Executive Director, Global Commercial Analytics- Market Research

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated; Boston (MA); On-site; USD 230,000 - 350,000; Full time

Job summary

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated is seeking an Executive Director, Global Commercial Analytics - Market Research to lead the global Market Research capability within Global Commercial Strategy. This leader will build a team of experts to generate deep, objective insights across patients, healthcare professionals, caregivers, and markets to inform development, launch, and lifecycle decisions.

The role requires strategic leadership and hands-on research craft, establishing an operating model

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in market research, behavioral or social science, psychology, business, marketing, life sciences, statistics, or a related discipline.
• Advanced degree such as an M.A., M.S., Ph.D., MBA, or other relevant qualification preferred.
• Extensive leadership experience in primary market research, customer insights, or related insight-generation functions within biopharmaceuticals, healthcare, or another complex industry.
• Deep hands-on expertise in qualitative market research, including study design, discussion-guide development, interviewing or moderation, observation, synthesis, and translation of findings into business implications.
• Strong experience designing quantitative market research, including questionnaire development, sampling approaches, methodological choices, quality control, analysis plans, and interpretation.
• Demonstrated ability to translate ambiguous business questions into rigorous research plans and actionable recommendations for senior commercial and development leaders.
• Experience leading research across pipeline, product development, launch, lifecycle, and in-line stages, including product-profile testing, positioning, patient journeys, demand studies, and adoption-barrier research.
• Experience generating insights from patients, caregivers, healthcare professionals, payers, and other healthcare stakeholders across multiple geographies.
• Demonstrated ability to build internal market research capability and develop teams that can lead substantive research work, not solely manage external agencies.
• Proven ability to select, direct, and challenge research vendors while maintaining internal intellectual ownership and accountability for quality and interpretation.
• Exceptional strategic thinking, listening, synthesis, storytelling, executive communication, and ability to distinguish evidence from assumption.
• Proven success leading and developing global teams and influencing effectively in a highly matrixed organization while maintaining high standards for privacy, compliance, and research integrity.

Responsibilities

• Lead the Global Market Research organization and capability agenda across pipeline, pre-launch, launch, lifecycle, and in-line disease areas.
• Partner with GCS disease leaders and BI&A pod leads to identify priority business questions and build integrated, decision-focused learning agendas.
• Establish a hands-on market research model in which internal team members actively shape and conduct research rather than primarily outsourcing the work to vendors.
• Build deep internal qualitative research expertise, including development of discussion guides, moderator preparation, direct observation and moderation where appropriate, debriefing, coding, synthesis, and interpretation.
• Ensure the team plays a substantive role in quantitative research design, including hypotheses, questionnaire development, sampling, choice of methods, quality review, analysis plans, and interpretation of results.
• Lead research across disease understanding, market landscapes, patient and customer journeys, segmentation, unmet need, treatment dynamics, adoption barriers, product profiles, positioning, messages, demand, and drivers of product choice.
• Ensure research incorporates the perspectives of patients, caregivers, healthcare professionals, payers, and other relevant stakeholders and reflects global, regional, and local market realities.
• Establish common standards for research design, methodological rigor, ethics and compliance, documentation, knowledge management, and reuse of insights across the portfolio.
• Synthesize qualitative and quantitative evidence into clear insights, implications, decision options, and recommendations for development, strategy, launch, and lifecycle planning.
• Integrate Market Research with Decision Science, Forecasting, Competitive Intelligence, Portfolio Analytics, Value & Access, HEOR, Medical, and regional Commercial insight generation.
• Create mechanisms to connect research over time, distinguish enduring insights from hypotheses, identify evidence gaps, and prevent fragmented or duplicative studies.
• Select and manage external research partners based on the capabilities needed, while maintaining strong internal ownership of research design, respondent experience, quality, interpretation, and application.
• Establish governance, prioritization, budget discipline, vendor strategy, and a multi-year capability roadmap for Market Research.
• Build, develop, and retain a high-performing global team with strong qualitative and quantitative research skills, business judgment, therapeutic curiosity, and executive communication capability.
• Measure the quality, adoption, timeliness, and decision impact of Market Research and continuously improve the operating model.

Skills

Market research leadership

Qualitative research

Quantitative research design

Executive communication

Strategic thinking

Education

Bachelor's degree in market research or related

Advanced degree preferred

Job description

Job Description

The Executive Director, Global Commercial Analytics- Market Research will lead the global Market Research capability within Global Commercial Strategy. Reporting to the Vice President, Global Commercial Analytics, this leader will build a team of market research experts who generate deep, objective insight into patients, healthcare professionals, caregivers, markets, and other stakeholders to inform development, commercialization, launch, and lifecycle decisions.

