Regional Business Director, Southeast - Deciphera Pharmaceuticals

Deciphera 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.

Deciphera is seeking an experienced business and people leader with a passion for building and leading high performing teams and driving results for the company’s lead asset, QINLOCK (ripretinib) a broad-spectrum KIT and PDGFRa kinase switch control inhibitor currently approved the treatment of adult patients with advanced GIST who have received prior treatment with 3 or more kinases inhibitors, including imatinib, 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 Regional Business Director will lead a regional sales team to build and execute strategic territory plans in line with product strategy and in close collaboration with Market Access and Medical field teams to comprehensively meet the customers’ needs and help patients living with GIST and TGCT at launch.

This position is a critical leadership role that is instrumental to Deciphera’s continued commercial success. 

This position will report to the VP, Marketing, Sales and Commercial Training and is a remote, field-based position which will require business travel.

What You’ll Do:

• Lead a team of experienced and highly competent, knowledgeable, and motivated sales professionals with a track record of performance and a passion for making a difference for patients.  Success in this role will require not only building and leading a high-performing oncology sales team, but also partnering with cross-functional commercial partners to:
  • Becoming a true subject matter expert on all key topics that impact the success of the business – market dynamics, customer segments, buying processes/customer needs, clinical content (disease, product, competition), market access, etc.
  • Lead the development of regional business plans in close coordination with cross-functional partners that clearly articulate specific actions, timing, and metrics for achieving established goals
  • Identify customer needs and marshal the company’s resources to meet those needs
  • Partner effectively across field and home office teams to create a seamless experience for providers and their patients within the geography
  • Provide feedback on commercial plans and contribute to the creation of resources, tools, and processes critical to field success and critical to identifying eligible patients
  • Continuously review, evaluate and recommend improvements to the organization to enable higher performance
• Establish a culture of accountability and achievement for the regional team by:
  • Establishing clear expectations for performance including meeting business goals and deploying tools and resources appropriately and in line with strategic direction
  • Tracking progress against goals, refining when necessary and celebrating success
  • Providing insight to IC philosophy, strategy, and plan design that is motivating and rewards top performance
  • Informing the tools and practices for rewarding and recognizing positive behaviors and achievements
• Meet and exceed business objectives through thoughtful planning, collaboration with partners and utilization of tools and resources for flawless execution of strategic direction.  This includes:
  • Balancing efforts across brands to foster achievement of all commercial goals
  • Prioritizing team efforts across stakeholders to maximize opportunities, sharing customer insights and aiding the team in securing and allocating resources
  • Optimization of sales territory alignments, customer targeting, call plans, etc. in partnership with Commercial Insights & Operations (CIO) team
  • Utilizing CRM as a strategic tool for assessing and tracking customer status and progressing sales plans
  • Inspiring and influencing direct reports and functional partners to achieve objectives and contribute to the shaping of strategic direction
  • Ensuring completion of sales administrative requirements (T&E, compliance SOPs, Sunshine reporting, etc.)
• Partner with VP, Sales to expand existing sales organization in preparation for the launch of vimseltinib
  • Ensure team alignment on commercial strategy, enabling the teams to shift to support two commercial products
• Invest in people development and continual improvement through:
  • Providing strong leadership, on-going coaching, and consistent performance management for direct reports including appropriately challenging them to identify their gaps, grow their knowledge and capabilities, try new approaches to persistent challenges, continually raise the bar on their performance, and share best practices across teams
  • Continual assessment of skills, identification of gaps, and collaboration with Commercial Training & Effectiveness (CTE) to ensure sales teams have the tools and capabilities needed for optimal impact
  • Establishing and cultivating the concept of continual improvement as a core value of the sales organization – this will be a key success factor for the role
  • Creation of tailored development plans for strengthening individual skillsets and contributing to fostering future leaders for the organization
  • Rewarding and recognizing strong performance
• Manage team operations including:
  • Regional spend in line with budget
  • Administrative requirements essential to business operations (i.e. expenses, HCP reporting, CRM)
  • Ensuring all team activities are conducted within compliance guidelines
  • Establish and cultivate a positive culture based on respect, trust, integrity, professionalism, humility, continual improvement, putting patients first, and “doing the right thing.” 
  • Each Regional Business Director will play an essential role in nurturing the culture of high engagement, high integrity, and strong drive to realize meaningful results in the pursuit of helping cancer patients live longer and healthier lives. 
  • Critical to success in this role will be the RBM’s ability to create and cultivate an enterprise mindset within the commercial organization where all cross-functional stakeholders are viewed and engaged as true partners in pursuit of a common goal.
  • The Regional Business Director will play a critical part in ensuring that achievement of cultural objectives is part of our rewards and recognition philosophy
• Ensure high touchpoints with team members, peers, sales leadership and partners to effectively communicate challenges and opportunities and deliver solutions as needed.
• Develop and cultivate a close, collaborative relationship with field partners in Sales, Market Access and Medical Affairs to ensure teams are working together both effectively and compliantly.
• Develop fact-based, data-driven state of the business for the region including thoughtful recommendations for future (what to keep doing, what to change, rationales for both, and what will be achieved).
• Involvement in challenging assignments that contribute to the building and shaping of the growing organization will be a key aspect of the role beyond regional leadership and will support career pathing and development.

