Vice President - Commercial Finance

About Celldex

Celldex is pioneering new horizons in immunology to deliver life-changing therapies. We are relentless in our pursuit of novel antibody-based treatments that engage the human immune system and directly affect critical pathways to improve the lives of patients with allergic, inflammatory and autoimmune disorders. We have built a culture where innovative and talented people thrive—focusing a significant effort on attracting and retaining passionate and motivated employees who want to play a role in helping people with serious health conditions and who see this effort as personally rewarding. In our highly entrepreneurial environment, employees are empowered and the opportunity for professional development occurs every day. 

Overview

The Vice President, Commercial Finance will build and lead Celldex’s Commercial Finance organization as the Company prepares for its first commercial launch and transitions from a clinical-stage biotechnology company to a fully integrated commercial biopharmaceutical organization.

Reporting to the Chief Financial Officer, the Vice President will serve as the senior Finance partner to Commercial leadership and will be responsible for the financial strategy, planning, forecasting, analytics and decision support required to successfully commercialize barzolvolimab and support future portfolio growth. This leader will build the capabilities, processes, systems and team required to support commercial financial planning and analysis, revenue forecasting, gross-to-net forecasting and analytics, pricing and contracting finance, government pricing finance, and trade and distribution finance.

The Vice President will partner closely with Commercial, Market Access, Pricing & Contracting, Trade & Distribution, Patient Services, Insights & Analytics, Supply Chain, Accounting and Corporate FP&A to ensure commercial strategies are supported by rigorous financial analysis and appropriately incorporated into the Company’s overall financial plan.

The ideal candidate is a strategic, hands-on Commercial Finance leader with significant biopharmaceutical launch experience and a demonstrated ability to build scalable finance capabilities in a growing organization. This individual will combine strong commercial and financial acumen with the ability to operate as a trusted business partner while maintaining appropriate financial discipline and stewardship.

This position is located onsite in Hampton, NJ

Responsibilities

Commercial Finance Strategy & Leadership

• Build and lead Celldex’s Commercial Finance organization, establishing the capabilities, processes and operating model required to support first launch and future commercial growth.
• Serve as the primary Finance partner to the Chief Commercial Officer and Commercial leadership team, providing financial insight, constructive challenge and decision support across key commercial priorities.
• Translate commercial strategy and business assumptions into financial plans, forecasts, investment decisions and performance expectations.
• Provide financial leadership across launch planning, product strategy, pricing and access, channel strategy, customer contracting and commercial investment.
• Establish a Commercial Finance organization that operates as an integrated business partner while maintaining strong financial discipline and governance.
• Partner with the CFO and Corporate FP&A to ensure commercial assumptions, forecasts and investments are appropriately incorporated into the Company’s annual budget, long-range plan and enterprise financial outlook.
• Develop scalable Commercial Finance processes, systems and analytical capabilities capable of supporting additional indications, products and future launches.
• Provide the CFO and Executive Leadership Team with clear financial perspectives on commercial opportunities, risks, investments and performance.

Commercial Financial Planning & Analysis

• Lead financial planning and analysis across the Commercial organization, including annual budgeting, forecasting and long-range planning.
• Provide financial leadership for commercial operating expenses, headcount planning, launch investments and resource allocation.
• Partner with Sales, Marketing, Market Access, Patient Services, Trade & Distribution and other Commercial functions to develop and manage financial plans.
• Establish financial frameworks to evaluate commercial investments, business performance and return on investment.
• Develop scenario analyses to support strategic and operational decision-making.
• Monitor commercial performance against plan, identify trends and risks, and provide actionable recommendations to leadership.
• Ensure Commercial budgets, forecasts and long-range plans are appropriately integrated with Corporate FP&A and the overall Company financial plan.

