Senior Director - Enterprise Applications
About The Position
This position is an executive technology leader accountable for Pharming’s enterprise application strategy, governance, performance, and value realization across the company. The role ensures that Pharming’s core business applications enable scalable growth, operational excellence, regulatory compliance, data-driven decision-making, and business transformation. Acting as a strategic partner to the Executive leader of Digital Transformation & IT, Executive Committee, and senior business leaders, the person in this role translates business priorities into enterprise-wide application capabilities and ensures that technology investments deliver measurable business value. This role is responsible for shaping the future application landscape, simplifying complexity, strengthening operational resilience, and ensuring that critical platforms are secure, compliant, integrated, and fit for purpose in a global biopharmaceutical environment. This is an important moment of transformation for Pharming’s digital and technology capabilities, as they evolve from a traditional support function into a more integrated, enterprise-wide enabler of business value. You will have the opportunity to influence how applications, data, technology, processes, and ways of working develop across the organization, helping to build scalable, resilient, and future-ready capabilities that support Pharming’s continued growth. This position is based in our Warren, NJ office with a hybrid schedule of 2-3 in office days per week.
Requirements
- Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Business Administration, Engineering, Life Sciences, or a related field.
- At least 15 years of applicable experience including significant senior leadership experience in enterprise applications, preferably in a global or regulated organization
- Proven experience owning application strategy, portfolio governance, lifecycle management, and enterprise roadmap delivery.
- Strong experience with major enterprise platforms such as ERP, CRM, HR.
- Demonstrated ability to influence executive stakeholders and translate business strategy into technology-enabled outcomes.
- Familiarity with GxP, computer system validation, and regulatory inspection readiness.
- Experience with application modernization, SaaS/cloud platforms, integration strategy, data enablement, and portfolio rationalization.
- Methodologies such as ITIL, PMP, PRINCE2, Agile/Scrum, or relevant platform/cloud certifications.
- Strong understanding of compliance, validation, cybersecurity, privacy, audit, data integrity, and risk management in regulated environments.
- Proven vendor, partner, contract, budget, and service performance management experience.
- Experience leading teams, managing change, and building scalable operating models.
- Fluent English required; Dutch or other European languages are an advantage.
- Willingness to travel internationally, estimated at 10-20%.
- Commitment and alignment to Pharming’s mission, core values, and behaviors.
- Executive presence and strategic judgement.
- Strong business partnering and stakeholder influence.
- Commercial and financial acumen.
- Ability to balance growth, compliance, resilience, and innovation.
- Clear communication and decision-making.
- Change leadership and organizational maturity building.
- Strong ownership, accountability, and delivery discipline.
Nice To Haves
- Experience in biotechnology, healthcare, or life sciences a plus.
Responsibilities
- Define and execute the enterprise applications strategy, roadmap, and governance model.
- Ensure the application portfolio supports Pharming’s strategic priorities, operating model, and growth ambitions.
- Drive simplification, standardization, modernization, and rationalization of the application landscape.
- Establish clear ownership, lifecycle management, investment prioritization, and decision-making across the portfolio.
- Partner with executive and senior business leaders to translate strategic priorities into application capabilities. Ensure applications enable effective business processes, user productivity, compliance, and data-driven decision-making.
- Govern business demand and ensure technology investments are prioritized based on value, risk, urgency, and strategic alignment.
- Oversee major application programs, enhancements, upgrades, integrations, and transformation initiatives. Ensure delivery of projects within agreed scope, quality, timeline, budget, compliance, and business outcome expectations
- Ensure application initiatives are aligned with enterprise architecture, security, data, and infrastructure strategies
- Ensure enterprise applications operate in accordance with applicable regulatory, quality, privacy, cybersecurity, validation, audit, and data integrity requirements.
- Maintain strong governance over application controls, access management, change control, documentation, and audit readiness.
- Identify and mitigate application-related risks, including technical debt, vendor dependency, lifecycle risk, service continuity, and compliance exposure.
- Ensure critical applications have appropriate support, continuity, recovery, and resilience arrangements
- Own strategic relationships with software vendors, implementation partners, managed service providers, and consultants. Ensure partners deliver against agreed service levels, contracts, business outcomes, quality standards, and compliance expectations.
- Drive commercial discipline across licensing, renewals, vendor performance, contracts, and external delivery models.
- Ensure reliable, user-focused application support and service performance.
- Govern incident, problem, change, release, and enhancement management across the application portfolio.
- Use service metrics, business feedback, and risk indicators to drive continuous improvement.
- Improve application usability, stability, integration quality, data flow, and operational efficiency.
- Lead, develop, and mature the enterprise applications function. Build a team culture focused on accountability, business partnership, delivery excellence, and continuous improvement.
- Develop internal capability while effectively leveraging external partners.
Benefits
- Flexible hybrid work schedule to promote a healthy work-life balance
- Competitive compensation package including annual target bonus
- Long-term incentive program
- 401(k) plan with company match
- Paid Time Off (PTO)
- 13 Company Holidays per year
- Excellent benefit plans including medical, dental, and vision
- Flexible spending accounts
- Company-provided life insurance, short-term disability, and long-term disability plans
- Optional accident, hospital indemnity, critical illness, and pet insurance plans
- Tuition reimbursement program
- Health and wellness program
- Choice of company provided mobile phone or cell phone stipend
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Executive