• BS/BA degree in business, life sciences, or related discipline.  Advanced degree preferred (e.g., MBA, MPH, PharmD, PhD).
• Ten (10) or more years of experience within the pharmaceutical or biotechnology industries including at least 3 years in front-line sales or related functions and 5 years in sales leadership roles
• Oncology experience is required; oral oncolytic or rare/orphan market experience strongly preferred.
• Existing relationships with key customers are highly valued (e.g., KOLs, key account leadership.)
• Experience building and contributing to commercial capabilities to enhance sales force effectiveness preferred
• Demonstrated ability to deliver results in competitive markets.
• Ability to understand and coach to the sales cycle including patient identification, building clinical conviction, understanding and overcoming access and reimbursement barriers, and navigating distribution
• Experience in and understanding of other commercial functions (e.g., marketing, market access, sales operations, sales training, insights/analytics, business development, etc.) is preferred
• Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively with partners to establish and achieve common goals
• Candidate must possess strong orientation toward teamwork balanced with a drive for individual results
• Must demonstrate the ability to determine and synthesize insights about the business and work with leadership to shape strategy and tactics
• 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 teams.  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.
• 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 and ensures direct reports do the same.  Proven track record of contributing beyond role required. 
• Excellent interpersonal, oral and written communication skills and a strong leadership presence.
• Demonstrated ability to attract top talent with diverse backgrounds and build cohesive, high performing teams
• Demonstrated ability to develop individuals to fullest potential within the organization

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.

We offer an outstanding culture and opportunity for personal and professional growth based on our “PATHS” Core Values:

• Patients – We are committed to improving the lives of patients living with cancer. They are the driving force behind everything we do.
• Accountability – We demand accountability for our actions, behaviors, and performance. We recognize our duty to maintain a culture that embraces the uniqueness of our people and finds strength in our differences.
• Transparency – We strive to provide full visibility to internal and external stakeholders for a complete picture of what we are doing and why.
• Honesty and Integrity – Trust and mutual respect are essential aspects of our culture. We act with honesty and integrity in all facets of our business, and this serves as the foundation of our work and interactions with others.
• Stewardship – We are respectful of the resources entrusted to us by the investment community. We act thoughtfully and allocate resources responsibly in seeking to create value for our shareholders.  

“How” we work together and the behaviors that we show up with each day are critical to maintaining our positive culture. Our behavioral expectations align with our values to elevate and drive individual and team performance:  

• Lead from where you are – regardless of role or level, we motivate each other to achieve common goals.
• Drive business results – we navigate forward with our eye on the highest priorities.
• Partner and collaborate – we cultivate relationships and value ideas, regardless of where they are coming from, to achieve more together.
• Continuously evolve and improve – we try, we learn, we revise and try again.

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
• ESPP offering
• 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 (NASDAQ: DCPH) is a publicly traded 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.