Executive Director - Digital Enablement

Summary:

The Executive Director, Digital Enablement (DE) is a newly created role with a mandate to ensure that digital and AI capabilities give Vaxcyte better leverage across every launch function. Initially focused on the commercial launch of VAX-31 for the adult indication, this role will lead the build of the digital infrastructure, AI capabilities, and commercial technology roadmap from the ground up for Vaxcyte as a first-time launching company.

The Executive Director, DE serves as an enabler across functions, designing systems and capabilities so that Marketing, Sales, Medical Affairs, Market Access, Commercial Operations (e.g. 3PL, Distribution, Customer Service, etc), Data and Analytics and any other commercial teams have less friction, better intelligence, and more leverage than the competition. The DE will work collaboratively with these partners to determine business needs and recommend/build system capabilities across the organization

This role sits within the Commercial organization and works in close partnership with the IT Commercial Lead (ITCL) in the IT function, who will own implementation, data security, and technical management. This role will own strategy through execution and ensure our launch functions are fully enabled.

This role also supports the digital, data, and AI needs of Medical Affairs as one of several functions it enables, while respecting the independence of Medical Affairs in setting its own scientific strategy, content, and engagement priorities. All Medical Affairs enablement operates within the company’s compliance framework, preserving the separation of promotional and non-promotional activity and the independence of scientific engagement.

Essential Functions:

Commercial Digital Strategy and Product Roadmap

• Develop a phased commercial digital vision for the US adult launch covering pre-launch, launch, and growth phases, with defined milestones and measurable outcomes at each stage.
• Own and maintain a commercial product roadmap that treats each digital capability — CRM, marketing technology, field enablement, analytics, AI tools — as a discrete product with a use case, a user, a success metric, and a release schedule.
• Map the end-to-end commercial experience from the account manager and field rep perspective through to provider and executive touchpoints, identifying where digital creates genuine leverage and where added complexity should be avoided.
• Define and prioritize AI use cases for field force effectiveness, marketing operations, customer segmentation, content production, and performance analytics — sequenced by business impact and data readiness.
• Ensure that no technology decision precedes a defined commercial use case; architecture follows strategy and vendor selection follows requirements.

Cross-Functional Leadership and Business Translation

• Serve as the commercial voice in all digital and technology planning conversations, ensuring that field, marketing, Medical Affairs, Market Access, and commercial operations priorities drive decisions.
• Translate commercial strategy into language that IT, vendors, and data teams can build from; translate technical constraints and trade-offs into language that commercial leaders can act on.
• Partner with Marketing to build the martech stack, performance marketing capability, and content infrastructure, and to streamline MLR review so approved content reaches the field faster. Identify where AI raises the ceiling — content generated and adapted at scale, and review workflows that move faster without lowering the bar.
• Partner with Sales and Field Force Excellence to equip the field with CRM, call planning, territory management, and mobile tools that make reps more effective in front of customers. Identify where AI raises the ceiling — next-best-action guidance, pre-call intelligence, and automation that returns selling time to reps.
• Partner with Medical Affairs to build capabilities to enable and enhance Medical Affairs activities, including digital engagement, scientific exchange tools, congress engagement platforms, and KOL mapping
• Partner with Market Access and Commercial Operations to stand up contract management, chargeback and revenue management, and Sunshine Act compliance workflows that hold up under launch volume. Identify where AI raises the ceiling — anomaly detection, scenario modelling, and monitoring that flags issues before they surface.
• Serve as the primary liaison to the IT Commercial Lead (ITCL), ensuring technology implementation aligns with commercial strategy.

AI-First Capability Building

• The goal of this role is to examine every commercial launch capability area — marketing, field, Medical Affairs, market access, operations, and analytics — for where AI changes how the work gets done. That means building an organization that asks “How would we create better outcomes using AI?
• Approach every commercial capability decision with an AI-first lens: before adding headcount, process, or traditional software, evaluate whether AI can deliver more with less friction and at greater speed.
• Define and lead the AI capability roadmap for the commercial and medical affairs organizations, identifying both where AI makes current work better, where it makes new things possible, and where its use should be questioned.
• Deploy AI-powered strategic tools for the commercial leadership team, including virtual advisory simulations, pressure-testing frameworks, and intelligence briefing workflows.
• Champion AI literacy and adoption across commercial functions, building fluency from the ground up so that field and marketing teams are active users of AI tools.
• Establish AI governance guardrails for commercial contexts in partnership with Legal and Compliance, defining what is permitted, under what conditions, and with what oversight.

Vendor and Platform Governance

• Lead commercial evaluation of CRM, marketing automation, data, and AI vendor options — distinguishing between what to build, buy, and rent based on launch timelines, data readiness, and long-term scalability.
• Maintain a composable, modular platform philosophy — every component should be replaceable without forcing a full stack rebuild.
• Ensure that vendor contracts entered by the ITCL have commercial sign-off on scope, functionality, and success criteria before execution.

Data Strategy and Commercial Performance Reporting

• Define the commercial data strategy: what data the organization needs to compete at launch, when it must be procured, and how it will be activated and governed across CRM, marketing, and analytics platforms.
• Partner with the ITCL to create the data architecture necessary to track and report commercial progress, ensuring performance metrics are captured, visible, and actionable across launch functions.
• Partner with IT and Finance to ensure a commercial view within the master data management framework so that supply chain, quality, and commercial teams are working from a shared customer record.
• Drive adoption of performance analytics and reporting tools across the commercial team, ensuring insights are accessible to field and marketing users.

Requirements: 

BA/BS degree in a scientific discipline, business, marketing, or technology required. MBA or other advanced degree highly desired. Minimum of 16+ years of industry-related experience with 5+ years in commercial or commercial-facing roles within pharmaceutical, biotech, or vaccine organizations, including direct exposure to product launch. Other combinations of education and/or experience may be considered.

• Demonstrated experience operating with a product management discipline: owned a product roadmap, managed a backlog, worked in iterative delivery cycles, and measured outcomes.
• Experience building or leading a commercial digital or commercial excellence function, with accountability for adoption and business results, not just technical delivery.
• Deep understanding of the commercial technology ecosystem, including:
  • CRM (e.g., Salesforce, Veeva, etc.)
  • Marketing automation platforms
  • Data and analytics platforms
  • HCP-facing digital channels
• Deep understanding of frontier AI models and their applications in business.
• Proven ability to translate in both directions: commercial strategy into technical requirements, and technical constraints into business options.
• AI fluency: genuine working knowledge of generative AI, predictive analytics, next-best-action tools, and AI-assisted content workflows.
• Experience launching U.S. vaccines and/or specialty biologics (highly preferred).
• Familiarity with revenue management infrastructure including chargebacks, rebates, and gross-to-net systems.
• Familiarity with Sunshine Act compliance, MLR review workflows, and promotional materials management.
• Ability to travel 20% of the time for commercial and cross-functional team engagements.