VP, Strategic Client Partnerships

Norstella; Little Rock (AR); Remote; USD 210,000 - 360,000; Full time

Job summary

Norstella is seeking a VP, Strategic Client Partnerships to lead a new post‑sale leadership function across Real World Data, IHD Platform, and IaaS. You will build a high‑performing team, manage senior client relationships, and drive value realization with clear ROI for strategic accounts.

You will shape renewal strategies, identify expansion opportunities, and ensure renewals are executed early and with demonstrated value.

Qualifications

• Proven client leadership experience in a post‑sale, commercially‑focused role — ideal in life sciences data, healthcare, or biopharma.
• Demonstrated ability to manage and grow a team of senior client‑facing professionals.
• Strong executive presence with experience building and maintaining C‑suite relationships.
• Track record of meeting or exceeding net revenue retention (NRR), expansion ARR, or equivalent targets.
• Experience leading multi‑year renewal negotiations and complex contracting processes.
• Deep understanding of real world data, healthcare data, or adjacent life‑sciences data products.
• Ability to set clear boundaries, protect team scope, and prevent role accumulation.
• Strong communicator and cross‑functional collaborator — Sales, Delivery, Product, Consulting.

Responsibilities

• Build and lead the team. Hire, develop, and manage four Strategic Client Directors and a Renewal Operations Specialist.
• Own key executive relationships with senior decision makers across RWD, IHD Platform, and IaaS.
• Drive value realization by translating data usage into ROI narratives in quarterly reviews.
• Identify and develop expansion opportunities for data modules, seats, and adjacent products.
• Ensure renewals are smooth—contracting completed 30+ days before expiry and pricing based on demonstrated value.
• Coordinate with Data Ops, LinQ Support, and Engagement Management to escalate and advocate, not own delivery resolution.
• Feed the commercial loop by capturing expansion signals with Sales, Pre‑Sales, and Consulting.

Skills

Client leadership

Team leadership

C‑suite relations

NRR targets

Renewal negotiations

Real world data

Scope protection

Cross-functional

Salesforce

Post-sale function

RWD/IHD background

QBR programs

Job description

VP, Strategic Client Partnerships

Company: Norstella

Location: Remote, United States

Date Posted: Sep 20, 2026

Employment Type: Full Time

Job ID: R-2164

Description

VP, Strategic Client Partnerships

Real World Data · IHD Platform · IHD Insights as a Service

Norstella · RWD | Remote | Full-time | Senior Leadership

About the Company

Norstella is a premier and critical global life sciences data and AI solutions provider dedicated to improving patient access to life‑saving therapies. Norstella supports pharmaceutical and biotech companies across the full drug development lifecycle — from pipeline to patient. Our mission is simple: to help our clients bring therapies to market faster and more efficiently, ultimately impacting patient lives.

Norstella unites market‑leading brands - Citeline, Evaluate, MMIT, Panalgo, Skipta and The Dedham Group and delivers must‑have answers and insights, leveraging AI, for critical strategic, clinical, and commercial decision‑making. We help our clients:

• Accelerate the drug development cycle

• Assess competition and bring the right drugs to market

• Make data driven commercial and financial decisions

• Match and recruit patients for clinical trials

• Identify and address barriers to therapies

Norstella serves most pharmaceutical and biotech companies around the world, along with regulators like the FDA, and payers. By providing critical proprietary data supporting AI‑driven workflows, Norstella helps clients make decisions faster and with greater confidence. Norstella’s investments in AI are transforming how data is consumed and decisions are made, disrupting inefficient legacy workflows and helping the industry become more efficient, innovative, and responsive to patient needs.

About the Opportunity

A new kind of post‑sale leadership

Norstella's Real World Data business is standing up a dedicated commercial customer success function to own the full subscription lifecycle across RWD, IHD Platform, and IHD Insights as a Service. This is a net‑new team - and this VP role is its cornerstone.

The VP, Strategic Client Partnerships will build and lead a team of Strategic Client Directors and a Renewal Operations Specialist, with a mandate to drive value realization, identify expansion opportunities, and ensure every renewal is earned well before the contract anniversary. This is a commercially‑focused leadership role: you will be measured on net revenue retention, expansion ARR, and renewal rate - not on delivery metrics.

Responsibilities

WHAT YOU WILL OWN

Build and lead the team. Hire, develop, and manage four Strategic Client Directors and a Renewal Operations Specialist. Define the operating model, playbooks, and escalation protocols that keep the team commercially focused.

Own key executive relationships. Personally hold senior relationships at the most strategic accounts across RWD, IHD Platform, and IHD IaaS. Maintain visibility at the decision‑making level throughout the contract year - not just at renewal.