Revenue Forecasting

• Lead the financial revenue forecasting process in close partnership with Commercial Insights & Analytics, Marketing, Market Access and other key stakeholders.
• Translate demand and market assumptions into financial revenue forecasts, including gross sales, gross-to-net and net product revenue.
• Establish appropriate governance around revenue assumptions, scenario modeling, forecast updates and performance tracking.
• Evaluate key revenue drivers, including:
  • Patient demand and new patient starts
  • Market size and epidemiology
  • Market share and competitive dynamics
  • Treatment duration
  • Pricing
  • Access and reimbursement
  • Gross-to-net
  • Channel dynamics
• Develop launch and long-range revenue scenarios to support enterprise planning and strategic decision-making.
• Analyze actual commercial performance against forecast and use emerging trends to improve forecast accuracy.

Gross-to-Net Forecasting & Analytics

• Provide executive leadership for gross-to-net forecasting, analytics and financial planning.
• Develop and oversee GTN forecasting methodologies and assumptions related to:
  • Commercial rebates
  • Government rebates
  • Chargebacks
  • Distribution fees
  • Product returns
  • Copay and patient-support programs
  • 340B and other government programs
  • Payer and PBM contracts
• Partner closely with Accounting to ensure appropriate alignment between forward-looking GTN forecasts and actual GTN accounting/reserve experience.
• Analyze GTN trends, risks and opportunities and incorporate emerging experience into forecasts and long-range plans.
• Establish appropriate governance and cross-functional review of GTN assumptions.

Pricing, Contracting & Trade Finance

• Provide Finance leadership supporting pricing strategy, payer contracting, trade and distribution, channel strategy and customer economics.
• Partner with Market Access and Pricing & Contracting to evaluate the financial implications of payer, PBM, GPO, IDN and other customer arrangements.
• Develop financial evaluation frameworks for pricing and contracting decisions, including scenario modeling, profitability, revenue impact, GTN implications and return on investment.
• Provide financial analysis supporting specialty distributor, specialty pharmacy, wholesaler, 3PL and other trade arrangements.
• Support evaluation of physician-administered/buy-and-bill economics and related channel strategies.
• Partner with Market Access, Trade & Distribution and Legal in evaluating significant commercial agreements and strategic negotiations.
• Provide financial insights regarding channel economics, distribution strategy and evolving commercial models.

Government Pricing Finance

• Provide financial leadership and analytical support for government pricing and related programs, including Medicaid, Medicare, 340B, VA/FSS, TRICARE and other applicable federal and state programs.
• Evaluate the financial implications of government pricing requirements and incorporate those impacts into GTN and revenue forecasts.
• Partner closely with Market Access, Government Pricing, Legal/Compliance and Accounting to ensure alignment across pricing strategy, government program requirements, forecasting and financial reporting.
• Assess potential financial implications of changes in government pricing regulations, reimbursement policies and program participation.

Commercial Launch Readiness

• Lead Finance readiness for commercialization, ensuring Celldex has the financial capabilities, processes, systems and analytics required to support launch.
• Establish a staged Commercial Finance build plan identifying capabilities required pre-launch, at launch and post-launch.
• Ensure appropriate readiness across revenue forecasting, GTN forecasting, pricing and contracting analytics, government pricing finance, trade finance, Commercial FP&A and performance reporting.
• Partner with Commercial and Finance leadership to identify launch-related financial risks and establish mitigation plans.
• Ensure systems, data and reporting capabilities are scalable and capable of supporting increasing commercial complexity.
• Partner closely with the Corporate Controller to ensure Commercial Finance assumptions and forecasts appropriately support revenue accounting, GTN reserves and external financial reporting.

Commercial Performance & Analytics

• Establish financial performance management processes and reporting for the Commercial organization.
• Develop dashboards and analytics providing visibility into:
  • Revenue and demand performance
  • Forecast performance
  • Gross-to-net
  • Pricing and access
  • Commercial spending
  • Headcount and resource deployment
  • Customer and channel economics
  • Investment effectiveness and ROI
• Translate financial and commercial data into actionable insights for the CFO, Commercial leadership and Executive Leadership Team.
• Identify emerging trends, risks and opportunities and recommend appropriate actions.

