Associate Principal/ Principal, Forecasting

Firstpro Inc; Waltham (MA); On-site; USD 170,000 - 230,000; Full time

Job summary

Firstpro Inc. seeks an Associate Principal to Principal to augment its Forecasting practice on the East Coast, in-office. The role leads staffing, training, and client development, and guides delivery of complex demand forecasting projects for pharma and biotech clients.

Ideal candidates bring 8+ years in life sciences forecasting, strong communication, and a track record in leadership and mentorship. Oncology/rare disease exposure is highly valued.

Qualifications

• 8+ years in life sciences forecasting with data analytics experience.
• Experience with demand forecasting or commercial analytics.
• Oncology or Rare Disease therapy knowledge preferred.
• Strong communication, leadership, and mentorship skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead onshore and offshore headcount planning and hiring to match opportunities.
• Train, develop, and retain onshore staff and managers.
• Collaborate with forecasting leaders to allocate resources across projects.
• Grow business through new and expanded client engagements.
• Oversee project delivery and mentor teams to ensure quality outcomes.
• Support senior leadership with proactive strategic guidance.

Skills

Forecasting leadership

Resource planning

Client development

Mentorship

Education

BS in Life Sciences

MBA or advanced degree

Tools

Excel modeling

CloudCast

Job description

Position Summary

Looking for an Associate Principal to Principal to augment the leadership team for our dedicated Forecasting practice. The Forecasting team primarily supports pharma and biotech clients with demand forecasting, but also has expertise in BD assessments, NPV forecasting, contract modeling, and various Finance modeling activities. The Forecasting team is highly experienced in designing, building, and using traditional, Excel-based models. However, many of the team’s projects also involve more advanced forecasting technologies, especially proprietary CloudCast solution that offers both Excel and web-based functionality, incorporates Agentic AI capabilities, and integrates with other technology solutions. The combination of forecasting domain experience and differentiated forecasting technologies has helped drive growth for the group and attract additional investment from leadership. Client is looking for an East Coast, in-office leader who can both support and accelerate this growth by enhancing the team’s capabilities in People Management and Client Development, as defined below. This position will also provide opportunities for project management and execution, especially early on, but these will not be core expectations for this role.

Essential Functions

• Proactively lead onshore headcount planning and hiring; ensure that the team (both onshore and offshore) is correctly resourced to handle current and future business opportunities
• Take the lead on efforts to train, develop, and retain onshore staff and managers
• Collaborate with offshore Forecasting team leaders to ensure that there is a coherent approach to hiring, training, development, and retention across offices (primarily US and India)
• Collaborate with existing Forecasting managers and leaders (onshore and offshore) to manage resource allocation across projects
• Develop and grow business through acquisition of new business and expansion of existing accounts
• Contribute to Forecasting team strategic planning around Client Development
• Oversee the successful delivery of client projects, guiding teams and taking ownership of the deliverables
• Support senior leadership as an innovative and proactive thought-leader with self-initiative to the group’s success

Qualifications

Education: BS required, MBA or advanced degree is a plus

Experience

• 8 years of work experience in life sciences forecasting. Experience/familiarity with life sciences data and analytics is preferred.
• Previous experience with demand forecasting or commercial analytics
• Experience with Oncology or Rare Disease therapy strongly preferred

In addition to the above, we look for dedicated team members with the following:

• Superb internal and external communications skills (verbal and written)
• Self-motivation, initiative, and innovation
• Strong, service-oriented work ethic and willing to go above the call of duty
• Internal leadership and mentorship
• Strong team player with experience working in project-team environments
• Ability to multi-task on multiple project types effectively in a fast-paced environment
• Positive attitude