Director IT Business Partner

The Business Partner, IT Commercial is a director-level role responsible for aligning IT capabilities with the strategic and operational needs of the commercial organization. This individual serves as the primary technology partner for pre-commercial and commercial functions — including Sales, Marketing, Market Access, and Medical Affairs — translating business requirements into scalable IT solutions during a critical phase of company growth.

Operating within a small to medium-sized biotech or pharmaceutical environment, this role requires both strategic vision and hands-on execution. The Business Partner will lead the evaluation, implementation, and optimization of commercial systems (CRM, ERP, data & analytics platforms) while ensuring readiness for launch and beyond.

Key Responsibilities

Commercial Systems Leadership

• Own the IT strategy and roadmap for commercial-facing systems, including CRM (e.g., Veeva, Salesforce), ERP, contract management, and master data management (MDM) platforms.
• Lead end-to-end delivery of commercial technology initiatives — from requirements gathering and vendor selection through implementation, validation, and go-live.
• Ensure systems are configured to support pre-commercial activities such as field force deployment, sample management, HCP/HCO data management, and promotional materials tracking.

Business Partnership

• Serve as the primary IT liaison for Commercial, Market Access, Marketing, and Sales Operations stakeholders.
• Partner with business leaders to identify technology gaps, define requirements, and prioritize the IT portfolio in alignment with launch timelines and commercial goals.
• Translate complex technical concepts into clear business value for non-technical audiences.

Commercial Strategy

• Partner with commercial leadership to shape the long-term IT strategy that enables go-to-market planning, competitive positioning, and portfolio decision-making.
• Support business intelligence and reporting capabilities that provide insights into market trends, sales performance, and customer engagement.

Marketing Technology

• Oversee IT solutions supporting multichannel marketing execution, including digital engagement platforms, content management systems (CMS), and marketing automation tools.
• Ensure integration between marketing platforms and CRM systems to enable coordinated customer engagement across channels.

Market Access

• Support technology solutions for payer and account management, including contract management, formulary tracking, and gross-to-net analytics platforms.
• Partner with Market Access stakeholders to ensure data flows and reporting capabilities support reimbursement strategy and pull-through activities.

Medical Affairs

• Enable IT solutions for Medical Affairs functions, including medical information platforms, KOL engagement tracking, scientific exchange tools, and congress/event management.
• Ensure Medical Affairs systems meet compliance and regulatory requirements for appropriate off-label and on-label scientific communication.

Pre-Launch & Launch Readiness

• Drive IT readiness activities in support of product launch, including system build-out, user acceptance testing (UAT), training, and hypercare support.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with Regulatory, Legal, Compliance, and Finance to ensure commercial systems meet applicable requirements (e.g., PDMA, OIG guidelines, data privacy regulations).

People Leadership

• Lead, mentor, and develop a team of IT professionals supporting commercial functions, fostering a culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
• Define roles, responsibilities, and performance expectations; support career development and succession planning within the team.

Vendor & Stakeholder Management

• Manage relationships with third-party vendors, system integrators, and managed service providers supporting commercial technology.
• Negotiate contracts and SLAs; hold vendors accountable to delivery commitments and quality standards.

Governance & Compliance

• Ensure commercial systems adhere to IT governance, data integrity, and security standards.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Life Sciences, or a related field; advanced degree preferred.
• 10+ years of IT experience, with at least 5 years in a business partner, IT lead, or equivalent role supporting commercial functions in biotech or pharma.
• Demonstrated experience supporting pre-commercial or launch-stage activities at a small to mid-sized life sciences company.
• Deep expertise with commercial systems such as Veeva CRM, Salesforce, SAP, or equivalent platforms.
• Strong understanding of pharmaceutical commercial operations, including field force, commercial strategy, marketing, market access, and medical affairs.
• Hands-on experience delivering IT solutions across Commercial Strategy, Marketing Technology, Market Access, and Medical Affairs functions, with a clear understanding of the business workflows and data needs unique to each.
• Proven ability to manage multiple concurrent initiatives in a fast-paced, resource-constrained environment.
• Proven track record of managing and developing direct reports, including setting goals, providing coaching, and building high-performing teams in a dynamic environment.
• Experience managing external vendors, system integrators, and managed service providers — including contract negotiation, performance management, and holding partners accountable to delivery commitments and SLAs.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience supporting the commercial launch of one or more pharmaceutical or biologic products.
• Familiarity with specialty pharma or rare disease commercial models.
• Knowledge of data privacy regulations (HIPAA, GDPR) and industry compliance standards (PDMA, OIG).
• Experience with master data management (MDM) and data governance in a commercial context.
• Familiarity with commercial analytics tools (e.g., IQVIA, Symphony Health data integrations, Tableau, Power BI).
• PMP, ITIL, or equivalent certification.

This position is located in South San Francisco, CA and employees are expected to be onsite Tuesday-Thursday. Remote candidates will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

The salary range for this position is $200,000 USD to $240,000 USD annually. This salary range is an estimate, and the actual salary may vary based on the Company’s compensation practices.