Director, Business Insights

International Executive Service Corps; San Francisco (CA); Remote; USD 225,000 - 275,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health Insurance

Employee Stock Purchase Plan

Wellness Programs

Parental Leave Benefits

Job summary

Nektar Therapeutics seeks a Director, Business Insights to build analytics and insights capabilities that support commercial strategy in a pre-launch environment. You will establish forecasting, lead a primary research program and manage secondary data assets to inform decisions across Marketing, Market Access and Finance.

You will translate complex data into actionable recommendations, drive a robust analytics foundation, and collaborate with external vendors to ensure data quality and

Qualifications

• BA/BS in quantitative, life sciences or business required.
• Advanced degree (MBA, MS, MPH) preferred.
• Minimum 8 years of biopharmaceutical commercial experience in forecasting, insights, market research or related field.
• Experience owning a commercial forecast and presenting to senior stakeholders.
• Hands-on primary market research design and vendor management.

Responsibilities

• Own the commercial forecast — long-range and operating plan, scenario analysis.
• Document forecast assumptions, drivers and sensitivities; benchmark against analog launches.
• Lead primary market research agenda from question definition to vendor selection and synthesis.
• Evaluate, acquire and manage secondary data assets including claims and chart data.
• Recommend scalable reporting and insights infrastructure across functions.
• Deliver market sizing, opportunity assessment, and treatment-flow analyses for portfolio decisions.
• Manage market research and data budgets with vendor oversight.
• Present insights and recommendations to senior leadership.

Skills

Forecasting

Market research

Vendor management

Excel modeling

Education

BA/BS in quantitative life sciences or business

MBA/MS/MPH preferred

Tools

Power BI

Tableau

SQL

Python

Job description

The Director, Business Insights will build the analytics and insights capabilities that support commercial strategy and decision-making

NEKTAR THERAPEUTICS

Director, Business Insights

San Francisco, CA (Remote) Reports to: Vice President, Commercial Strategy & Marketing

Position Overview

Nektar has an exciting opportunity for a Director, Business Insights to build the analytics and insights foundation supporting our immunology and inflammation portfolio. This is a build role in a pre-commercial organization: the successful candidate will establish the forecasting capability, the primary market research agenda and the secondary data infrastructure that inform commercial decision-making ahead of a first launch.

Reporting to the Vice President, Commercial Strategy & Marketing, this individual will own the long-range and operating forecast, design and execute the primary research plan in partnership with Marketing, and select, acquire and apply secondary data assets including claims, chart and patient-level data. The role is a true business partner to Marketing, Market Access, Finance, Medical Affairs and Business Development, and is expected to translate complex data into clear, defensible recommendations for senior leadership.

Candidates must possess strong quantitative and analytical rigor, exceptional written and verbal communication skills, and the comfort to operate with ambiguity and incomplete data in a pre-launch environment. This is a highly visible position internally and with vendor and agency partners.

Specific Responsibilities

• Own the commercial forecast — build, maintain and defend patient-based and epidemiology-based models covering long-range planning, annual operating plan and scenario analysis.
• Establish and document forecast assumptions, drivers and sensitivities, and pressure-test them against analog launches and external benchmarks to keep expectations realistic.
• Design and lead the primary market research agenda, including segmentation, patient journey, ATU and message and positioning testing, from question definition through vendor selection, fielding and synthesis.
• Evaluate, acquire and manage secondary data assets — claims, chart, longitudinal patient-level, specialty pharmacy and prescription data — including vendor selection, contracting support and ongoing quality assurance.
• Recommend reporting and insights infrastructure that will scale into launch, including data governance, definitions, dashboards and self-service reporting across functions.
• Deliver patient and market sizing, opportunity assessment, and treatment-flow and dynamics analyses that inform brand, access and portfolio decisions.
• Manage the market research and data budget, including vendor scope, quality and spend accountability.
• Present insights and recommendations to senior leadership, translating technical analysis into clear commercial implications.
• BA/BS degree required in a quantitative, life sciences or business discipline; advanced degree (MBA, MS, MPH) preferred.
• A minimum of 8 years of biopharmaceutical commercial experience in forecasting, business insights, market research, commercial analytics or a closely related function.
• Demonstrated ownership of a commercial forecast, including patient-based model construction, assumption development, scenario analysis and presentation to senior stakeholders.
• Hands-on experience designing and executing primary market research — qualitative and quantitative — including vendor management, questionnaire and discussion guide input, and synthesis into actionable recommendations.
• Strong working knowledge of secondary pharmaceutical data sources (for example, claims, chart, longitudinal patient-level and prescription data), including their strengths, limitations and appropriate application.
• Proven ability to translate complex analyses into clear, concise recommendations for non-technical audiences.
• Advanced Excel modeling skills; familiarity with analytics and visualization tools (for example, Power BI, Tableau, SQL, R or Python) preferred.
• Experience managing external vendors, research agencies and associated budgets.
• Understanding compliance requirements governing market research and data use in a pre-approval environment, including HCP engagement and adverse event reporting obligations.
• Excellent organizational, problem-solving and prioritization skills, with the ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience supporting a pre-launch or newly launched specialty advanced treatment.
• Experience in immunology, dermatology or adjacent immune-mediated disease categories.
• Experience at a small- or mid-cap biotech standing up insights and analytics capability for the first time.
• Global or multi-region forecasting experience.
• People management experience or demonstrated readiness to build and lead a business insights team as the commercial organization grows.

Compensation and Benefits

Additional Information
Nektar currently anticipates the base salary for the Director, Business Insights to range from $225,000 to $275,000 for candidates in the Bay Area and will depend, in part, on successful candidate's location and qualifications for the role, including education and experience. This position will also be eligible for an annual performance bonus in accordance with the terms of the applicable plan (depending, in part, on company and individual performance and at the Company's discretion on an individual basis.) The compensation described above is subject to change and could be higher or lower than the range described based on the market survey data.

Qualifying employees are eligible to participate in benefit programs such as:

• Health Insurance (Medical/Dental/Vision)
• Disability Insurance
• Employee Stock Purchase Plan
• Wellness Programs
• Parental Leave Benefits (in accordance with the terms of applicable plans)

For general information on company benefits, please go to https://www.nektar.com/careers.

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and do not discriminate against applicants due to race, ethnicity, gender, veteran status, or on the basis of disability or any other federal, state or local protected class. Nektar Therapeutics will consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories in the manner proscribed by the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance.