Director, Commercial IT Systems

About the role

The Director, Commercial IT Systems participates with IT leadership to establish strategic plans and objectives for the Commercial organization, including Sales, Marketing, Market Access, and related functions, and partners with Commercial leadership to translate business strategy into technology plans and delivery. Commercial systems comprise CRM, marketing automation, data integration and warehousing, business intelligence, master data management, and web and social media platforms, delivered and operated through a combination of internal staff and vendors.

Responsibilities

• Partners with Commercial leadership and stakeholders in brand, launch, and annual business planning cycles to anticipate business needs 12–18 months ahead, identify opportunities and risks early, and maintain a forward-looking technology roadmap aligned to Commercial strategy
• Serves as the strategic IT advisor to Commercial stakeholders, translating business challenges into solution options with clear tradeoffs to guide decisions on technology investments, prioritization, and solution design
• Establishes intake, prioritization, and governance processes with Commercial stakeholders, including roadmap and steering reviews and reporting of status, risk, and tradeoffs in business terms
• Manages the IT team members reporting to the position, including setting direction and priorities, allocating capability across initiatives, and holding accountability for the quality and timeliness of deliverables
• Directs the technical work of the team, including data architecture design, system configuration, system integration, testing, and troubleshooting
• Owes the technical integrity of delivered solutions, including architecture, data quality, security, and compliance, assessing solution designs, data models, integration approaches, technical proposals, and delivery quality at key milestones
• Supports the lifecycle management (selection, implementation, validation, operation, and retirement) of Commercial business applications, in alignment with IT and business ownership models
• Directs the diagnosis and resolution of critical incidents and escalated technical issues, engaging directly where warranted
• Supports the Commercial data landscape by understanding business-owned data strategy, data licensing, privacy, compliance, and data integrity requirements, and translating them into actionable IT, vendor, platform, integration, and governance requirements
• Partners with IT Operations to define recovery objectives and business continuity requirements for Commercial applications, contributing to disaster recovery testing and readiness
• Manages vendor relationships, statements of work, and day-to-day vendor delivery and performance
• Supports Quality, IT System Assurance, and the Data Privacy Office on audit readiness, privacy assessments, and regulatory inspections for Commercial systems
• Establishes data privacy, data integrity, and regulatory compliance practices for Commercial systems, meeting US state privacy laws including CCPA, HIPAA requirements applicable to patient support and copay program integrations, the Sunshine Act and state HCP transparency reporting, and 21 CFR Part 11
• Balances innovation with compliance, security, and operational reliability when applying emerging technologies in regulated Commercial environments
• Applies and contributes to standards, policies, and best practices in delivery and operations
• Owns planning for the IT budget supporting the Commercial organization, in partnership with Commercial Operations, across operating, capital, and IT people costs, aligning requests, forecasts, and project funding with business priorities and launch plans, and managing spend and procurement approvals within delegated authority
• Drives continuous improvement in the reliability, usability, and value of Commercial systems

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in a technical discipline
• Minimum of 10-12 years of IT experience, including IT focused leadership roles in pharmaceutical commercial environments
• Previous experience in the pharmaceutical industry is required
• Hands-on experience leading and delivering Commercial system implementations, configurations, integrations, and data mapping
• Proven experience directly managing IT team members and delivering projects on schedule
• Deep operational experience across Commercial technology platforms and data capabilities, including CRM, marketing automation, ETL, data warehouses, business intelligence, master data management, web and social media systems, computer software assurance, data integrity, and applicable regulatory requirements
• Experience managing project budgets, vendor relationships, and technology delivery

Competencies

• Combines technical judgement with commercial awareness when evaluating solutions and tradeoffs
• Applies strong project management and execution discipline across concurrent initiatives
• Directs and develops a technical team, building capability and succession
• Effectively resolves ambiguous, cross-functional technical challenges with sound judgement
• Buils trust and credibility with business leaders and external partners
• Sustains delivery discipline under compliance and audit scrutiny
• Clearly articulates complex technical concepts to technical and non-technical audiences