Sr. Director, Program Management & Business Operations

Alltrna•Cambridge, MA

About The Position

Alltrna is the first clinical-stage biotech company advancing tRNA medicines to address shared disease-causing mutations across many indications. The company’s initial therapeutic programs are designed to restore full-length protein production in diseases caused by premature termination codons (PTCs), collectively referred to as Stop Codon Disease, which affect approximately 10% of people with a rare genetic disease. Alltrna’s lead program, AP003, is a chemically modified, engineered tRNA oligonucleotide encapsulated in a clinically validated, liver-directed lipid nanoparticle. AP003 is being developed for the arginine-to-TGA (Arg-TGA) PTC in patients with liver Stop Codon Disease, including phenylketonuria, organic acidemias, and urea cycle disorders. Founded in 2018 by Flagship Pioneering, Alltrna has built an integrated platform to design, optimize, and deliver engineered tRNA therapeutics. Position Summary: Alltrna is seeking a talented and highly motivated Sr. Director Program Management and Business Operations, reporting to the President & CFO. The successful candidate is a proven leader with extensive experience in leading research and early drug development program teams from research through the clinic with a particular initial focus on IND enabling and early/mid-stage clinical development. The candidate will be a member of the Company’s Leadership Team and will serve as Chief of Staff to the team to drive collaboration, cross-functional clarity, alignment and execution on key priorities and initiatives required to meet the goals of the organization.

Requirements

BS/MS Degree in a scientific discipline, ideally life science or chemistry.
At least 15 years relevant experience in pharma or biotech drug discovery and development, as well as a comprehensive understanding of drug discovery (preclinical and clinical).
10+ years of Program Management experience, preferably in early-stage drug discovery and development.
Demonstrated experience leading cross-functional teams; strong interpersonal and communication skills
Scientific curiosity and passion for discovering new, innovative medicines.
Openness to embrace new technologies and digital approaches in drug discovery
Proven track record in driving successful, collaborative drug discovery teams.

Nice To Haves

Experience in the development of advanced therapies to treat rare genetic disease is a plus

Responsibilities

Work closely with the Chief Medical Officer to lead the program team for the Company’s lead program, AP003, and future programs instilling a culture of scientific rigor, open debate, collaborative teamwork, sense of urgency and accountability
Possess a comprehensive understanding of the drug discovery process to guide program teams to define the key scientific questions, program strategy and objectives, translating these into optimal deliverables, cross-functional plans, timelines and budgets
Identify bottlenecks, risks, issues and proactively develop appropriate mitigation proposals with input from team members
Ensure all key decisions are identified and properly assessed as to their impact and alternative scenarios developed and evaluated, where appropriate
Work closely with finance and functional teams to develop the operational plans to support program activities with realistic timelines, budget, and resource planning and monitor performance against plans
Interface with and drive collaboration between the various functional teams and with the Leadership Team on program-related matters.
Be the key accountable person for communicating matters related to the programs to management including strategy, work product, updates and issues; producing the one “source of truth” for program-related topics and timelines
Point person for alliance management and coordination, as needed
Lead and/or manage strategic or platform development projects as required and collaborate with Chief Scientific Officer and Research Leadership Team to coordinate relevant content for quarterly business review meetings
Collaborate with Leadership Team in development of strategic plans, company goals, long-range planning assumptions, portfolio-level reports and analyses to support business processes and strategic discussions
Develop and deliver impactful presentations that effectively distill complex issues to the critical points and lead to increased understanding and optimized strategic planning & decision-making
Prepare strategic communications utilizing a clear understanding of the business strategy and issues; develop and maintain consistent, relevant content for use in executive-level communications and to further organizational and business goals
Lead the Scientific Communications process, working with the Scientific Communications Committee
Manage schedule, agenda, and content for Leadership Team, Board of Directors and Town Hall meetings
Proactively seek opportunities for organizational improvements (e.g. team structure, processes, communication, etc.)
Support CEO / LT with partnership discussions and negotiations, including background research, preparation of presentation materials, supporting diligence activities, participating in analysis of terms, etc.
Assist in mapping competitive landscape and proactively identify potential and emerging competitive threats and opportunities
Promote strategic discussions on external trends, competitor strategies, and potential disruptors, and translate these into strategic choices/ recommendations
Collect insights and intelligence from a variety of sources including literature searches, reviewing analyst research, KOL and patient group interactions, etc.