Associate Director, Medical Affairs, Operations

Who We Are:


Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE) is a neuroscience-focused biopharmaceutical company committed to discovering, developing, and commercializing innovative therapeutics to improve the lives of people living with neurological and psychiatric disorders. We are looking for great people who thrive in a respectful, collaborative, inclusive, and productive culture to join the Xenon team.


What We Do:


We are advancing an exciting product pipeline to address indications with high unmet medical need, including epilepsy and depression. Our flagship azetukalner program represents the most advanced potassium channel modulator in clinical development for multiple indications. Building upon the positive results and compelling data from our Phase 2b “X-TOLE” study in adult patients with focal epilepsy, our Phase 3 epilepsy program includes multiple clinical trials evaluating azetukalner in patients with focal onset seizures and primary generalized tonic-clonic seizures. In 2024, we are planning to initiate a Phase 3 azetukalner program in major depressive disorder, based on topline data from our Phase 2 “X-NOVA” clinical trial. In addition, we are proud of the leading-edge science coming out of our discovery labs, including early-stage research programs that leverage our extensive ion channel expertise and drug discovery capabilities to identify validated drug targets and develop new product candidates. Backed by a strong balance sheet to support our growth plans, we continue to build a fully integrated, premier neuroscience company with strong discovery, clinical development, corporate, and commercial operations.


About the Role:


We are seeking an Associate Director, Medical Affairs, Operations to help lead enterprise level operational initiatives and major cross-functional events across the Medical Affairs team at Xenon. To succeed in this role, you need to have a strategic mindset, strong project management skills, and experience in digital initiatives. You need to bring energy, structure, and creativity to large-scale programs and thrive in matrixed environments where influence and collaboration are essential. Ideally, you are an individual that is excited by both high impact events and the behind-the-scenes work that makes strategic execution possible.
This role centers on orchestrating strategic projects and major events that shape how Medical operates, while also identifying opportunities to innovate and streamline processes through digital solutions. You will manage high visibility programs including support of the Medical Annual Plan preparation, field system rollouts, and capability building frameworks that can improve field engagement and operational workflows. Reporting to the Head of Medical Operations, this role combines operational leadership with strategic execution and innovation support.
You will work within a multidisciplinary team, interfacing with management, key internal stakeholders and partners from IT, finance, and operations amongst others. Your contributions will directly influence and shape the successful execution of our medical affairs strategies.
This position will be based out of Boston, MA, USA in our Needham office. For Boston based candidates, this is a hybrid position, requiring a minimum of 2 days per week in the office. We will consider other jurisdictions for exceptional candidates.
RESPONSIBILITIES:
• Support enterprise-level system and capability rollouts (e.g. Veeva enhancements, Launch Excellence framework, etc.), collaborating across therapeutic areas and functions.
• Lead the planning and execution of Medical major cross-functional meetings, including key congresses, internal summits and other events, ensuring alignment across functions and seamless execution.
• Oversee the development of scalable operational frameworks, and RACI that drive process optimization and enable Medical Affairs plan execution.
• Lead initiative to enhance operational excellence, aligning internal stakeholders around shared priorities and continuous improvement efforts.
• Manage the monthly agenda planning and coordination for the Medical Leadership Team, ensuring strategic content delivery and leadership alignment.
• Collaboratively lead the establishment, process development and operational management for the evidence generation initiatives (e.g. Investigator-Sponsored Research and Collaborative Studies) and for the strategic oversight of annual and long-range financial planning and budget management for medical affairs.
• Identify, assess, and pilot emerging technologies (e.g., AI, omnichannel, automation) that enhance the impact of Medical's operations and external engagement.
• Serve as a connector with external benchmarking groups (e.g., MAPS, best practices consortiums) and internal partners like IT and Operations to stay ahead of innovation tre