Executive Director, R&D Strategy & Operations

Travere Therapeutics • San Diego, CA

23h • $246,000 - $332,000 • Remote

About The Position

Be a part of a global team that is inspired to make a difference in the lives of people living with rare disease. At Travere Therapeutics, we recognize that our exceptional employees are vital to our success. We are a dedicated team focused on meeting the unique needs of rare patients. Our work is rewarding – both professionally and personally – because we are making a difference. We are passionate about what we do. We are seeking talented individuals who will thrive in our collaborative, diverse, fast-paced environment and share in our mission – to identify, develop and deliver life-changing therapies to people living with rare disease. We stick by our values centered on patients, courage, community, and collaboration to pursue our vision of becoming a leading biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the delivery of innovation and hope to patients in the global rare disease community. At Travere Therapeutics, we are in rare for life. We continue to courageously forge new paths as we move toward a common goal of elevating science and service for rare patients.

Position Summary:
The Executive Director, R&D Strategy & Operations, serves as the strategic partner and Chief of Staff to the EVP, Head of R&D & Chief Medical Officer, driving organizational effectiveness, strategic alignment, and operational excellence across the R&D organization.

This highly visible leadership role partners closely with the EVP and the R&D Leadership Team to ensure strategic priorities are translated into coordinated execution, organizational risks are proactively identified, and opportunities for collaboration are realized across Research, Technical Operations, Clinical Development, Clinical Operations, Clinical Pharmacology, Biometrics, Pharmacovigilance, Regulatory Affairs, Quality, and Medical Affairs.

As a cross-functional strategic partner, this role provides enterprise-wide visibility into organizational priorities, portfolio strategy, resource allocation, and operational performance, facilitating informed executive decision-making and ensuring alignment between strategic objectives, organizational capabilities, and financial investments.

This role complements existing Project and Program Management functions by focusing on R&D strategy, organizational effectiveness, executive decision support, and cross-functional integration rather than day-to-day program execution.

The Executive Director serves as a key interface between R&D leadership and enterprise-wide strategic initiatives, partnering closely with the Enterprise Effectiveness Committee to ensure R&D priorities are aligned with broader company objectives while representing the needs of R&D within enterprise planning and governance.

Success in this role requires exceptional strategic thinking, organizational leadership, change management expertise, and the ability to influence across functions without direct authority.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in life sciences, business, healthcare, or related discipline required. Equivalent combination of education and applicable job experience may be considered
• 12+ years of biotechnology/pharmaceutical industry experience required.
• 10+ years of demonstrated progressive leadership experience in R&D strategy, operations, portfolio strategy, organizational effectiveness, or related roles, including significant experience partnering with executive leadership and leading complex, R&D initiatives.

Nice To Haves

• Advanced degree (PhD, MD, PharmD, MBA, or equivalent) strongly preferred.
• The ideal candidate will embody Travere’s core values: Courage, Community Spirit, Patient Focus and Teamwork
• Driven, intelligent, passionate about making a difference for patients with rare diseases
• Strong understanding of the end-to-end drug development lifecycle.
• Demonstrated experience in establishing an operating model for R&D leadership teams to increase effectiveness and collaboration across R&D functions.
• Proven ability to improve visibility into priorities, risks, resources, and portfolio execution.
• Strong leadership skills in managing organizational change by establishing clear change objectives, engaging stakeholders, anticipating barriers, and driving sustained adoption of new ways of working.
• Strong experience in fostering collaborative relationship building in designing scalable processes supporting organizational growth.
• Exceptional communication, strategic thinking, influence, and discretion.

Responsibilities

• Serve as a trusted strategic advisor and Chief of Staff to the EVP, Head of R&D & CMO.
• Maintain broad visibility across all R&D functions to identify emerging opportunities, organizational risks, and issues requiring executive attention.
• Provide regular synthesis of priorities, risks, dependencies, resources, and key decision points.
• Represent the Office of the EVP in cross-functional meetings and strategic initiatives.
• Support Executive Team, Board, and strategic planning materials.
• Support long-range R&D strategy and portfolio planning.
• Monitor the external scientific, clinical, competitive, and business landscape.
• Enable cross-functional diligence for licensing, partnership, and acquisition opportunities.
• Support integration planning for newly acquired or partnered assets.
• Develop executive analyses and recommendations for trade-offs, sequencing, and risk/return considerations.
• Improve organizational effectiveness and cross-functional collaboration.
• Facilitate resolution of complex cross-functional issues.
• Support organizational design and change initiatives.
• Partner with People Success on leadership development and succession planning.
• Lead the R&D Leadership Team operating model and governance framework.
• Plan and lead cross-functional R&D leadership meetings (R&D Leadership Roundtable), strategic planning sessions, portfolio reviews, off-sites, and R&D Leadership workshops.
• Develop executive dashboards and reporting.
• Partner with Finance Business Partners and R&D leaders on budgeting, forecasting, and resource planning, as needed.
• Maintain an enterprise-level view of R&D investments.
• Identify resource constraints and investment gaps.
• Lead integrated R&D resource planning and allocation discussions across R&D.
• Develop integrated operational, portfolio, and financial analyses.
• Serve as a trusted liaison between R&D and the Enterprise Effectiveness Committee.
• Represent R&D priorities in enterprise initiatives.
• Translate enterprise priorities into coordinated R&D action plans.
• Coordinate communications from the Office of the EVP with clarity, accuracy, and aligned with Travere values.
• Lead the agenda, cadence and planning of R&D leadership meetings
• Develop executive presentations and leadership messaging, as needed.
• Support Board, Executive Team, investor, and scientific meeting preparation.
• Lead administrative operations supporting the Office of the EVP.
• Provide leadership to the Executive Assistant supporting the R&D Leadership Team.
• Develop and lead implementation of scalable administrative processes.

Benefits

• premium health, financial, work-life and well-being offerings for eligible employees and dependents, wellness and employee support programs, life insurance, disability, retirement plans with employer match and generous paid time off.
• Our competitive compensation package includes a combination of both cash compensation (base pay and short-term incentive) and long-term incentive compensation (company stock), designed to recognize, retain, and reward employees.

What This Job Offers

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