Drive value realization. Ensure every client can articulate what Norstella RWD delivers for their business. Lead structured quarterly business reviews that translate data usage into clear ROI narratives.

Identify and develop expansion opportunities. Surface upsell signals - new data modules, seat expansions, adjacent Norstella products - and route them to Sales and Pre‑Sales Solutioning with enough context to convert.

Ensure smooth renewals. Renewals should be a formality, not a negotiation. Partner with the Renewal Operations Specialist to ensure contracting is closed 30 or more days before expiry, and that pricing conversations happen from a position of demonstrated value.

Coordinate, not absorb. When delivery issues arise, route them to Data Ops, LinQ Support, or Engagement Management - and follow through. This team escalates and advocates; it does not own delivery resolution.

Feed the commercial loop. Create a consistent feedback mechanism between this team and Sales, Pre‑Sales Solutioning, and Consulting so expansion signals are captured and acted on quickly.

Commercial KPIs

HOW SUCCESS IS MEASURED

KPI

Definition

Net Revenue Retention

Primary health metric. Target above 110%, reflecting growth from existing accounts.

Expansion ARR

New revenue from existing accounts - upsells, cross‑sells, and seat expansions.

Gross Renewal Rate

Percentage of ARR renewed on time, at or above contract value.

Escalation Model

COORDINATE, DON'T ABSORB - CLEAR OWNERSHIP BOUNDARIES THIS ROLE MUST PROTECT

Area

Ownership

Product & Support Issues

LinQ Support and Product own resolution. This team escalates and tracks.

New Implementation Work

Engagement Management and Delivery own new builds. This team coordinates access.

Consulting Engagements

Consulting owns scoping and delivery. This team identifies the need and connects the teams.

Commercial Negotiations

The Renewal Specialist manages contracting. The VP provides strategic direction and approves terms.

Essential Requirements

• Proven client leadership experience in a post‑sale, commercially‑focused role - ideally within life sciences data, healthcare, or biopharma

• Demonstrated ability to manage and grow a team of senior client‑facing professionals

• Strong executive presence with experience building and maintaining C‑suite relationships

• Track record of meeting or exceeding NRR, expansion ARR, or equivalent commercial targets

• Experience leading multi‑year renewal negotiations and complex contracting processes

• Deep understanding of real world data, healthcare data, or adjacent life‑sciences data products

• Ability to set clear boundaries, protect team scope, and prevent role accumulation

• Strong communicator and cross‑functional collaborator - Sales, Delivery, Product, Consulting

Nice to Have

• Familiarity with Salesforce or equivalent CRM for pipeline and renewal tracking

• Experience building a new post‑sale function from scratch

• Background in RWD, IHD, or Norstella product lines specifically

• Experience designing and running QBR programs at scale

Guiding Principles at Norstella:

• 01: Bold, Passionate, and Mission‑First

• 02: Integrity, Truth, and Reality

• 03: Kindness, Empathy, and Grace

• 04: Resilience, Mettle, and Perseverance

• 05: Humility, Gratitude, and Learning

Please Note - All candidates must be authorized to work in the United States. We do not provide visa sponsorship or transfers. We are not currently accepting candidates who are on an OPT visa.

Benefits:

• Medical and Prescription Drug Benefits

• Health Savings Accounts (HSA) or Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA)

• Dental & Vision Benefits

• Basic Life and AD&D Benefits

• 401k Retirement Plan with Company Match

• Company Paid Short & Long‑Term Disability

• Paid Parental Leave

• Paid Time Off & Company Holidays

Norstella is an equal opportunity employer. All job applicants will receive equal treatment regardless of race, creed, color, religion, alienage or national origin, ancestry, citizenship status, age, physical or mental disability or handicap, medical condition, sex (including pregnancy and pregnancy‑related conditions), marital or domestic partner status, military or veteran status, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, genetic information, reproductive health decision making, or any other protected characteristic as established by federal, state, or local law.

Sometimes the best opportunities are hidden by self‑doubt. We disqualify ourselves before we have the opportunity to be considered. Regardless of where you came from, how you identify, or the path that led you here- you are welcome. If you read this job description and feel passion and excitement, we’re just as excited about you.

Norstella is an equal opportunity employer. All job applicants will receive equal treatment regardless of race, creed, color, religion, alienage or national origin, ancestry, citizenship status, age, physical or mental disability or handicap, medical condition, sex (including pregnancy and pregnancy‑related conditions), marital or domestic partner status, military or veteran status, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, genetic information, reproductive health decision making, or any other protected characteristic as established by federal, state, or local law.