Director, Organizational Development

Day One Biopharmaceuticals•Brisbane, CA

5h•$215,000 - $230,000•Hybrid

About The Position

At Day One, we are focused on advancing first- or best-in-class medicines for childhood and adult diseases with equal intensity. We were founded to address the lack of new therapies resulting from the traditional drug development model, that has left children with cancer and their families waiting too long for new, life-changing treatments. Our aim is to accelerate better, targeted treatments so patients of any age can look forward from ‘day one’ to the future they’ve envisioned. POSITION SUMMARY: Reporting to the VP, People Business Partners, you will work across all levels of the organization, from executives, functional leaders, product teams, to intact teams, helping leaders move from functional excellence to enterprise effectiveness. You are a builder, a facilitator, and a quiet force for clarity. Strong preference for candidates in San Francisco Bay Area or Greater Boston area who can work a hybrid schedule with regular in-office days. The Opportunity The Director of Organizational Development is an enterprise capability builder. This role designs and enables the systems, frameworks, and leadership behaviors that allow Day One to operate as a cohesive, decision-capable organization, especially as complexity increases across functions, product teams, and stages of development. This is not a traditional training role. There are no standard curricula to manage and no classrooms to run. Instead, this role focuses on: Strengthening enterprise mindset Improving decision quality and speed Enabling effective cross-functional leadership Supporting the evolution of product team–centric ways of working We are building a company designed for decisions that matter : scientific, clinical, and commercial choices made with rigor, speed, and shared accountability. As we scale, success depends not just on what we decide—but how we decide, together . This role exists to help make that “how” intentional.

Requirements

10+ years of experience in organizational development, organizational effectiveness, or enterprise leadership enablement—ideally within biotech, pharma, healthcare, or complex matrixed environments.
Demonstrated success building enterprise capabilities , not just programs.
Strong facilitation skills and comfort working with senior leaders and intact teams.
Systems thinking: you see patterns, incentives, and unintended consequences.
Sound judgment and emotional intelligence; you know when to push and when to pause.
Comfort operating through influence in a matrix, flexing style based on context and audience.

Responsibilities

Enterprise Capability & Decision-Making Design and implement decision-making frameworks that improve clarity, accountability, and speed across the enterprise.
Help leaders navigate complex trade-offs by introducing shared language, decision rights, and escalation paths.
Enable enterprise-level thinking to help leaders optimize for Day One, not just their function or team.
Organizational Effectiveness & Ways of Working Build and evolve operating models that support cross-functional collaboration (e.g Product teams, sub-teams, MLR, etc).
Partner with teams to clarify roles, interfaces, and expectations as the organization scales.
Diagnose organizational friction points and facilitate practical, human-centered interventions.
Leadership & Culture Enablement Translate Day One’s values and leadership expectations into observable behaviors and practices .
Design leadership tools, playbooks, and forums that reinforce enterprise mindset and accountability.
Support leaders through moments of growth, change, and ambiguity with grounded, thoughtful guidance.
Product Team Enablement (Supportive, Not Owning) Serve as a strategic resource to product teams and leaders operating within the product team primacy model.
Support the development of team charters, decision forums, and collaboration norms.
Help leaders reflect on and enhance how product teams function without taking ownership of or policing execution.
Facilitation & Strategic Intervention Facilitate leadership sessions, team resets, and cross-functional working sessions when alignment or clarity is needed.
Use data, observation, and listening to inform recommendations and next steps.
Balance structure with flexibility, knowing when to guide, when to challenge, and when to get out of the way!