Director, Program Management

Disc Medicine; Massachusetts; Hybrid; USD 207,000 - 253,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible work environment

Job summary

Disc Medicine is seeking a Director, Program Management to lead cross-functional teams across late clinical and pre-commercial programs from Watertown, MA. You will manage timelines, budgets, and resources with a focus on strategic execution.

In this hybrid role, you’ll partner with clinical development, regulatory, CMC, quality, medical affairs, and finance to drive program success and risk mitigation. Strong communication and leadership are essential.

Qualifications

• 12–15 years in the pharmaceutical/biotechnology industry.
• 7–10 years leading direct program management in drug development (Phase 2–3).
• Proficiency with MS Office (Word, PowerPoint, Excel) and Smartsheet.
• PMP/PgMP certification preferred.
• Strong communication, presentation, and interpersonal skills.
• Experience working in matrixed, cross-functional environments with emphasis on operational excellence.
• Ability to manage budgets, timelines, and resources.

Responsibilities

• Drive development and execution of strategic, integrated program team goals for late clinical programs.
• Collaborate across Clinical Development, Clinical Operations, Regulatory Affairs, CMC, Quality Affairs, Medical Affairs, Finance, and Commercial.
• Maintain cross-functional alignment and report program status to executives and stakeholders.
• Prepare governance materials and coordinate program team alignment.
• Maintain cross-functional reporting and presentation of program information for governance.
• Facilitate decision-making, collaboration, and problem-solving across the organization.
• Identify bottlenecks and drive for timely resolution.
• Develop and maintain risk registries with mitigations and resolutions.
• Lead program team meetings using PM best practices to ensure timely execution.
• Identify process improvements and apply lessons learned.

Skills

Cross-functional leadership

Program management

Stakeholder management

Communication skills

Budgeting & forecasting

Education

MS/PhD in a scientific-related field

PMP/PgMP certification

Tools

MS Office

Smartsheet

Job description

Join our team in a dynamic hybrid role, offering flexibility to work remotely or from our headquarters in Watertown, MA.

COMPANY OVERVIEW:

Disc Medicine is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company committed to discovering, developing, and commercializing novel treatments for patients who suffer from serious hematologic diseases. We are building a portfolio of innovative, first-in-class therapeutic candidates that aim to address a wide spectrum of hematologic diseases by targeting fundamental biological pathways of red blood cell biology, specifically heme biosynthesis and iron homeostasis. Disc Medicine values collaboration, professional development, and scientific integrity and promotes an inclusive company culture that empowers and inspires.

POSITION OVERVIEW:

The Director, Program Management is responsible for managing resources, timelines, and budgets for late clinical and pre-commercial programs at Disc Medicine. This is a highly cross-functional and collaborative role, providing operational leadership for cross-functional teams and demanding excellent cross-functional collaboration skills, with ability to build trusting relationships. The Program Manager (PM), in collaboration with the Program Lead (PL), will have a firm understanding of program strategy, critical path activities, interdependencies, risks and mitigation plans, and organizational governance.

Additionally, the PM will lead program long-range planning, adhere to the organization’s Program Management best practices, and drive program team goal planning and execution.

The successful candidate will be proactive, highly organized, detail-oriented, possess a strong understanding of the whole spectrum of the drug development process (from Phase 1 first-in-human to Phase 3 confirmatory studies) in the biopharmaceutical industry, be comfortable with ambiguity, and have a proven track record managing stakeholders and driving multifaceted, inter-disciplinary program teams. The candidate will also have strong communication and facilitation skills, enabling effective collaboration and conflict resolution within program teams and throughout the organization.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Partner closely with PL to drive the development and execution of strategic, integrated program team goals for late clinical programs.
• Collaborate across Clinical Development, Clinical Operations, Regulatory Affairs, CMC, Quality Affairs, Medical Affairs, Business Development, Finance, and Commercial.
• Ensure cross-functional coherence and maintain alignment through effective communication with cross-functional program team members, Executive Team members, and key stakeholders on program status, objectives, risks, and mitigation plans.
• Identify appropriate presentation topics and coordinate preparation of and program team alignment with compelling presentation materials for governance meetings.
• Ensure cross-functional reporting and presentation of relevant information to program team and other key stakeholders.
• Facilitate decision-making, collaboration, and problem-solving with people at all levels of the organization to accomplish program team goals that are ambitious yet achievable.
• Identify program bottlenecks and issues. Proactively drive for their resolution.
• Recognize, track, and monitor key program assumptions, milestones, and decision points to drive delivery of program objectives.
• Facilitate team meetings using program management best practices and tools to drive cross-functional communication, timely and effective decision making and conflict resolution, and successful execution of project objectives.
• Develop and maintain risk registry along with the Portfolio and Program Management team including detailed risk assessments, mitigations, and resolutions.
• Identify process improvement opportunities and develop and implement solutions.
• Apply experience and lessons learned to manage program team dynamics and performance.
• Partner with Finance to develop budgets/forecasts/long-range plans for assigned program(s).
• Act as team player and mentor/coach to junior colleagues to drive professional growth. Listen to and value others’ thoughts and ideas. Strive for inclusion and belonging.

REQUIREMENTS:

• MS/PhD in a scientific-related field.
• 12 – 15 years in the pharmaceutical/biotechnology industry.
• 7 – 10 years of meaningful experience and significant time spent in direct program management executing strategies in the drug-development space, supporting drug-development programs (level commensurate with experience), with experience in late clinical programs (Phase 2 into Phase 3 and pre-commercial), Investigational New Drug (IND) application, New Drug Application (NDA)/Biologics License Application (BLA), and Marketing Authorization Application (MAA) preparation.
• Proficiency in MS Office (including Word, PowerPoint, and Excel).
• Proficiency in Smartsheet and its integration with programs to support Gantt chart and program timeline.
• PMP/PgMP certification (PMI) preferred.
• Exceptional communication, presentation, and interpersonal skills; time/resource management; attention to detail; and proven success working in matrixed, highly collaborative environments with focus on operational excellence.
• Demonstrated ability to lead a cross-functional team and to influence at all levels of an organization.
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, innovative, and, at times, uncertain or changing environment while remaining flexible, proactive, and resourceful.
• Proven track record prioritizing and managing multiple tasks simultaneously, integrating cross-functional issues, and balancing competing priorities effectively.
• Demonstrated competence in independently navigating and synthesizing complex information in a fluid environment.

The annual base salary range for this position is listed below. Actual pay rates are determined by considering multiple factors including qualifications, relevance of experience, education & credentials, subject matter expertise, and internal parity.

Salary Range

$207,000 - $253,000 USD

Disc Medicine is an equal-opportunity employer committed to providing all qualified candidates and employees equal opportunities. We offer comprehensive benefits and competitive compensation packages. The Company headquarters are in Watertown, MA, and we provide a flexible work environment.

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