Director, Commercial Training Communications and Engagement

Deciphera, a member of ONO, is a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing important new medicines to improve the lives of people with cancer. We are leveraging our proprietary switch-control kinase inhibitor platform and deep expertise in kinase biology to develop a broad portfolio of innovative medicines.

Enabled by our proprietary drug discovery platform, Deciphera has developed a diverse pipeline of wholly-owned drug candidates. QINLOCK® (ripretinib) is Deciphera’s switch control inhibitor developed for the treatment of fourth-line GIST. QINLOCK is approved in Australia, Canada, China, the European Union, Hong Kong, Switzerland, Taiwan, the United States, and the United Kingdom.  We wholly own QINLOCK and all of our drug candidates with the exception of a development and commercialization out-license agreement for QINLOCK in Greater China. In addition to QINLOCK, we have identified and advanced multiple product candidates from our platform into clinical studies, including vimseltinib and DCC-3116.  

See here for more details on our portfolio.

We offer an outstanding culture and opportunity for personal and professional growth guided by our “PATHS” Core Values and how we work together. We are proud to be Great Place to Work Certified 2023 and rank #25 on Fortune’s Best Places to Work Small and Midsized Biotech Companies in 2023. Find more details about our award-winning culture here. 

Deciphera is seeking a seasoned, dynamic commercial leader with extensive product launch experience to lead the company’s commercial training, engagement and brand communications capabilities.  The Director will be responsible for CTCE strategy and execution for the company’s broad and diverse oncology portfolio including its lead asset QINLOCK, a highly-selective, broad-spectrum KIT and PDGFRa kinase switch control inhibitor currently on the market for the treatment of GIST, and prepare for the launch of vimseltinib, an orally administered, potent and highly selective switch-control kinase inhibitor of CSF1R, currently in development for the treatment for tenosynovial giant cell tumor (TGCT).  The Director of CTCE is a critical commercial role that will be instrumental to Deciphera’s continued success in driving brand results for multiple assets, maintaining a best-in class field team and cultivating the commercial team culture. 

What You’ll Do:

• Director of CTCE will play a critical role in evolving and leading the vision, structure, talent base, and capabilities of the commercial organization, with a focus on the sales team.  Accountabilities of this role include not only leading a high-performing training function, but also lead franchise communications and development of optimal engagement strategies across the commercial team. 
• Success in this role will require close partnership with members of the commercial leadership team (CLT) to:
  • Develop all training to prepare for the launch in a new disease state
  • Guide commercial strategy of multiple brands and pull through execution
  • Develop and implement new organizational capabilities with a focus in rare disease and maintain a best-in-class sales force
  • Lead communications across the sales and marketing team and act as a liaison across commercial functions
  • Establish and cultivate a positive team culture based on respect, trust, integrity, professionalism, humility, continual improvement, putting patients first, and “doing the right thing.” 

Training Responsibilities

• Partner with fellow CLT members to establish the concepts of learning, development, and continual improvement as core competencies of the commercial organization
• Partner closely with members of the CLT to define and continually evaluate the commercial team’s training and effectiveness needs based on robust market insights; organization structure and roles; and commercial objectives, strategy, and performance.
• Partner with internal subject matter experts (commercial, medical affairs, clinical development, legal, regulatory, HR, etc.) and external vendors/consultants to develop and/or source tailored training content that meets specific commercial needs.  Content topics could include:
  • Clinical content – disease state, patient journey, current and evolving diagnostic and treatment paradigms, unmet needs, ripretinib, vimseltinib and competitor product profiles, etc.
  • New hire/onboarding – in partnership with HR to communication corporate info, benefits, IT support, HR processes, etc.; sales acumen and product/disease state overview
  • Customer insights – key insights into the needs and perspectives of Deciphera’s key customers including academic vs. community physicians, mid-level prescribers (NP/PA), nurses, pharmacists, payers, etc.
  • Commercial strategy, tools, and tactics – marketing strategy, core messages, materials, and programs; market access strategies and programs; med info processes; etc.
  • Commercial systems/processes (e.g., CRM, Concur, speaker portal, etc.) and analytics (data/reporting)
  • Business acumen – selling skills (delivering high impact questions and messages, aligning needs, closing, follow up, etc.) and territory planning and execution (customer prioritization and objectives, path-to-goal development, progress tracking & reporting, issue identification/mitigation, etc.)
  • Compliance – work with legal to deliver necessary training to ensure compliance with all policies and procedures
• Successfully develop and implement a multi-modality approach to content delivery to optimize impact:
  • Lead the planning and execution of live meetings in close partnership with functional leads and field leadership to ensure the needs of all stakeholders are met (meeting objectives, agenda, roles and responsibilities, presentations, training workshops, communications etc.)
  • Partner with IT and HR to evaluate, select, and implement scalable distance learning / virtual classroom tools (LMS, web-based, telecon/webex, apps, etc.) and to explore the use of creative communication methods to optimize engagement and reinforce key learnings (e.g., podcasts, video blogs, group video chats, etc.)
• Develop and implement methods for measuring the impact of training initiatives and for identifying and addressing education gaps
• Ensure outstanding project management and operational excellence within the CTCE function.  Develop and execute detailed work plans, collaborate within a matrixed environment to ensure initiatives are well planned and effectively implemented, establish and manage vendor relationships, and build and manage the CTCE budget.

