Senior Director, Portfolio & Program Management

Vertex Pharmaceuticals • Boston, MA

19h

About The Position

The Senior Director, Portfolio & Program Management is a global leadership role within Vertex’s Program and Portfolio Management organization. The position champions cross-functional project management excellence across the drug development lifecycle, including Research, Pre-clinical and Clinical Development, Registration, and Commercialization. The role leads the application of project management to identify opportunities, shape objectives, and drive execution of global strategy for cross-functional drug development teams and portfolio operations initiatives. It is accountable for the performance and end results of a department or area.

The Senior Director provides strategic and operational leadership to cross-functional teams, guides work throughout the project lifecycle, and communicates integrated program plans, timelines, status, risks, and issues to teams and senior leaders. The role anticipates roadblocks, leads scenario planning, aligns strategies and milestones with corporate objectives, and advises on process improvements and approaches to decision-making. It oversees team deliverables and operating norms, measures performance, and mentors managers and senior professionals. As a people manager, the role may have financial and human-resource responsibilities for assigned professionals and subordinate managers.

The position is hybrid-eligible or on-site eligible. Hybrid employees may work remotely up to two days per week; on-site employees work 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 Life Sciences or a relevant field.
• Typically 12 years of experience and 5 years of management experience, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Broad and comprehensive understanding of project and portfolio management principles, options analysis, strategic planning, business case generation, finance, and resource management.
• Leadership experience managing cross-functional teams and influencing teams to prioritize activities and allocate resources in support of operational strategy.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills, including well-developed presentation skills.
• Expertise in pharmaceutical drug discovery and development across multiple disciplines.
• Organizational skills and ability to manage multiple priorities.
• Strong collaboration skills for interacting effectively with internal or external stakeholders at all organizational levels.
• Advanced business-management knowledge to assess the impact of project decisions on financial and corporate objectives.

Nice To Haves

• Curiosity, sound judgment, and an external perspective, with thoughtful adoption of advances in AI, technology, automation, and industry trends to improve decision-making, innovation, efficiency, and patient outcomes.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic and operational project leadership to one or more cross-functional teams, directing activities from project initiation through closeout.
• Drive cross-functional and senior-leader communication on integrated program planning, including timelines, status, risks, and issues.
• Identify roadblocks or constraints affecting strategic imperatives or project execution and lead teams through scenario planning.
• Partner with governance forums, senior leaders, and team leads to align strategy, goals, and milestones with corporate objectives.
• Propose innovative approaches, define process improvements, and advise leaders on opportunities to optimize project results.
• Determine approaches and stakeholders for cross-functional decision-making and issue resolution.
• Oversee completion of project-team deliverables and contribute to content development when appropriate.
• Establish project-team operating norms and measure performance.
• Use subject-matter expertise to mentor subordinate managers and high-level professionals.
• As a people manager, potentially oversee financial and human-resource responsibilities for assigned high-level professionals and subordinate managers.

Benefits

• Eligible for an annual bonus and 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).

What This Job Offers

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