This role requires both strategic leadership and deep research craft. The Executive Director will establish an operating model in which the internal team is intimately involved in the work: framing business questions, selecting methodologies, conducting qualitative research, designing quantitative instruments, interpreting findings, and translating evidence into clear implications. External research partners will provide reach and specialized support, but accountability for research quality, insight generation, and business application will remain with the Vertex team.

Key Duties & Responsibilities

• Lead the Global Market Research organization and capability agenda across pipeline, pre-launch, launch, lifecycle, and in-line disease areas.
• Partner with GCS disease leaders and BI&A pod leads to identify priority business questions and build integrated, decision-focused learning agendas.
• Establish a hands-on market research model in which internal team members actively shape and conduct research rather than primarily outsourcing the work to vendors.
• Build deep internal qualitative research expertise, including development of discussion guides, moderator preparation, direct observation and moderation where appropriate, debriefing, coding, synthesis, and interpretation.
• Ensure the team plays a substantive role in quantitative research design, including hypotheses, questionnaire development, sampling, choice of methods, quality review, analysis plans, and interpretation of results.
• Lead research across disease understanding, market landscapes, patient and customer journeys, segmentation, unmet need, treatment dynamics, adoption barriers, product profiles, positioning, messages, demand, and drivers of product choice.
• Ensure research incorporates the perspectives of patients, caregivers, healthcare professionals, payers, and other relevant stakeholders and reflects global, regional, and local market realities.
• Establish common standards for research design, methodological rigor, ethics and compliance, documentation, knowledge management, and reuse of insights across the portfolio.
• Synthesize qualitative and quantitative evidence into clear insights, implications, decision options, and recommendations for development, strategy, launch, and lifecycle planning.
• Integrate Market Research with Decision Science, Forecasting, Competitive Intelligence, Portfolio Analytics, Value & Access, HEOR, Medical, and regional Commercial insight generation.
• Create mechanisms to connect research over time, distinguish enduring insights from hypotheses, identify evidence gaps, and prevent fragmented or duplicative studies.
• Select and manage external research partners based on the capabilities needed, while maintaining strong internal ownership of research design, respondent experience, quality, interpretation, and application.
• Establish governance, prioritization, budget discipline, vendor strategy, and a multi-year capability roadmap for Market Research.
• Build, develop, and retain a high-performing global team with strong qualitative and quantitative research skills, business judgment, therapeutic curiosity, and executive communication capability.
• Measure the quality, adoption, timeliness, and decision impact of Market Research and continuously improve the operating model.

Required Education Level

• Minimum of a Bachelor's degree in market research, behavioral or social science, psychology, business, marketing, life sciences, statistics, or a related discipline.
• Advanced degree such as an M.A., M.S., Ph.D., MBA, or other relevant qualification preferred.

Required Experience

• Extensive leadership experience in primary market research, customer insights, or related insight-generation functions within biopharmaceuticals, healthcare, or another complex industry.
• Deep hands-on expertise in qualitative market research, including study design, discussion-guide development, interviewing or moderation, observation, synthesis, and translation of findings into business implications.
• Strong experience designing quantitative market research, including questionnaire development, sampling approaches, methodological choices, quality control, analysis plans, and interpretation.
• Demonstrated ability to translate ambiguous business questions into rigorous research plans and actionable recommendations for senior commercial and development leaders.
• Experience leading research across pipeline, product development, launch, lifecycle, and in-line stages, including product-profile testing, positioning, patient journeys, demand studies, and adoption-barrier research.
• Experience generating insights from patients, caregivers, healthcare professionals, payers, and other healthcare stakeholders across multiple geographies.
• Demonstrated ability to build internal market research capability and develop teams that can lead substantive research work, not solely manage external agencies.
• Proven ability to select, direct, and challenge research vendors while maintaining internal intellectual ownership and accountability for quality and interpretation.
• Exceptional strategic thinking, listening, synthesis, storytelling, executive communication, and ability to distinguish evidence from assumption.
• Proven success leading and developing global teams and influencing effectively in a highly matrixed organization while maintaining high standards for privacy, compliance, and research integrity.

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:

$0 - $0

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.

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.

Any applicant requiring an accommodation in connection with the hiring process and/or to perform the essential functions of the position for which the applicant has applied should make a request to the recruiter or hiring manager, or contact Talent Acquisition at [e-mail]