Director, New Product Launch Operations- Dermatology & Rheumatology

Takeda Pharmaceutical; Cambridge (MA); Hybrid; USD 177,000 - 278,000; Full time

Job summary

Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. in Cambridge, MA seeks a Director of New Product Launch Operations to spearhead strategic and operational execution for dermatology and rheumatology products.

You will establish a PMO, govern launch programs, manage milestones and budgets, and align cross-functional teams from Sales to Medical Affairs to drive successful market introductions. You will partner with senior leadership to ensure readiness, governance, and robust performance tracking, while shaping future

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required; MBA or advanced degree preferred.
• 10+ years of program/project management experience in pharma/biotech.
• Proven ability to build and lead PMO frameworks in a matrixed environment.
• Experience with governance structures, stage-gate reviews, and executive-level reporting.
• Fluency with project management tools and dashboards to monitor program health.

Responsibilities

• Lead cross-functional execution of launch planning and governance for new products.
• Establish PMO framework and governance for major cross-functional initiatives.
• Monitor milestones, risks, dependencies, and ensure proactive management across programs.
• Drive launch readiness planning and enablement across teams and functions.
• Represent the launch team to senior leadership and steering committees with clear communication.
• Develop KPIs and dashboards to track performance and forecast accuracy.
• Oversee budget planning, resource allocation, and forecasting for launches.
• Capture lessons learned and drive continuous improvement for future launches.

Skills

PMO governance

Milestone management

Risk management

Cross-functional leadership

Executive communication

Budget & resource management

Stakeholder management

Agile/Stage-Gate knowledge

Launch readiness planning

US pharma market knowledge

Travel up to 20%

Education

Bachelor's degree

MBA or advanced degree preferred

Tools

Smartsheet

Microsoft Project

Job description

Job Description

Director, New Product Launch Operations- Dermatology & Rheumatology

About the role:

The Director, New Product Launch Operations is a high-impact leadership role at the center of the most critical commercial initiatives. This individual will serve as the strategic and operational backbone, orchestrating cross-functional execution across new product launch planning, governance of cross-functional strategic projects, and pipeline and indication expansion. This role requires a leader who can seamlessly operate at both the strategic and executional levels, bringing structure, rigor, and accountability to a fast-moving, highly matrixed environment. The ideal candidate combines pharmaceutical acumen with best-in-class program management expertise and the executive presence to drive alignment across senior stakeholders and cross-functional partners. This is a pivotal role for someone who thrives at the intersection of strategy and operations. This position will report to the Head of U.S. Dermatology and Rheumatology.

How you will contribute:

The Director, New Product Launch Operations serves as the strategic and operational backbone of the franchise, ensuring cross-functional milestones, deliverables, and budgets are on track to support a best-in-class product launch while simultaneously driving the franchise's most critical strategic projects, governance frameworks, and forward-looking indication planning.

Project & Program Management:

• PMO Framework & Governance: Establish and lead a structured PMO framework governing major cross-functional initiatives across the business, including launch workstreams, indication expansion planning, and strategic programs. Partner closely with the MCE Director of Launch Excellence to embed enterprise launch frameworks, governance standards, readiness methodologies, ways of working, and best practices that enable consistent, successful launches.

• Milestone & Risk Management: Monitor progress, risks, dependencies, and milestones across multiple complex projects simultaneously, ensuring visibility and proactive management of critical-path activities.
• Escalation & Accountability: Escalate roadblocks with clarity and urgency while driving timely execution and accountability across all workstreams. Ensure issues are resolved efficiently with minimal disruption to timelines and deliverables.

New Product Launch Strategy & Operations:

• Launch Readiness Planning: Leading the execution of a comprehensive launch readiness plan, including critical-path milestones, cross-functional workstreams, and stage-gate reviews to ensure on-time, on-strategy launch execution.

• Launch Team Enablement & Readiness: Partner with the MCE Director of Launch Excellence to establish the launch operating model and onboard new launch teams to the planning tools, governance templates, launch playbook, milestone roadmap, decision and risk logs, and agreed ways of working. Serve as the primary launch-team point of contact for readiness planning, including stage-gates, self-assessments, readiness scorecards, and structured challenge sessions.

