Director, Program Lead

BrainChild Bio, Inc.; Seattle (WA); On-site; USD 170,000 - 230,000; Full time

Job summary

BrainChild Bio is seeking a Director, Program Lead to steer a cross-functional pre-clinical program from IND-enabling activities through the clinic as an early-phase asset.

You will lead program strategy, manage risk and budget, and collaborate with Clinical, CMC, and Non-Clinical development to drive execution and governance. The role requires clear communication up to leadership and the Board to accelerate pediatric therapies.

Qualifications

• 10+ years in biotech/cell therapy industries.
• 3+ years in cross-functional leadership roles.
• Experience in leadership on cell therapy development teams.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder influence abilities.

Responsibilities

• Lead cross-functional program development team for a pre-clinical program through IND-enabling activities into the clinic.
• Develop program strategy and goals aligned with corporate aims; enable cross-functional execution.
• Proactively manage risks and misalignments; elevate issues to executive leadership when needed.
• Collaborate with project management to communicate updates to stakeholders and leadership.
• Foster accountability, collaboration, and operational excellence across internal and external partners.

Skills

Cross-functional leadership

Program management

Communication skills

Biotech experience

Cell therapy knowledge

Job description

BrainChild Bio is seeking to hire a Director, Program Lead. The role will assume the cross-functional matrix team leadership for an early phase program at BrainChild Bio as it progresses to a Phase 1 clinical trial and beyond. The ideal candidate will bring a history of experience leading cross-functional teams in the cell therapy space and has been a key member of teams through cell therapy product development and clinical study execution. The Program Lead we’re looking for has broad cell therapy experience and previous collaborative engagement with Clinical, CMC, and Non-Clinical development activities and can meet those functions in their language and requirement space to build robust development plans. They are someone who seeks out difficult problems with the belief that there’s a solution out there somewhere and they are excited to be a part of a team who finds that solution. The Program Lead will need to work to build consensus for cross functional program activity execution while also knowing when consensus isn’t possible; they will need to utilize compromise, experience-built judgement, and program governance to define the best possible path forward for the team and the product. Representing the program to the company, this position must be a Master of Communication across all levels of the organization from scientific staff through company leadership and the Board of Directors. This role, additionally, will interact and collaborate with other members of our growing Program Management organization to develop best practices, share lessons learned, and drive success of all BrainChild Bio programs we seek to develop and deliver for our pediatric patients.

Responsibilities:

• Lead cross-functional program development team for a BrainChild Bio pre-clinical program through IND-enabling activities and into the clinic as an early-phase clinical stage asset
• Lead development of program strategy and goals, in alignment with BrainChild Bio corporate goals, and collaborate with cross-functional areas to enable execution of program deliverables
• Ensure continued progress and development by proactively managing new and incoming risks or functional area misalignments or challenges, and recognize when to elevate issues to executive leadership for remediation and/or endorsement
• Manage program budget in coordination with functional teams and Finance to ensure alignment with forecast
• Collaborate with project management to develop and execute communication plans to deliver program updates to stakeholders and company leadership
• Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, and operational excellence, ensuring alignment across internal teams and external partners to accelerate program execution
• Leverage experience to encourage a collaborative team approach be a part of the conversation and a driving force to help BrainChild Bio deliver therapies for the patients that need them

Qualifications:

• 10+ years of experience in the biotech/cell therapy industry
• 3+ years in cross functional team leadership roles
• Experience in key contributory or leadership role on cell therapy development teams
• Excellent communication skills and demonstrated aptitude and experience in influencing stakeholders