Senior Director of Program Management
Seaport Therapeutics is seeking an experienced Senior Director of Program Management to drive forward our clinical stage program. The role will work with the cross-functional program team define program strategy, establish a robust team environment and ensure timely execution of program activities. The candidate will be required to work closely with colleagues from clinical development, CMC, nonclinical, and regulatory (and others) to ensure fully-integrated, cross-functional alignment and execution.
The candidate will also be responsible for driving the identification and implementation of program management best practices within Seaport. In this capacity, the candidate will call upon direct prior experience to adapt proven drug discovery, development, commercialization, and portfolio best practices for Seaport.
This role will report to the Chief Operating Officer and be in the Boston office three to four days a week.
The Company has a proven strategy of advancing clinically validated mechanisms previously held back by limitations that are overcome with its proprietary GlyphTM technology platform. All the therapeutic candidates in its pipeline of first and best-in-class medicines are based on the Glyph platform, which is uniquely designed to enable oral bioavailability, bypass first-pass metabolism and reduce hepatotoxicity and other side effects. Seaport is led by an experienced team that was involved in inventing and advancing KarXT and other neuropsychiatric medicines and are guided by an extensive network of renowned scientists, clinicians and key opinion leaders across neurological specialties. For more information, please visit www.seaporttx.com.
Key Responsibilities:
· Ensure the development and maintenance of program workplans, timelines, integrated development plans with milestones/goals, key events, risks/assumptions and scenarios in collaboration with functional leaders and cross-functional members of teams, including Clinical Development, Clinical Operations, Regulatory, Technical Operations (CMC) & Nonclinical Development.
· Instill a culture of operational excellence with transparent, clear and timely communication, ensuring optimal meeting structure, conduct and outputs, decision making, risk assessment, risk management and lessons learned.
· Identify and champion project and program management best practices, including the use of contemporary templates, tools, and processes to drive efficiency, alignment, decision making, and communication - all leading to effective program planning and execution.
· Drive cross-functional resource, financial, and capacity planning for assigned program(s); contribute to company-wide investment planning (annual budgets) and long-range planning.
· Ensure effective communication of program and portfolio planning to the broader organization, in partnership with Communications.
· Ensure clear, timely, and substantive updates on Program progress and challenges to Executive Leadership Team.
· Manage Program Team meetings, including leading discussions to drive to decision-making, agenda creation, and meeting minutes. Create and maintain document sharing tool for effective team communication and institutional knowledge capture.
· Serve as a key point person for Program Team members, particularly on issue identification, resolution and escalation, as needed.
· Owner for key global program documents, e.g. integrated development plan, risk plan, and additional key status and timeline updates.
Professional Experience/Qualifications:
· BA/BS in business, marketing, finance, science/technology, or related field. An advanced degree (e.g. Ph.D., MBA) is highly preferred.
· 12-15+ years of pharmaceutical/biotech industry experience and a minimum of 8 years in program, portfolio and/or alliance management.
· Experience working directly with Clinical Development, Regulatory, Technical Operations (CMC) & Nonclinical Development.
· Knowledge of the drug discovery, development and commercialization processes
· Broad experience navigating cross-functional teams through critical scientific, regulatory and general development and global commercialization challenges
· Strong leadership skills; demonstrated ability to work well in a collaborative, highly-networked and dynamic team environment; set priorities, and drive results
· Help build and drive high-performing teams
· Experience mentoring and developing team members
· Experience developing strong, effective relationships with key stakeholders
· Strong analytical and problem-solving skills; ability to combine attention to detail within broader strategic context
· Excellent written and oral communication, including presentation and facilitation skills
· Experience presenting complex issues and solutions to senior management
· Demonstrated success in a highly visible role while influencing without authority
· Superior collaboration and negotiation skills, and high degree of self-awareness
· Thrive in a fast-paced environment with strong ability to simultaneously handle multiple activities across the assigned program(s) and functional areas
· Extensive knowledge of clinical development, particularly mid- and late-stage study execution. Experience in neuropsychiatric diseases (e.g. MDD, GAD) is highly desirable.
· Ability to prioritize and execute multiple tasks with a strong attention to detail in a high-intensity, high-visibility environment.
· Ability to distill complex issues and ideas into simple, comprehensible terms and frameworks.
· Passion for making a difference in the world through the creation of new medicines.
