Associate Director/ Director, Launch Excellence and Planning Lead - Neurology

at  Ionis Pharmaceuticals Inc

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc., is headquartered in Carlsbad, California, with offices in Boston, Massachusetts, and Dublin, Ireland. For more than 30 years, Ionis has been the leader in RNA-targeted therapy, pioneering new markets and changing standards of care with our novel antisense technology. Ionis currently has three marketed medicines and a premier late-stage pipeline highlighted by industry-leading cardiovascular and neurological franchises. Our scientific innovation began and continues with the knowledge that sick people depend on us, which fuels our vision to become the undisputed leader in genetic medicine, utilizing a multi-platform approach to discover, develop and deliver life-transforming therapies.
As the first company to fully harness the power of RNA technology for human therapeutics, Ionis’ platform continues to revolutionize drug discovery and transform lives for patients with unmet needs. We are building upon our innovative research and drug development excellence to provide greater value to patients, and we are well positioned financially to deliver on our strategic goals.
Ionis is a challenging, motivating and rewarding environment designed to foster innovation and scientific excellence. Our success is a direct result of our outstanding employees. We are interested in bringing together a diverse group of individuals with different skill sets and perspectives into this creative environment to be part of a productive and inclusive team. While acknowledging people are actively engaged in hybrid/remote work, we continue to invest time, money, and energy into making our workplace locations a place where our culture and employees can thrive. We believe engaging on a day-to-day basis, in person, builds solid and lasting relationships, and contributes positively to our culture and innovation. From the heart of our stunning Carlsbad campus, we aim to provide a central connection point for all our employees. These facilities give us the opportunity to connect cross-functionally, collaborate and to build on the success of our business as we continue to grow. Join us and experience our unique culture while you develop and expand your career.

SUMMARY:

The Associate Director/Director of Launch Excellence and Planning (LEAP) is responsible for leading integrated launch readiness planning and execution within the Corporate Operations department for Ionis neurology assigned assets. The role will partner with the Global Commercial Asset Lead and launch team to ensure launch readiness for assigned assets. The individual will achieve this through deep cross-functional alignment and collaboration via implementation and management of the Ionis Launch Excellence framework & end-to-end processes.

REQUIREMENTS:

• BA or BS required, MBA preferred;
• Launch experience including commercialization of new therapeutic products required, Neurology Rare Disease experience a plus;
• Strong knowledge of key pharmaceutical functions including commercial, marketing, field teams, market access, medical, regulatory, clinical development, and supply & distribution;
• Proven ability to influence without authority and work with cross-functional teams in the development and delivery of strategic imperatives;
• Direct team leadership experience;
• Established performance record as operations leader in effectively directing planning processes, business analytics, and core functional capabilities;
• Demonstrated ability to present complex issues to higher level management and contribute to high level presentations and discussions, as well as understand cross-geographic issues;
• Ability to lead senior level teams to desired goals;
• Exceptional project management skills with demonstrated experience in leading enterprise projects;
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office, particularly Excel, PowerPoint, Word and Project;
• Proficiency in cloud-based project management and collaboration software, e.g., Smartsheet;
• A strong focus on execution, accountability and acting with integrity;
• Ability to thrive under tight deadlines and work confidently amidst ambiguity and uncertainty;
• Advocate transparency and collaboration across functional teams;
• Preferred location in Carlsbad or Boston and able to travel to meeting sites, including overnight trips, up to 25%.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• The LEAP lead will provide a regular cadence of strategic support to the Commercial Lead and launch team, leading the build and operationalization of an integrated and cross-functional plan:
• Define launch team governance and routines (e.g., pressure test, refine, and finalize the launch governance model, including meeting cadence, meeting norms, ways of working, etc.);
• Identify strategic and executional launch priorities;
• Develop, pressure test, refine and finalize the master integrated tactical launch plan for assigned Ionis assets;
• Act as the center for launch coordination, managing the execution of the launch plan, inclusive of leading agenda and materials creation for brand team meetings, conducting regular 1:1 meetings across functions, and developing and executing best practices to track progress;
• Lead the preparation of and facilitate Launch Readiness Review (LRR) meetings with Ionis Executive Leadership Team;
• Develop Launch Trackers and reports as needed for leadership;
• Proactively identify risks and issues, and manage solutioning for corrective actions/mitigation strategies;
• Partner closely with above brand LEAP lead to ensure alignment between commercial build and brand specific launch readiness needs;
• Develop and maintain appropriate communication and launch management tools to ensure team effectiveness: Risks, Actions, Issues and Decision logs, accurate meeting minutes, and collaborative working tools (e.g., SharePoint site, Smartsheet, etc.).
• The LEAP lead is responsible to help surface and address an evolving portfolio of unresolved issues and episodic needs, partnering with the Commercial Lead to best determine how to drive these initiatives to resolution:
• Develop an integrated Day 1 Plan, a comprehensive playbook and minute-by-minute plan of activities triggered by approval
• Support the execution of end-to-end testing of people / process / systems readiness for launch (Mock Launch) to identify and address corrective actions;
• Identify critical issues and common “watch outs” that commonly appear in launch planning and proactively catalyze appropriate action to mitigate and/or drive resolution (e.g., field force integration, MLR process, customer experience mapping, etc.);
• Work with other team members to provide launch readiness status updates as needed, drive agenda and material development for key meetings including Quarterly Business Reviews and Board of Directors presentations;
• Support asset specific deliverables for Integrated Strategic Product Planning Process and Budget.

OTHER KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Identify and proactively pull through best practices, key learnings and efficiencies across Brands and functions;
• In coordination with LEAP team, facilitate consistent implementation of launch excellence tools and processes globally;
• Drive the continued build-out of, and updates to, the Ionis Launch Playbook, inclusive of Ionis’ approach to launch, its framework and end-to-end processes to support launch readiness and best practices;
• Maintain highly effective coordination and execution alignment with key functions to ensure successful delivery of corporate processes and deliverables (e.g., Finance/Budget, Global Product Strategy integrated calendar, Board of Directors materials);
• Opportunity to grow managerial responsibilities over time;
• Opportunity to contribute to enterprise level initiatives and roles to drive organizational performance and outcomes.