function in accordance with overall Company strategies and plans
Plan and manage budget proposals and approved budgets in accordance with the Company’s strategic and operating plans and Finance policies
Recruit, lead, direct, develop, coach and evaluate direct reports, if any, in accordance with the Company’s Human Resource policies and practices
Act in accordance with Company policies, including, for example, the Code of Business Conduct and Ethics and ensure policies are understood and followed by direct reports, if any