Director, Field Effectiveness

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated; Boston (MA); Hybrid; USD 192,000 - 288,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid-Eligible Or On-Site Eligible

Job summary

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated is seeking a Director of Field Effectiveness in Boston to build strategies that maximize field impact and commercial performance.

Lead a team responsible for targeting, incentive design, and account planning, partnering with BU leaders and cross‑functional teams to translate insights into actionable field improvements. Hybrid on-site options are available.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required or equivalent in business, life sciences, analytics, or related field.
• 10+ years in commercial operations, sales ops, or field effectiveness in biopharma/healthcare.
• 5+ years of people leadership and team development.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop a team of Associate Directors and Sr Managers.
• Drive field effectiveness strategies: targeting, incentives, account planning, analytics.
• Partner with BU leaders and cross‑functional teams to enable field performance improvements.
• Define KPIs and monitor performance to optimize ROI and execution.
• Influence senior leaders and align field solutions with brand strategy and market needs.

Skills

Targeting strategy

Incentive design

Account planning

Field force analytics

Leadership

Cross-functional influence

Education

Bachelor's degree in business, life sciences, analytics, or related field

Tools

CRM platforms

Performance dashboards

Incentive systems

Job description

Job Description

Job Summary

Vertex is seeking a Director, Field Effectiveness to understand, analyze, and build solutions to maximize field effectiveness and drive commercial performance. This leader will play a critical role in shaping and advancing field effectiveness strategies, with a focus on targeting effectiveness, incentive design, account planning, and field force performance optimization.

The Director will serve as a key thought partner to the sales and business unit leadership, field team leaders, I&A partners, and other cross-functional stakeholders to ensure field teams are equipped with the insights, tools, and performance frameworks needed to execute with impact. This role requires a strong balance of strategic leadership, analytical rigor, team development, and cross-functional influence.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead, coach, and develop a team of Associate Directors and Sr Managers responsible for partnering with the Business Unit leadership to drive field effectiveness strategies and execution.
• Serve as the senior leader for field effectiveness solutions and innovation, including:
  • Targeting strategy and optimization
  • Incentive compensation design
  • Subnational performance monitoring and analytics projects to assess performance drivers and drivers to field force effectiveness
  • Account planning strategy and execution
  • Field force effectiveness measurement and continuous improvement
• Act as a strategic advisor to BU and Commercial leaders on field performance, emerging opportunities, and risks.
• Establish and monitor KPIs to assess field effectiveness, identify performance trends, and recommend actions to improve execution and ROI.
• Use data, analytics, and field insights to identify opportunities to enhance sales force productivity, customer engagement, and resource allocation.
• Partner closely with Customer Strategy & Execution team to liaise effectively with Business Unit leadership, understanding strategic objectives and translate them into field effectiveness solutions that improve execution and business outcomes.
• Oversee the development and refinement of customer targeting approaches, ensuring alignment with brand strategy, customer segmentation, market dynamics, and field deployment priorities.
• Lead incentive compensation strategy in partnership with Sales, HR, Finance, and Field Programs & Operations, ensuring plans are motivating, aligned to business priorities, and resonating with field team members.
• Guide the evolution of account planning capabilities, including frameworks, tools, processes, and expectations that enable high-quality strategic planning across the field organization.
• Drive cross-functional alignment across Commercial Operations, Analytics, Market Access, Marketing, Finance, HR, and IT to support scalable and effective field enablement solutions.
• Foster a culture of continuous improvement, innovation, accountability, and talent development within the team.

Qualifications and Experience

Minimum Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in business, life sciences, analytics, or a related field.
• 10+ years of relevant experience in commercial operations, sales operations, field effectiveness, incentive compensation, analytics, or related functions within the biopharmaceutical or healthcare industry.
• 5+ years of people leadership experience, including leading and developing high-performing teams and people managers.
• Demonstrated experience partnering with senior Business Unit and Commercial leaders.
• Deep expertise in one or more core field effectiveness disciplines, including targeting, incentive compensation, account planning, sales force effectiveness, or field operations.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to translate insights into actionable business recommendations.
• Proven ability to lead in a highly cross-functional, matrixed environment and influence without direct authority.
• Excellent communication, presentation, and stakeholder management skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• Advanced degree such as MBA, MPH, or other relevant graduate degree.
• Experience supporting multiple brands, Business Units, or specialty field teams.
• Knowledge of launch, growth, and mature brand field effectiveness needs across different stages of the product lifecycle.
• Experience with commercial data, CRM platforms, incentive compensation systems, and performance dashboards.
• Strong understanding of compliance and governance considerations related to field execution and incentive design.

At Vertex, we embrace continuous learning and encourage employees to stay informed on advances in AI, technology, automation, and industry trends. We seek talent who bring an external perspective, demonstrate curiosity and sound judgment, and thoughtfully adopt new capabilities that improve decision-making, drive innovation, increase efficiency, and help deliver better outcomes for patients.

Pay Range:

$192,000 - $288,000

Disclosure Statement:

The range provided is based on what we believe is a reasonable estimate for the base salary pay range for this job at the time of posting. This role is eligible for an annual bonus and annual equity awards. Some roles may also be eligible for overtime pay, in accordance with federal and state requirements. Actual base salary pay will be based on a number of factors, including skills, competencies, experience, and other job-related factors permitted by law.

At Vertex, our Total Rewards offerings also include inclusive market-leading benefits to meet our employees wherever they are in their career, financial, family and wellbeing journey while providing flexibility and resources to support their growth and aspirations. From medical, dental and vision benefits to generous paid time off (including a week-long company shutdown in the Summer and the Winter), educational assistance programs including student loan repayment, a generous commuting subsidy, matching charitable donations, 401(k) and so much more.

Flex Designation:

Hybrid-Eligible Or On-Site Eligible

Flex Eligibility Status:

In this Hybrid-Eligible role, you can choose to be designated as:
1. Hybrid: work remotely up to two days per week; or select
2. On-Site: work five days per week on-site with ad hoc flexibility.

Note: The Flex status for this position is subject to Vertex's Policy on Flex @ Vertex Program and may be changed at any time.

Company Information

Vertex is a global biotechnology company that invests in scientific innovation.

Vertex is committed to equal employment opportunity and non-discrimination for all employees and qualified applicants without regard to a person's race, color, sex, gender identity or expression, age, religion, national origin, ancestry, ethnicity, disability, veteran status, genetic information, sexual orientation, marital status, or any characteristic protected under applicable law. Vertex is an E-Verify Employer in the United States. Vertex will make reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with known disabilities, in accordance with applicable law.