Director, Program and Alliance Management

At Editas, we’re driven by a collective purpose, to bring transformative and life changing therapies to people living with serious diseases with the greatest unmet needs. This fuels our drive to excel in scientific innovation, allowing us to harness the power and potential of CRISPR/Cas9 and CRISPR/Cpf1 (Cas12a) gene editing.

We believe our people are at the core of everything we do, and we’re committed to cultivating a culture where every individual feels valued and included. To do this, we strive to integrate belonging, inclusivity, diversity, and equity into every aspect of our organization.

Together, we are leading the way towards a healthier and more equitable future.

Position Summary

This role will serve as the Program Management lead, responsible for supporting and executing project plans for our early-stage discovery/preclinical pipeline.  Responsibilities include planning, implementing, and driving the development and execution of high-quality, cross-functional development plans with internal project teams to advance development of novel in vivo gene editing programs.

The Director will also manage our research collaborations to ensure that Editas is a strong partner as we acquire new targets, assets, translational capabilities, and technologies in support of the company’s pipeline strategy. Responsibilities include establishing and overseeing management of alliances to secure consistent internal and external communication, coordination of activities, and the tracking and management of milestones and deliverables. The goal will be to keep both Editas and our partners on track, ensure strong communication and collaboration between the companies, and anticipate and address challenges.

This role reports to the Chief Commercial & Strategy Officer as part of the Program Management function.

Key Responsibilities:

As the Director Program & Alliance Management, you will be responsible for:

Program Management:

• Leading the internal cross-functional project teams to achieve high-quality development plans, including scientific, clinical, regulatory, CMC, and commercial considerations.
• Developing program strategy, goals, decision points and risks/mitigation planning, scenarios, and trade-offs, providing strategy and recommendations to Senior Management.
• Responsible for meeting preparation and follow up, meeting minutes and agendas, organization of documents, and tracking of decisions.
• Creating and maintaining program project timelines using tools such as SmartSheet, dashboards, and program roadmaps.
• Assisting in pulling together governance committee meeting presentations, as needed.
• Thinking strategically at the asset and portfolio level.
• Proactively identifying and communicating issues to ensure appropriate visibility and monitoring.
• Leading or partnering with New Product Planning on commercial assessments of lead programs.

• Contributing expertise to the continuing development of the program management function to help further the needs of the business.
• Bringing high energy and team spirit that contributes to a highly functioning team.

Alliance Management:

• Acting as the primary point of contact for partner organizations, driving and/or assisting in the review and synthesis of inter-company communications, i.e. responsible for meeting preparation and follow up, meeting minutes and agendas, organization of documents, and tracking of decisions.
• Developing and managing operational aspects of the alliances, including governance committees, research plans, and budgets.
• Monitoring and tracking partnership progress, ensuring timely achievement of milestones and contractual obligations.

• Working closely with the project teams to ensure teams are operating within the agreement and to ensure the scientific/operational perspectives are brought to the negotiations.
• In carrying out the above responsibilities, the candidate will be expected to work closely with a variety of functional teams to ensure that the relevant points of view from the key Editas stakeholders are incorporated into all situations and analyses.

Requirements

Required Qualifications:

The ideal candidate will possess:

• MS/PhD in life science required; MBA or business development, corporate strategy experience desired
• 8-10 years relevant work experience, including 4+ years of experience in the biopharmaceutical industry, including in alliance and program management. Experience with discovery, IND-enabling work required.
• Ability to foster a strong collaborative dynamic and to drive decision-making.
• Ability to work with scientific, clinical Business development, commercial and CMC team members at all levels.

• High emotional intelligence; effective communication skills, both verbal and written.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Additionally, candidates with the following attributes are preferred:
• Experience with gene or cell therapy development programs is a plus.
• Experience with early clinical stage programs and strong knowledge of drug development process and operation.
• Ability to prepare clear and influential power point presentations.
• Collaborative, effective in influencing and working in cross-functional teams and “leading from behind.”
• Ability to navigate and be successful in a fast-paced, highly matrixed work environment.
• Embody Editas values of uncompromising commitment to patients with desire to be part of a highly innovative biotech aimed at transforming the lives of people with serious diseases, their families. and society.

Benefits

Benefits Summary:

Editas provides a comprehensive array of benefits to all employees, including a Blue Cross Blue Shield PPO Medical Plan, a company-funded Health Savings Account, Dental and Vision Insurance, Life and Disability Insurance, Dependent Care Account, Tuition Reimbursement, 401(k) plan with company match, Employee Stock Purchase Plan, Employee Assistance Plan, Wellness Programs, and a flexible Paid Time Off policy.

If you are a results-focused and collaborative professional with a passion for advancing transformative therapies, we invite you to apply. Join us at the forefront of genetic innovation and be a key contributor to Editas Medicine's mission of redefining healthcare through cutting-edge genetic technologies.

Fostering Belonging. Fueling Innovation. Transforming Lives.