Communication and Commercial Engagement Responsibilities

• Develop clear communication plan to streamline information sharing across commercial team and lead the planning and executing of routine sales and marketing touchpoints
• Lead commercial engagement initiatives directed at building connectivity, celebration, and career development across the team
• Liaise with the commercial HR business partner and CLT to identify and integrate corporate and commercial-specific function initiatives to continually grow and evolve the Deciphera culture and commercial employee job satisfaction. 
• Role involves moderate travel (up to approximately 30% of time)

What You'll Bring: 

• BS/BA degree in business, life sciences, or related discipline.  Advanced degree preferred (e.g., MBA, MPH, NP, PharmD, PhD).
• Twelve (12) or more years of experience within the pharmaceutical or biotechnology industries including at least 5 years in commercial training and effectiveness roles
• Oncology launch experience is highly valued; oral oncolytic or rare/orphan market experience strongly preferred.
• Former sales/sales leadership experience preferred
• Demonstrated ability to devise and deliver large, complex initiatives/programs that have measurable impact on the organization.
• Outstanding planning and project management skills.
• Experience building new commercial capabilities in preparation for product launches is required.
• Prior experience leading franchise communications and/or operations preferred
• Excellent interpersonal, written and verbal communication skills.
• Experience in and understanding of other commercial functions (e.g., marketing, market access, sales, insights/analytics, etc.) will be an important consideration for this role.
• Ability and willingness to work effectively and seamlessly at multiple “altitudes” within the organization.  Maintains a “no job is too big or too small” attitude necessary to succeed in a startup environment.
• Must be a resourceful, creative problem solver who seeks out, and is receptive to, new ideas and approaches to solving persistent challenges.
• Must be a true team player – authentic, humble, professional, able to build a positive team spirit and lead teams through the ups and downs of drug development, puts success of the company and the overall commercial organization above own interests and supports everyone’s efforts to succeed, grow, and develop.
• Demonstrated ability to motivate and lead people – including in roles without direct managerial authority.  Must have the managerial courage to make and stand by difficult and/or unpopular decisions if it is what is right for patients and for the business.
• Highly skilled at influencing cross-functional teams as an equal partner, including interfacing with key internal and external stakeholders across commercial and medical/clinical teams.
• Demonstrated ability to act with a sense of urgency, take initiative and bring new ideas to the forefront to cultivate team engagement and team excellence.
• Demonstrated ability to adapt to changes in the work environment. Manages competing demands. Changes approach or method to best fit the situation. Able to deal with frequent change, delays, unexpected events, or uncertainty/ambiguity with maturity and professionalism.

Deciphera offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes but is not limited to the following:

• Non-accrual paid time off
• Summer vacation bonus
• Global, company-wide summer and winter shutdowns
• An annual lifestyle allowance
• Monthly cell phone stipend
• Internal rewards and recognition program
• Medical, Dental, and Vision Insurance
• 401(k) retirement plan with company match
• Life and Supplemental life insurance for family
• Short and Long Term Disability insurance
• Health savings account with company contribution
• Flexible spending account for either health care and/or dependent care.
• Family planning benefit
• Generous parental leave
• [if applicable] Car allowance

Deciphera, a member of ONO, is a company headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts. Our state-of-the-art research facility is located in Lawrence, Kansas and our European operations are run out of Switzerland.

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY INFORMATION

Deciphera is committed to equal employment opportunity and values diversity. To ensure that we comply with reporting requirements and to learn more about how we can increase diversity in our candidate pool, we invite you to voluntarily provide demographic information in a confidential survey at the end of this application. Providing this information is optional. It will not be accessible or used in the hiring process, and has no effect on your opportunity for employment. This information will also be treated confidentially.  Our commitment to increasing diversity in our candidate pool does not affect our commitment to equal employment opportunity, including our ongoing commitment to make all hiring and other employment decisions solely on a nondiscriminatory basis.