Executive Director, Commercial IT Business Partner

About the role

The Executive Director, Commercial IT Business Partner serves as the senior technology leader responsible for partnering with Commercial leadership to define, deliver, and support technology capabilities that enable commercial strategy, product launches, field execution, digital engagement, patient support, and customer experience.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the senior IT business partner for Commercial leadership, including Sales, Marketing, Market Access, Patient Services, Commercial Operations, Medical/Commercial collaboration teams, and other relevant stakeholders.
• Build trusted relationships with senior Commercial executives and act as a strategic advisor on technology opportunities, risks, priorities, and trade-offs.
• Partner with Commercial stakeholders to develop and maintain a multi-year technology roadmap aligned to brand strategy, launch plans, field force needs, omnichannel engagement, patient support priorities, and enterprise architecture standards.
• Translate Commercial business objectives into technology capabilities, delivery plans, investment proposals, and measurable outcomes.
• Represent IT in Commercial governance forums, launch readiness meetings, brand planning sessions, portfolio reviews, and executive steering committees.
• Proactively identify opportunities to improve Commercial effectiveness through technology, automation, data, analytics, digital engagement, and platform standardization.
• Provide leadership oversight for Commercial technology platforms, including Veeva CRM, Veeva Vault-related Commercial capabilities, marketing cloud platforms, marketing automation, customer engagement tools, digital asset platforms, and related integrations.
• Oversee the technology strategy and delivery model for Commercial websites, including product websites, disease education websites, patient support websites, HCP portals, and related digital experiences.
• Ensure Commercial applications and websites are designed, implemented, and supported in alignment with business needs, compliance requirements, security standards, privacy expectations, accessibility standards, and enterprise architecture principles.
• Partner with Commercial Operations and field leadership to support CRM capabilities, field force enablement, targeting, call planning, sample management, consent management, reporting, and customer data workflows.
• Partner with Marketing, Digital, and Brand teams to support omnichannel campaigns, digital content delivery, website launches, analytics, personalization, tagging, and customer engagement measurement.
• Ensure Commercial technology platforms are scalable and launch-ready for new product introductions, indication expansions, market events, and evolving business models.
• Have the desire and ability to be able to be hands on as needed at the application level.
• Lead IT planning and execution for Commercial product launches, including launch readiness roadmaps, system capability assessments, cross-functional dependencies, risk management, and executive reporting.
• Ensure technology workstreams are integrated into broader launch planning across brand, sales, market access, patient services, medical, legal, regulatory, compliance, and operations teams.
• Oversee delivery of launch-critical capabilities such as CRM configuration, field tools, HCP and patient websites, patient support solutions, data integrations, digital analytics, reporting dashboards, content workflows, and vendor-supported services.
• Identify launch risks early and drive mitigation plans across internal IT teams, agencies, vendors, and business stakeholders.
• Establish repeatable Commercial launch technology playbooks, governance models, and delivery standards.
• Oversee the delivery of Commercial IT initiatives from concept through implementation, hypercare, and ongoing operations.
• Provide hands on technical expertise as needed to support solution delivery, system enhancements, and configuration management, ensuring all implementations meet quality and business requirements.
• Partner with internal IT functions, including Enterprise Architecture, Cybersecurity, Infrastructure, Data and Analytics, Integration, Quality, Privacy, Procurement, and Legal.
• Ensure effective requirements definition, solution design, vendor estimation, delivery planning, testing, deployment, training, and support transition.
• Drive continuous improvement in delivery practices, including agile, product-based, and hybrid delivery models.
• Ensure Commercial systems and digital properties are appropriately supported through incident management, service management, release management, and vendor performance governance.
• Manage strategic relationships with external technology vendors, digital agencies, etc.
• Oversee vendor performance, delivery quality, budget adherence, issue resolution, and contractual obligations.
• Ensure Commercial technology solutions comply with applicable pharmaceutical industry requirements.
• Support technology governance for Commercial content workflows, consent management, customer data usage, patient data handling, web analytics, cookie management, and third-party integrations.
• Ensure appropriate documentation, testing, validation, change control, and operational controls are applied based on system classification and regulatory impact.
• Identify and manage risks related to cybersecurity, data privacy, vendor reliance, platform scalability, system availability, and launch readiness.
• Serve as an active member of the IT leadership team, contributing to IT strategy, operating model evolution, portfolio governance, budgeting, talent development, and enterprise prioritization.
• Manage Commercial IT budgets, forecasts, resource plans, portfolio investments, and vendor spend.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Business, Life Sciences, Engineering, or a related discipline.
• Significant IT leadership experience within the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, life sciences, or highly regulated healthcare industry.
• Extensive experience supporting Commercial business functions, including Sales, Marketing, Commercial Operations, Market Access, Digital, Patient Services, or related areas.
• Demonstrated experience leading technology workstreams for pharmaceutical product launches.
• Strong working knowledge of Commercial platforms such as Veeva CRM, marketing cloud platforms, digital marketing platforms, Commercial websites, customer engagement tools, and related integrations.
• Proven ability to manage senior and executive-level stakeholders, including Commercial leadership teams.
• Experience overseeing complex technology delivery through internal teams, external agencies, systems integrators, and software vendors.
• Strong understanding of pharmaceutical Commercial compliance considerations, including promotional review, privacy, data usage, and regulated digital engagement.
• Experience managing budgets, vendor contracts, delivery portfolios, roadmaps, and cross-functional governance.

Preferred

• Experience in both pre-launch and post-launch Commercial environments.
• Experience supporting specialty, rare disease, oncology, immunology, neurology, or other complex therapeutic area launches.
• Experience with omni-channel ecosystem capabilities.
• Experience with Veeva Vault PromoMats, Veeva Align, Veeva Network, Veeva CRM Events Management, or other Veeva Commercial applications.
• Experience with patient services platforms, hub integrations, copay programs, CRM/contact center tools, consent management, and patient engagement technologies.
• Familiarity with web content management systems, analytics/tagging platforms, SEO, accessibility, digital asset management, and agency-supported website operations.
• Experience implementing product-oriented IT operating models, agile delivery practices, or scaled portfolio governance.