Cross-Functional Partnership

• Develop strong partnerships across Commercial, Market Access, Pricing & Contracting, Trade & Distribution, Patient Services, Sales, Marketing, Insights & Analytics, Medical Affairs, Supply Chain, Accounting, Corporate FP&A, Legal and Compliance.
• Ensure Finance is deeply embedded in the business and understands the underlying commercial strategies, market dynamics and operational drivers.
• Bring financial rigor and independent judgment to business decisions while maintaining an enabling and collaborative approach.
• Communicate complex financial and commercial information clearly and effectively to senior leadership and cross-functional stakeholders.

Team Leadership

• Build, lead and develop a high-performing Commercial Finance organization capable of supporting Celldex through launch and continued commercial growth.
• Establish the organizational structure, capabilities and resources required to support commercial financial planning and analysis, revenue forecasting, gross-to-net forecasting and analytics, pricing and contracting finance, government pricing finance, and trade and distribution finance.
• Ensure appropriate financial capabilities are in place to support Market Access, Sales, Marketing, Patient Services and other Commercial functions.
• Define clear roles, responsibilities, decision rights and ways of working across Commercial Finance and its key cross-functional partners.
• Determine the appropriate sequencing of capabilities and resources as Celldex progresses from pre-launch through launch and post-launch operations.
• Recruit, develop and retain high-performing Commercial Finance talent with the technical expertise, commercial understanding and business-partnering capabilities required to support a growing organization.
• Develop strong Finance business partners who are deeply connected to the functions they support and able to translate commercial strategies and business drivers into financial insights and recommendations.
• Establish performance expectations, development plans and succession strategies to build organizational depth and future leadership capability.
• Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, financial discipline and continuous improvement.
• Continually evaluate the organization, processes and capabilities to ensure Commercial Finance remains scalable and fit-for-purpose as Celldex adds indications, products and commercial complexity.

Qualifications

Education

• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, Business or a related field required.
• MBA, CPA or other advanced degree preferred.

Experience

• 15+ years of progressive Finance experience within biotechnology, pharmaceutical or life sciences organizations.
• Significant leadership experience within Commercial Finance, including responsibility for building and leading teams.
• Demonstrated experience supporting pharmaceutical or biotechnology product launches required.
• Experience building Commercial Finance capabilities in a pre-commercial or early-commercial organization strongly preferred.
• Deep experience in Commercial FP&A, revenue forecasting, gross-to-net forecasting and commercial decision support.
• Strong experience supporting pricing, contracting, Market Access and trade/distribution finance.
• Strong understanding of pharmaceutical GTN dynamics, including rebates, chargebacks, returns, government programs, distribution fees and patient-support programs.
• Experience with physician-administered/buy-and-bill products strongly preferred.
• Experience supporting specialty pharmacy, specialty distributor, wholesaler and 3PL distribution models preferred.
• Demonstrated experience partnering directly with senior Commercial, Market Access and Finance leaders.
• Experience developing financial models and analytical frameworks supporting pricing, contracting, launch strategy and commercial investment decisions.
• Experience integrating Commercial forecasts and plans into enterprise budgets and long-range financial plans.
• Strong understanding of the interdependencies between Commercial Finance, Corporate FP&A and Revenue Accounting.
• Experience building scalable processes, systems, analytics and teams to support commercial growth.

Compensation Statement

The expected base salary for this position is: $268676.00 to $348929.00. We are committed to compensating employees equitably based on several factors including experience, education, licensure/certifications, skill level, location of the position, and availability of similar talent in a competitive market. Subject to eligibility and applicable plan terms, compensation includes base salary, annual discretionary bonus, long term incentive, 401(K) plan with employer contribution, health care and other insurance benefits (for employee and family), paid holidays, vacation, and sick days. A summary of our benefits can be found on our careers page Celldex is proud to be an equal opportunity employer that strives to foster a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion. We are committed to promoting a diverse environment through development, recruiting and community outreach.