Senior Director, Medical Affairs Operations

The Company:
With deep expertise in chemistry, Nuvalent is working to create selective medicines designed with the goal to address the needs of patients with cancer.  Nuvalent is an exciting early-stage company, bringing together experienced scientists and industry veterans with a proven track record in drug discovery, oncology drug development, and company building. 

The Role:

Reporting to the Head of Nuvalent Medical Affairs, the Senior Director of Medical Affairs Operations will serve as a strategic thought partner to the Head of Medical Affairs and the Medical Affairs Leadership Team (MALT). This role provides operational leadership, discipline, and alignment across Medical Affairs, ensuring that objectives, processes, and resources are optimized to deliver impact at scale. The incumbent will drive operational excellence, enable cross-functional collaboration, and oversee field operations, insights, and analytics to support the organization’s growth and transformation.

Responsibilities:

• Strategic Partnership & Leadership
  • Act as a trusted advisor to the Head of Medical Affairs and MALT, shaping operational strategy and execution.
  • Drive strong cross-functional team planning and alignment (e.g. MALT, MALT/CLT, Medical Strategy, and IEGT), ensuring smooth ways of working and operational discipline, with seamless execution of strategic priorities.
• Performance Management and Launch Readiness
  • Lead KPI and objectives planning, tracking, and reporting to ensure accountability and transparency.
  • Develop dashboards and reporting frameworks to provide real-time visibility into Medical Affairs performance, risks, and resource utilization; establish frameworks for measuring impact and continuous improvement.
• Operational Excellence and Continuous Improvement
  • Define and evolve ways of working within Medical Affairs, including process development, capability building, and cross-functional orchestration.
  • Drive continuous process improvement and simplification, including SOP development and refinement to ensure scalability and compliance.
• Financial Stewardship
  • Oversee budget planning, forecasting, and resource allocation to ensure fiscal discipline and strategic investment.
  • Partner with Finance to align operational spend with organizational priorities.
• Risk Management & Executive Communications
  • Identify, assess, and mitigate operational risks, ensuring proactive management and transparent escalation to leadership.
  • Craft and deliver executive communications that synthesize operational performance, risks, and strategic initiatives for senior leadership and board audiences.
• Strategic Initiatives and Capability Building
  • Support and enable key initiatives such as regional expansion, organizational transformation, and business model evolution.
  • Support Medical capability building initiatives, ensuring teams are equipped with the skills, processes, and tools to deliver impact.
• Knowledge & Communication
  • Establish central knowledge management systems to ensure accessibility and transparency of information.
  • Facilitate effective team communication and alignment across Medical Affairs and field teams.
• Field Operations & Analytics
  • Provide oversight of field operations, insights generation, and analytics to inform strategy and decision-making.
  • Ensure robust mechanisms for capturing and translating field intelligence into actionable insights.
• Team Facilitation & Culture
  • Foster a high-performance culture through facilitation, coaching, and team development.
  • Enable collaboration, accountability, and continuous learning across Medical Affairs.

Competencies Include:

• Strategic thinker with operational rigor.
• Collaborative leader who builds trust and alignment across diverse stakeholders.
• Skilled in change management and organizational transformation.
• Adept at balancing strategic priorities with tactical execution.
• Committed to fostering a culture of accountability, transparency, and innovation.

Qualifications:

• Advanced degree in life sciences, healthcare, or related field; MBA or equivalent preferred.
• 10+ years of experience in Medical Affairs, clinical development, or related operational leadership roles.
• Proven track record of leading cross-functional teams and driving ope