Portfolio & Program Management Associate Director

Job Description

Position Summary:

The Associate Director (AD) of Portfolio and Program Management (PPM) sits within the COO’s organization at Vertex and leads programs from Research through early Development. This role will support program teams involved in early research through to candidate preclinical development.  The AD will partner with program leads and cross-functional teams to establish cross-functional strategy and plans to ensure execution against program goals. 

Key Duties and Responsibilities:

• Support disease strategy development within Research and drive cross-functional decision-making across the drug research and early development lifecycle, ensuring alignment between scientific objectives, portfolio priorities, and organizational goals

• In partnership with the program leader guide research and development (R&D) efforts to establish a high performing and data-driven team that delivers on corporate objectives and priorities.

• Support defining the approach and identifying key stakeholders for cross-functional decision-making and issue resolution

• Collaborate and communicate cross-functionally to measure and achieve program goals

• Lead the generation of program assumptions for annual resource allocation and budgeting across research and development functions

• Effectively manage meetings, inclusive of stakeholder management and preparation, communication, and management of action items, decisions and follow-through.

• Communicate complex topics to stakeholders through effective storytelling and content creation

• Develop integrated program planning timelines and reporting.  Define critical path activities, interdependencies, and anticipate bottlenecks.

• Proactively manage project risks, through identification, assessment, mitigation and escalation of gaps, challenges, and potential roadblocks

• Identify, communicate, and manage resource constraints, synergies, and redundancies.

• Establish team operating norms and identify opportunities to improve team performance

• Work with Portfolio and Program leadership team to build, manage, coach and retain PM staff.

Knowledge and Skills:

• Comprehensive knowledge of project and portfolio management principles, best practices, tools, technology and methods

• Leadership experience managing cross-functional teams

• Excellent written and oral communication skills, including well-developed presentation skills

• Comprehensive pharmaceutical drug discovery and development knowledge across multiple disciplines

• Exceptional organizational skills and an ability to manage multiple priorities

• Strong collaboration skills to effectively interact with internal or external stakeholders at all levels of the organization

• Ability to work in a fast-paced and collaborative environment and manage multiple concurrent projects with a high degree of independence 

• Experience in carrying out Risk Analysis, Decision Analysis and Contingency Planning

• A desire to be part of a highly innovative company aimed at transforming the lives of people with serious diseases, their families and society

• Ability to embody the Vertex Core Values of Uncompromising Commitment to Patients, Fearless Pursuit of Excellence, Innovation is Our Lifeblood, and “We” Wins

Education and Experience:

• Typically requires an advanced degree in Life Sciences or a relevant field, (PhD degree preferred or strong demonstration of equivalent combination of relevant educational and professional training)

• Typically requires 8 years of experience, or the equivalent combination of education and experience

• Experience with drug development on cross-functional teams and/or in more than one function

At Vertex, we embrace continuous learning and encourage employees to stay informed on advances in AI, technology, automation, and industry trends. We seek talent who bring an external perspective, demonstrate curiosity and sound judgment, and thoughtfully adopt new capabilities that improve decision-making, drive innovation, increase efficiency, and help deliver better outcomes for patients.

Pay Range:

Disclosure Statement:

Flex Designation:

Flex Eligibility Status:

In this Hybrid-Eligible role, you can choose to be designated as: 1.    Hybrid: work remotely up to two days per week; or select2.    On-Site: work five days per week on-site with ad hoc flexibility.

Note: The Flex status for this position is subject to Vertex’s Policy on Flex @ Vertex Program and may be changed at any time. 

#LI-Hybrid

Company Information

Vertex is a global biotechnology company that invests in scientific innovation.

Vertex is committed to equal employment opportunity and non-discrimination for all employees and qualified applicants without regard to a person's race, color, sex, gender identity or expression, age, religion, national origin, ancestry, ethnicity, disability, veteran status, genetic information, sexual orientation, marital status, or any characteristic protected under applicable law. Vertex is an E-Verify Employer in the United States. Vertex will make reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with known disabilities, in accordance with applicable law.

Any applicant requiring an accommodation in connection with the hiring process and/or to perform the essential functions of the position for which the applicant has applied should make a request to the recruiter or hiring manager, or contact Talent Acquisition at ApplicationAssistance@vrtx.com