Director, Commercialized Asset Planning Lead

Headquartered in Carlsbad, California, and with offices in Boston, Massachusetts, and Dublin, Ireland, Ionis has been at work for more than three decades discovering medical breakthroughs that have redefined life for people with serious diseases. We’re pioneers in RNA‑targeted medicines, and our platform continues to revolutionize drug discovery and transform lives for patients with unmet needs. With multiple marketed medicines and a leading pipeline in neurology, cardiology and select areas of high patient needs, we continue to drive innovation in RNA therapies in addition to advancing new approaches in gene editing to provide greater value to patients and are well positioned financially to deliver on our strategic goals.

Summary

The Director of Commercialized Asset Planning will play a critical role in driving the success of commercialized assets post‑launch within the Corporate Operations department for Ionis. The role will partner with the Global Commercial Brand and Asset Leads and brand teams to ensure successful post‑launch management for assigned assets. The Director is also accountable for documenting, deploying and applying in‑market product best practices, functional processes and key documents and templates across assets.

Responsibilities

• Provide a regular cadence of strategic support to brand leads and commercial teams, including serving as a trusted advisor with objective, forward‑looking insights.
• Identify strategic and executional priorities, proactively uncovering risks and issues, and managing solutioning for corrective actions and mitigation strategies.
• Act as the center for cross‑functional coordination across the brand team, ensuring consistency and accountability in execution, leading agendas and materials for brand meetings, conducting cross‑functional workstreams, and supporting ad‑hoc workshops as needed.
• Lead or support high‑impact initiatives that lack a natural owner but are critical to brand success.
• Develop and maintain appropriate communication and brand‑management tools to ensure team effectiveness.
• Drive core business cadence and performance management efforts in partnership with Commercial Leads, supporting execution of critical brand processes such as quarterly business reviews, annual brand planning, and ongoing performance assessments; develop board‑ready materials; identify opportunities to enhance in‑market customer experience and integrate insights into planning cycles.
• Support ex‑US partnership management by serving as the primary liaison for the brand with ex‑US counterparts to ensure alignment on brand strategy and market execution.
• Support the formalization and documentation of best practices and lessons learned within the functional team by pulling through best practices, key learnings and efficiencies across brands and functions; documenting processes; partnering closely with Commercial Strategy and Operations to align commercial build with brand‑specific needs.

Requirements

• BA or BS with at least 15 years related experience required; MBA with 12 years of related experience preferred.
• Demonstrated expertise in in‑market brand support and lifecycle management.
• Launch experience including commercialization of new therapeutic products required; 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 collaborate with cross‑functional teams to deliver strategic imperatives.
• Established performance record as an operations leader effectively directing planning processes, business analytics, and core functional capabilities.
• Demonstrated ability to present complex issues to senior management and contribute to high‑level presentations and discussions.
• Ability to lead senior‑level teams toward desired goals.
• Exceptional project management skills with experience 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 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 ability to travel to meeting sites, including overnight trips, up to 25%.

Key Attributes

• Strong business judgment, influence skills, leadership, and integrity are essential.
• Ability to set priorities and provide guidance on effective execution of those priorities, with or without positional authority.
• Superior time management, organizational skills, and attention to detail; ability to manage a high‑capacity workload.
• High degree of autonomy and self‑motivation, demonstrating initiative and an ability to manage multiple priorities with urgency and results orientation.
• Ability to proactively anticipate and address risks and issues.
• Ability to remain calm with a clear sense of direction under stressful and sometimes chaotic circumstances typical of a pharmaceutical launch.
• Possess initiative with natural energy, motivation, and endurance to work in an evolving, growth‑oriented, fast‑paced environment.
• High degree of intellectual agility to manage complex business and technical issues.
• Ability to provide and ensure role clarity and accountability for team projects.
• Superior critical thinking skills with proven analytical business acumen.
• No ego. High spirit of generosity and help to others.
• High “EQ” and collaborative, kind team player; sense of fairness and respect in dealing with coworkers; open and honest with peers and superiors: no surprises, no politics.
• Demonstrated ability to develop strong, trusting business relationships at all levels and be regarded as a trusted partner.
• Strong facilitation, diplomacy, negotiation, and mediation skills.