Director, Program Management

Disc Medicine; Watertown (MA); Hybrid; USD 207,000 - 253,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible work environment

Comprehensive benefits

Job summary

Disc Medicine seeks a Director, Program Management to lead late clinical and pre-commercial programs from Watertown, MA in a hybrid, flexible work environment. You will guide cross-functional teams, manage critical paths, budgets, and governance while collaborating with Regulatory, Clinical Development, and Finance to ensure on-time delivery.

The ideal candidate has 12–15 years in pharma/biotech, strong program leadership, and experience with IND/NDA/BLA/MAA processes, along with PMP/PgMP

Qualifications

• 12–15 years in the pharmaceutical/biotechnology industry.
• 7–10 years of direct program management experience in late clinical programs (Phase 2 into Phase 3).
• Experience with IND, NDA/BLA, and MAA preparation.
• Proficiency with MS Office and Smartsheet; ability to integrate with program timelines.
• PMP/PgMP certification preferred.
• Excellent communication, presentation, and interpersonal skills in a matrixed environment.
• Ability to lead cross-functional teams, influence at all levels, and manage ambiguity.

Responsibilities

• Partner with the Program Lead to drive strategic, integrated program goals for late clinical programs.
• Collaborate across Clinical Development, Regulatory, CMC, Quality, Medical Affairs, Business Development, Finance, and Commercial.
• Ensure cross-functional alignment and effective communication with executives and stakeholders on status, objectives, risks, and mitigations.
• Prepare and align governance materials for program reviews and decision points.
• Maintain risk registry and drive action on critical path bottlenecks and issues.
• Mentor junior colleagues and promote inclusion and professional growth.

Skills

Cross-functional leadership

Program management

Communication

Time management

Resource management

Presentation skills

Education

MS/PhD in a scientific field

Tools

Smartsheet

MS Office (Word, PowerPoint, Excel)

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.

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.

Disc Medicine respects your privacy. For information about how Disc processes your personal data in the context of your candidacy, please see our Privacy Notice.