• Cross-Functional Leadership: Serving as a central point of coordination across Sales, Marketing, Market Access, Medical Affairs, Analytics & Insights, Digital/Data & Technology, and Manufacturing to drive alignment on launch priorities and deliverables.
• Stakeholder Communication: Representing the commercial launch team to senior leadership and cross-functional steering committees through clear, timely, and executive-level communication of launch status, risks, and key decisions.
• KPI Development & Performance Monitoring: Establishing tracking mechanisms to measure commercial performance against forecast, enabling rapid course correction where needed.

• Meeting & Governance Excellence: Ensuring effective use of launch team meetings, steering committees, and other forums by defining clear objectives, agendas, and action items while driving accountability for follow-through.
• Budget & Resource Management: Overseeing launch-related budget planning, resource allocation, and forecasting to ensure efficient deployment of commercial investments.
• Continuous Improvement: Capture and apply lessons from readiness reviews, challenge sessions, launch execution, and post-launch reviews. Partner with the MCE Director of Launch Excellence to inform updates to enterprise playbooks, tools, and best practices for future launches.

Pipeline & Indication Expansion:

• Indication Expansion Planning: Own the end-to-end project management of early commercial planning for pipeline indications and lifecycle expansion opportunities, defining workstreams, milestones, and deliverable timelines to ensure future asset strategies are developed with the same rigor, governance, and cross-functional alignment.

• Pipeline-to-Launch Transition: Drive the structured transition from pipeline planning to launch activation by managing integrated project plans, tracking critical-path dependencies, and ensuring seamless handoffs. Partner with cross-functional teams to deliver an optimized launch-ready set of strategic deliverables.

Minimum Requirements/Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree. MBA or advanced degree preferred.

• 10+ years of experience in program management or project management within the pharmaceutical or biotechnology industry.

• Extensive project and program management expertise, with hands-on experience building and leading PMO frameworks from the ground up, managing complex multi-workstream initiatives, and instilling accountability and governance across cross-functional teams in a matrixed environment.
• Knowledge of project management methodologies and frameworks (e.g., PMP, Agile, Stage-Gate, etc.) with the ability to assess program complexity and apply the right methodology to drive efficient and effective execution.
• Proven ability to manage integrated project plans, critical-path dependencies, risk mitigation strategies, and milestone tracking across multiple concurrent programs with competing priorities.
• Experience designing and facilitating governance structures, including steering committees, stage-gate reviews, and executive-level reporting cadences to ensure program visibility and decision-making rigor.
• Track record of driving cross-functional alignment serving as the connective tissue between strategy and execution.
• Demonstrated experience in budget management, resource planning, and forecasting within the context of large-scale commercial programs and product launches.
• Fluency in project management tools and platforms (e.g., Smartsheet, Microsoft Project) and experience building dashboards and reporting mechanisms to track program health and performance.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills with demonstrated executive presence and the ability to influence senior stakeholders, facilitate decision-making, and drive accountability at all levels of the organization.
• Understanding of the U.S. pharmaceutical commercial landscape
• Experience with specialty or immunology product launches preferred.
• Up to 20% travel may be required.

This position is currently classified as "Hybrid" in accordance with Takeda's Hybrid and Remote Work policy.

Takeda Compensation and Benefits Summary

We understand compensation is an important factor as you consider the next step in your career. We are committed to equitable pay for all employees, and we strive to be more transparent with our pay practices.

For Location:

USA - MA - Cambridge - Kendall Square - 500

U.S. Base Salary Range:

$177,000.00 - $278,080.00

The estimated salary range reflects an anticipated range for this position. The actual base salary offered may depend on a variety of factors, including the qualifications of the individual applicant for the position, years of relevant experience, specific and unique skills, level of education attained, certifications or other professional licenses held, and the location in which the applicant lives and/or from which they will be performing the job.The actual base salary offered will be in accordance with state or local minimum wage requirements for the job location.

For information about our benefits, please click here.

EEO Statement

Takeda is proud in its commitment to creating a diverse workforce and providing equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, parental status, national origin, age, disability, citizenship status, genetic information or characteristics, marital status, status as a Vietnam era veteran, special disabled veteran, or other protected veteran in accordance with applicable federal, state and local laws, and any other characteristic protected by law.

Locations

USA - MA - Cambridge - Kendall Square - 500

Worker Type

Employee

Worker Sub-Type

Regular

Time Type

Full time

Job Exempt YesIt is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.