Exciting opportunity to join a rapidly growing, innovative company!

Do you want to be part of building a fully integrated biopharmaceutical company together with a team of highly skilled colleagues who are passionate about developing best-in-class therapeutics that address significant unmet medical needs?

Ascendis Pharma is looking to hire an experienced Project Director to join the team and is committed to support your personal development on the journey towards becoming a leading rare disease company.

As Project Director, Oncology at Ascendis Pharma you will play a critical role in driving Ascendis’ sustainable growth by shepherding progress and success across 3 sites (Heidelberg, Copenhagen, Palo Alto) across Oncology, and ultimately for 1 or multiple projects. You will be responsible for facilitating strategic discussions and decision-making, communicating with all relevant stakeholders (across functions and with Senior Management Team), and ensuring timely execution of the project(s).

Your main tasks are:

• Facilitate collaboration across Heidelberg (including Chemistry, Bioanalytics, IP), Copenhagen (including Nonclinical, Bioanalysis, CMC) and Palo Alto (including Immunology, Pharmacology, Product Development, Clinical Development)
• Establish project management rigor across Oncology opportunities
  • Set timelines, clarify roles and responsibilities, facilitate cross-functional collaboration, forecast and track resource needs, track actions, aggregate and track budget
• Upon preclinical candidate selection, lead project(s) execution towards IND, through preclinical and clinical activities, through commercialization
  • Once assigned a specific project, the Project Director should still be willing to support earlier stage Oncology opportunities to best serve Ascendis objectives (~75%/25% split between main project/earlier opportunities)
• Create integrated project plans; implement and monitor progress against project plans and revise as necessary
• Define critical path, at-risk activities, interdependencies; anticipate bottlenecks, and clear barriers to progress
• Recommend composition of cross-functional Core Team, including changes as project evolves; foster excellent cross-functional collaborative spirit and approach
• Lead Core Team in:
  • Prioritizing activities and problem-solving to meet milestones and timelines
  • Strategic initiatives (e.g., plans and requirements to enter new geography, consideration of working with additional supplier) by collaborating with line organizations and communicating options and recommendation to leadership
  • Ensuring all members and their organizations are aligned on project progress, key milestones, risks, and mitigation strategies
• Update timelines, resources, and budget as timelines and/or strategic priorities shift, and/or issues arise; communicate to all relevant stakeholders (including Senior Management) accordingly
• Lead preparation of materials for internal updates, including Monthly Project Reports, Project Reviews, Board of Directors meetings
• Set agenda and objectives and lead Project Reviews, as well as communicate decisions made, action items, and minutes to all relevant stakeholders, including Senior Management Team
• Collaborate with other functions on preparation of agenda, objectives, materials, and post-event communications for external events (e.g., conferences, ad boards)
• Lead/contribute to operational initiatives, as needed e.g., acting as point of contact for external partners (e.g., CMO)
• Review and contribute to key project documents (e.g., regulatory documents, clinical protocols, scientific publications, investor updates); ensure cross-functional collaboration and alignment when regulatory documents are being prepared
• Gather, analyze, codify, and distribute competitive intelligence
• Prepare and communicate project budget, and facilitate resource/capacity planning; follow up on accruals
• Stay current on key publications and share findings with key stakeholders (e.g., scientific literature, competitors’ updates, analyst reports, regulatory landscape changes)
• Share best practices and learnings with other Project Directors

Your qualifications are:

• Pharmaceutical R&D drug development knowledge, with experience in multiple functions; CMC and GLP tox experience is strongly preferred
• 15 years in project management in R&D drug development and/or managing teams, with experience across multiple line organizations (e.g., Nonclinical, CMC, Clinical Operations, Regulatory Affairs, Medical Affairs)
• Experience with early stage regulatory interactions and IND filings required, preferably in oncology; strong ability to drive program towards IND submission
• Excellent analytical skills and the ability to provide strategic insight and problem solve, quantifying options, tradeoffs, budget, and resources needed

You have a Master’s Degree or preferable a PhD in Life Sciences or related field.

You are a person with strong leadership skills, including the ability to lead colleagues across line organizations outside of reporting relationships. You have exceptional interpersonal skills (including cultural sensitivity) and communication skills (including presentations and written communications). Further, you have a high level of organizational skills and attention to detail.

Travelling: Ability to travel up to 25% of the time (mostly international), up to 40% in beginning.

Place of work: Ascendis Pharma resides in a wonderful office facility in Tuborg Havn in Hellerup with a view to the harbour, the canals and the sea.

For more details about the job or the company, please contact Partner Jørn Duhn, Unique Human Capital on M: +45 21 75 19 25. All applications must be submitted in English and are treated confidentially.