Director, Commercial Training, Communication, and Engagement

Company Description

Deciphera, a member of ONO, is a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing important new medicines to improve the lives of people with cancer. We are leveraging our proprietary switch-control kinase inhibitor platform and deep expertise in kinase biology to develop a broad portfolio of innovative medicines.

Enabled by our proprietary drug discovery platform, Deciphera has developed a diverse pipeline of wholly-owned drug candidates. QINLOCK® (ripretinib) is Deciphera’s switch control inhibitor developed for the treatment of fourth-line GIST. QINLOCK is approved in Australia, Canada, China, the European Union, Hong Kong, Switzerland, Taiwan, the United States, and the United Kingdom.  We wholly own QINLOCK and all of our drug candidates with the exception of a development and commercialization out-license agreement for QINLOCK in Greater China. In addition to QINLOCK, we have identified and advanced multiple product candidates from our platform into clinical studies, including vimseltinib and DCC-3116.  

See here for more details on our portfolio.

We offer an outstanding culture and opportunity for personal and professional growth guided by our “PATHS” Core Values and how we work together. We are proud to be Great Place to Work Certified 2023 and rank #25 on Fortune’s Best Places to Work Small and Midsized Biotech Companies in 2023. Find more details about our award-winning culture here. 

Job Description

Deciphera is seeking a seasoned, dynamic commercial leader with extensive product launch experience to lead the company’s commercial training, engagement and brand communications capabilities.  The Director will be responsible for CTCE strategy and execution for the company’s broad and diverse oncology portfolio including its lead asset QINLOCK, a highly-selective, broad-spectrum KIT and PDGFRa kinase switch control inhibitor currently on the market for the treatment of GIST, and prepare for the launch of vimseltinib, an orally administered, potent and highly selective switch-control kinase inhibitor of CSF1R, currently in development for the treatment for tenosynovial giant cell tumor (TGCT).   The Director of CTCE is a critical commercial role that will be instrumental to Deciphera’s continued success in driving brand results for multiple assets, maintaining a best-in class field team and cultivating the commercial team culture. 

What You’ll Do:

• Director of CTCE will play a critical role in evolving and leading the vision, structure, talent base, and capabilities of the commercial organization, with a focus on the sales team.  Accountabilities of this role include not only leading a high-performing training function, but also lead franchise communications and development of optimal engagement strategies across the commercial team. 
• Success in this role will require close partnership with members of the commercial leadership team (CLT) to:
  • Develop all training to prepare for the launch in a new disease state
  • Guide commercial strategy of multiple brands and pull through execution
  • Develop and implement new organizational capabilities with a focus in rare disease and maintain a best-in-class sales force
  • Lead communications across the sales and marketing team and act as a liaison across commercial functions
  • Establish and cultivate a positive team culture based on respect, trust, integrity, professionalism, humility, continual improvement, putting patients first, and “doing the right thing.” 

Training Responsibilities

• Partner with fellow CLT members to establish the concepts of learning, development, and continual improvement as core competencies of the commercial organization
• Partner closely with members of the CLT to define and continually evaluate the commercial team’s training and effectiveness needs based on robust market insights; organization structure and roles; and commercial objectives, strategy, and performance.
• Partner with internal subject matter experts (commercial, medical affairs, clinical development, legal, regulatory, HR, etc.) and external vendors/consultants to develop and/or source tailored training content that meets specific commercial needs.  Content topics could include:
  • Clinical content – disease state, patient journey, current and evolving diagnostic and treatment paradigms, unmet needs, ripretinib, vimseltinib and competitor product profiles, etc.
  • New hire/onboarding – in partnership with HR to communication corporate info, benefits, IT support, HR processes, etc.; sales acumen and product/disease state overview
  • Customer insights – key insights into the needs and perspectives of Deciphera’s key customers including academic vs. co