VP, Program Management

Summit Therapeutics Sub•Palo Alto, CA

5d•$285,000 - $330,000

About The Position

About Summit: Summit Therapeutics Inc. is a biopharmaceutical oncology company with a mission focused on improving quality of life, increasing potential duration of life, and resolving serious unmet medical needs. At Summit, we believe in building a team of world class professionals who are passionate about this mission, and it is our people who drive this mission to reality. Summits core values include integrity, passion for excellence, purposeful urgency, collaboration, and our commitment to people. Our employees are truly the heart and soul of our culture, and they are invaluable in shaping our journey toward excellence. Summits team is inspired to touch and help change lives through Summits clinical studies in the field of oncology. Summit has multiple global Phase 3 clinical studies, including: Non-small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) HARMONi: Phase 3 clinical study which was intended to evaluate ivonescimab combined with chemotherapy compared to placebo plus chemotherapy in patients with EGFR-mutated, locally advanced or metastatic non-squamous NSCLC who were previously treated with a 3rd generation EGFR TKI. HARMONi-3: Phase 3 clinical study which is intended to evaluate ivonescimab combined with chemotherapy compared to pembrolizumab combined with chemotherapy in patients with first-line metastatic NSCLC. HARMONi-7: Phase 3 clinical study which is intended to evaluate ivonescimab monotherapy compared to pembrolizumab monotherapy in patients with first-line metastatic NSCLC. Colorectal Cancer (CRC) HARMONi-GI3: Phase 3 clinical study intended to evaluate ivonescimab in combination with chemotherapy compared with bevacizumab plus chemotherapy. Ivonescimab is an investigational therapy not presently approved by any regulatory authority other than Chinas National Medical Products Administration (NMPA). Summit is headquartered in Miami, Florida, and has additional offices in California, New Jersey, the UK, and Ireland. Overview of Role: The Vice President, Program Management reports to the Chief Business & Strategy Officer and will lead the cross-functional program management team to maximize the value of Summits pipeline drug candidates, with a focus on SMT112 (ivonescimab) and drive execution of the development plans, from multiple clinical trials (including Phase III trials) to BLA / MAA / other regulatory approval filings and commercialization. The Vice President of Program Management is accountable for establishing and maintaining an integrated project plan to cover all aspects of the SMT112 development program. The Vice President of Program Management should stimulate creative and productive decision making, motivate, determine accountability and urgency, identify opportunities and challenges, and drive robust and informed discussions on risk identification and mitigation strategies. The Vice President of Program Management will lead with influence and have the negotiation and persuasion skills necessary to ensure success of the program and sets goals for the development of Summits lead asset, SMT112, and specific program-related goals for the cross-functional team members

Requirements

Experience with drug development in oncology is required.
Bachelors degree required; advanced degree (MBA, MS, PhD, PharmD) strongly preferred.
12+ years of experience in program management, or similar function, within biopharmaceutical or life sciences organizations required.
Experience in late-stage drug development and registration preferred.
Experience in cross-functional team leadership, including strategy development and driving tactical delivery of programs.
Prior experience in pre-commercial or early commercial biotech/pharma strongly preferred.
Proven ability to translate complex data into executive-ready insights.
Expertise in project management and process improvement methodologies (PMP, Lean, Six Sigma, Agile).
Strong analytical mindset
Change leadership in fast-paced, evolving environments
Cross-functional collaboration and influence

Responsibilities

Establish and maintain the integrated SMT112 program plan through effective leadership and representation from cross-functional partners, to create and execute a development plan that provides a thorough and clear strategy for maximizing the assets chances of development, regulatory, and commercial success.
Integrating input from all functional areas to identify key development and commercialization issues and the strategic approach to resolve each issue, including associated timelines and deliverables, while also providing clarity on alternative pathways and the tradeoffs to be considered.
Leading discussions with the cross-functional program team to reach decisions, including overcoming challenges when full consensus cannot be reached.
Documenting all key decisions and creating a documentation that is appropriate for the Executive Committee, as well as detailed granular plans to support higher-level timelines and tasks.
Reporting and presenting program information to the Executive Committee, functional heads, and other key stakeholders.
Driving decision-making for development of the pipeline candidates, focused on SMT112, leading to its marketing approval and subsequently its lifecycle strategy, ensuring relevant research, analysis, competitive data, and expertise are taken into account.
Challenging cross-functional representatives to ensure that all issues and questions are being addressed, and that functional area input into the strategy is adequate to meet the objectives of the molecule.
Managing the complexity of internal / external development and proactively identifying issues and risks while leading contingency planning and problem solving.
Ensuring development and implementation of optimal clinical, regulatory, and medical affairs, strategies to protect and maximize asset value.
Ensuring adequate project resource utilization and budget management, providing clarity and transparency on changes and potential tradeoffs.
Mentoring, coaching and developing the team members.
Ensuring team alignment with the Executive Committee and executing on feedback with regard to Go / No-Go decisions, timelines, key activities, resource allocations and budgets, valuations, and prioritization.
Driving strategic alignment for development, research, regulatory, and medical affairs.
Maintaining a focus on pipeline value rather than single project value and a commitment to maximizing portfolio value by supporting Go decisions and appropriately arriving at No-Go decisions.
Other duties as assigned