Director, Commercial & Medical Information Systems

Who We Are:

Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE) is a neuroscience-focused biopharmaceutical company committed to discovering, developing, and commercializing innovative therapeutics to improve the lives of people living with neurological and psychiatric disorders. We are looking for great people who thrive in a respectful, collaborative, inclusive, and productive culture to join the Xenon team.

What We Do:

We are advancing an exciting product pipeline to address indications with high unmet medical need, including epilepsy and depression. Our flagship azetukalner program represents the most advanced potassium channel modulator in clinical development for multiple indications. Building upon the positive results and compelling data from our Phase 2b "X-TOLE" study in adult patients with focal epilepsy, our Phase 3 epilepsy program includes multiple clinical trials evaluating azetukalner in patients with focal onset seizures and primary generalized tonic-clonic seizures. In 2024, we are planning to initiate a Phase 3 azetukalner program in major depressive disorder, based on topline data from our Phase 2 "X-NOVA" clinical trial. In addition, we are proud of the leading-edge science coming out of our discovery labs, including early-stage research programs that leverage our extensive ion channel expertise and drug discovery capabilities to identify validated drug targets and develop new product candidates. Backed by a strong balance sheet to support our growth plans, we continue to build a fully integrated, premier neuroscience company with strong discovery, clinical development, corporate, and commercial operations.

About the Role:

We are seeking a Director, Commercial and Medical Information Systems, to join our team. This role will be the IT business partner for the Commercial and Medical Affairs functions at Xenon. The Director will partner with those groups to develop and execute against a functional technology roadmap, support existing enterprise applications such as Veeva MedComms and Vault CRM for Medical, and ensure effective and secure data exchange with external service providers. In addition to designing, building, and supporting systems, the Director will facilitate the design and adoption of effective data governance and lifecycle management processes, including the design and implementation of new technology to support these practices as needed. The Director will act as the primary point of contact for the designated user groups on all topics related to IT and will partner with colleagues in IT to resolve issues and deliver solutions. The Director will also ensure that IT-sponsored initiatives and standards are tailored to meet the needs of colleagues in the Commercial and Medical Affairs functions and are successfully adopted by those groups.

The IT group at Xenon is expanding rapidly to support the company's growth plans. The Director will begin as an individual contributor in a hands-on role, with the expectation that their team will expand over time as new systems are implemented and as the IT operating model evolves. During this period of rapid growth and evolution, the Director will be assigned additional responsibilities (beyond the core responsibilities described above) based on company needs, the individual's experience and expertise, and the availability of resources within IT.

This position reports to the Senior Vice President, Information Systems and will be located in the Boston, MA, USA office. The level of the position will be commensurate with the candidate's education and industry experience. This role is a hybrid position, requiring a minimum of 2 days per week in the office.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Act as the IT owner for all relevant functional systems and collaborate with functional system owners and colleagues in IT to evolve the support model based on the needs of the users and the overall IT strategy.
• Partner with key stakeholders in the Commercial and Medical Affairs to develop and execute against a functional technology roadmap encompassing current and future systems to address existing pain points, maximize the usage and value of existing systems, and develop new capabilities to support a planned product launch.
• Serve as the primary point of contact between the Commercial and Medical Affairs functions and IT to resolve issues, align on processes and standards, and ensure awareness and alignment on key initiatives (function- or IT-sponsored). Ensure that IT standards and processes are tailored to meet the unique needs and capabilities of the Development functions.
• Actively collaborate with other IT business partners to manage common or cross-functional requirements and project dependencies, and to ensure an effective enterprise approach to system planning and design.
• Facilitate effective IT planning, governance, and project delivery as these processes evolve.
• Collaborate with the head of Data Architecture and Engineering to ensure effective and secure data exchange with external providers, to facilitate the design and adoption of effective data governance and lifecycle management processes and tools, and to build and support the data infrastructure to enable effective reporting and advanced analytics.
• Design, develop, and document effective data flows and integrations among systems to enable efficient processes and workflows (including automation) including Master Data Management to support compliance requirements such as the Sunshine Act.
• Collaborate with the head of End User Computing to effectively on-board and support a field sales force.
• Collaborate with functional stakeholders to ensure relevant systems are built and maintained in compliance with regulatory requirements and internal policies and procedures.
• Manage vendor relationships (e.g. software and service providers) in the context of both project delivery and ongoing operations to maximize value to Xenon.
• As a member of the IT Leadership Team, contribute to the development and execution of the strategy to evolve the overall IT operating model, including new structure, processes, and ways of working.
• Take on additional responsibilities as the IT group grows and evolves based on company needs, relevant experience and expertise, and availability of resources within IT.
• Act in accordance with Company policies, including, for example, the Code of Business Conduct and Ethics and ensure policies are understood and followed by direct reports, if any.
• Develop and propose short- and long-term objectives for the function in accordance with overall Company strategies and plans.
• Plan and manage budget proposals and approved budgets in accordance with the Company's strategic and operating plans and Finance policies
• Recruit, lead, direct, develop, coach and evaluate direct reports, if any, in accordance with the Company's Human Resource policies and practices
• Act in accordance with Company policies, including, for example, the Code of Business Conduct and Ethics and ensure policies are understood and followed by direct reports, if any
• Other duties as assigned

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Minimum undergraduate degree in Computer Science, Informatics, or related discipline.
• At least 10 years of progressive information technology / informatics experience in a commercial life sciences organization, including people management.
• Domain knowledge of the work performed within the Commercial and Medical Affairs functions, including the ability to effectively collaborate with functional stakeholders.
• Knowledge of compliance requirements relevant to the Commercial and Medical Affairs functions and experience delivering relevant solutions.
• Demonstrated ability to set direction and lead while simultaneously performing hands-on work.
• Proven ability to diagnose and solve problems, and to identify opportunities to more effectively leverage technology and data to drive agility, efficiency, insights, and compliance.
• Broad knowledge base of cloud technology offerings as they relate to life sciences.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills with the ability to explain highly technical information in a concise and effective manner to an audience of varying technical aptitude.
• Strong interpersonal skills that support quickly building rapport with IT colleagues, functional stakeholders, and external vendors; ability to manage competing interests in a professional, collaborative and solution-driven manner.
• A problem-solving mindset - i.e. data-driven focus on understanding root causes and developing robust solutions.
• Ability to work flexibly in a fast-paced environment with a strong work ethic and positive attitude.
• Demonstrated ability to lead continuous improvements in IT delivery processes and practices.

The base salary range for this role is $212,261 to $233,058 USD; we will consider above this range for exceptional candidates. Base salary is determined by a combination of factors including, but not limited to, education and other qualifications, years of relevant experience, and internal equity.

Our Total Rewards program includes base salary, target bonus, and stock options, as well as a full range of benefits including medical, dental, vision, short-& long-term disability, accidental death & dismemberment, and life insurance programs, Employee Assistance Program, travel insurance, and retirement savings programs with company matching contributions.

Xenon encourages time to rest and re-charge through vacation, personal days, sick days, and an end-of-year company shutdown. Xenon highly values employee development and has an expanding Training, Learning & Development program, including a Tuition Assistance program for advanced degrees.

As part of our hiring process, Xenon conducts background checks for finalist candidates. The types of checks conducted will vary depending on the relevance to the position.

US positions only: Xenon Pharmaceuticals USA Inc. participates in the E-Verify program in all states in which we hire. Learn more about the E-Verify program here.

To apply for this position, click Apply Now to complete the application. We thank all applicants for their interest; however, due to the volume of applicants, only those chosen for interview will be contacted.