Senior Director, Vaccine Development Management

ROLE SUMMARY

Provide overall project management expertise for Vaccine Research & Development (VRD) Program Teams. Uses in-depth experience to ensure creation of strategic and operational objectives from early (lead) development through Proof of Concept or licensure of the product depending on the program. Ensure the operational deliverables of the project are achieved on or ahead of schedule and within budget such that they meet the desired product profile (i.e. quality standard, value), business deliverables and/or key criteria, as required.  Support organizational portfolio planning and governance processes, as needed.

ROLE RESPONSIBILITIES

Program Strategy

• Partners with the Research Lead, Clinical Lead and team members to develop forward thinking programs that maximize medical and commercial value.
• Applies extensive expertise and in-depth knowledge of the vaccine development process and project management tools to drive team alignment in creation of development strategy, plans and budgets of programs from early development through licensure and post- approval commitments; ensure Team operational discipline by appropriate adherence to approved strategy, budget and time lines.
• Analyzes vaccine portfolio and strategy issues. Develops and prepares executive reports and presentations for Pfizer vaccine stakeholders.

Program Planning and Management

• Expert in project management planning tools. Knowledge of individual project timelines and assumptions supporting major program/project milestones. Understands how individual project timelines affect an overall program (portfolio of projects). Drives program/project issue resolution by working with key stakeholders.
• Highly skilled at meeting management / facilitation; drives the team to respond rapidly to new information in order to move the program forward expeditiously
• Expert in dealing with ambiguity and uncertainty regarding near-term outcomes in development while maintaining a focus on the most efficient means to achieve the future value proposition. Experienced in options, scenarios and risk analysis.

Team Effectiveness

• Ensures that teams work effectively to move the program forward. Highly skilled at developing trust and collaboration with team members and partner lines. Develops effective and collaborative working relationships with key functional stakeholders including senior management. Experienced in managing difficult situations and conflict management.

Leadership

• Routinely exhibits the courage to confront and quickly resolve difficult issues or conflicts. Takes a position in controversial issues when appropriate and expertly challenges the team to reach high-quality decisions that are in the best interests of the program. Skilled in leading through influence and collaboration. Communicates effectively with VRD senior management and beyond to assure timely decisions are made.

Cross-Program Activities

• Working with other internal Pfizer organizations help facilitate the vaccine portfolio prioritization process, as needed.
• Support long-term planning for the development management function by forecasting future work load, resource demands, etc. to ensure high-quality, effective program management support for vaccine development programs.

Scientific/ Technical Knowledge

• Clearly understands the development process, scientific mechanism of action, disease pathophysiology, unmet needs, standard of care and competitive landscape in relation to the program. Assimilates new and emerging disease area, program-specific and competitive data and applies this to ongoing and future development programs.

Process Knowledge

• Has extensive knowledge of drug development in the industry. Understands the vaccine drug development process at Pfizer and internal governance procedures and expectations. Uses knowledge of Pfizer processes to achieve program objectives. Analyzes and integrates data from across functional areas to provide strategic guidance to the team in developing and executing projects.
• Exhibits a continual interest in learning across all aspects of drug development and leads process improvement efforts as needed.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Advanced degree (MS, Ph.D., MD) in relevant biology, biochemistry or related discipline preferred.
• 10+ years of biotechnology experience with vaccine/drug development expertise.
• Sustained and successful experience with project management working with cross-disciplinary teams; works well across boundaries in a highly matrix-based organization.
• Successful experience in i