Executive Director, Head of Strategic Market Insights

Headquartered in Carlsbad, California, and with offices in Boston, Massachusetts, and Dublin, Ireland, Ionis has been at work for more than three decades discovering medical breakthroughs that have redefined life for people with serious diseases. We’re pioneers in RNA-targeted medicines, and our platform continues to revolutionize drug discovery and transform lives for patients with unmet needs. With multiple marketed medicines and a leading pipeline in neurology, cardiology and select areas of high patient needs, we continue to drive innovation in RNA therapies in addition to advancing new approaches in gene editing to provide greater value to patients and are well positioned financially to deliver on our strategic goals.

At Ionis, we pride ourselves on cultivating a challenging, motivating and rewarding environment that fosters innovation and scientific excellence. We know that our success is a direct result of the exceptional talents and dedication of our employees.


With an unprecedented opportunity to change the course of human health, we look to add diverse individuals, skill sets and perspectives to our exceptional team. We continue to invest time, money and energy into making our onsite, hybrid and remote work environments a place where solid and lasting relationships are built and where our culture and employees can thrive.


We’re building on our rich history, and we believe our greatest achievements are ahead of us. If you’re passionate about the opportunity to have meaningful impact on patients in need, we invite you to apply and join us. Experience and contribute to our unique culture while you develop and expand your career!

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, HEAD OF STRATEGIC MARKET INSIGHTS

SUMMARY:


The Executive Director, Head of Strategic Market Insights sets the long-term, enterprise vision, strategy, and standards for market insights across Ionis’ portfolio and serves as the senior leader accountable for how insights inform company-wide decisions. This role sets the long-range strategy, operating model, capabilities, and performance standards for the Market Insights function, and provides strategic direction to cross-functional partners across Commercial, Medical Affairs, Market Access, R&D, Supply, Communications, Investor Relations, and other functions, while leading a high-performing team of insights experts. You will:

• Shape the end-to-end market insights agenda to inform brand, franchise, and portfolio decisions across the lifecycle.
• Serve as a trusted, consultative advisor to senior leadership and cross-functional teams across Commercial, Medical, Supply, R&D, Communications, Investor Relations and other functions.
• Ensure that market, patient, and customer insights are translated into clear, actionable recommendations that drive competitive advantage and sustainable growth.

Your team will act as the single point of contact from Insights & Analytics (I&A) to cross-functional partners, coordinating strategy and execution across Market Insights, Competitive Intelligence, Forecasting, and Portfolio Planning. Reporting to the VP, Insights & Analytics, this role operates with significant autonomy and executive visibility.

This position may be based at our on-site office in Carlsbad, CA or Boston, MA, or remote.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

Functional vision, strategy, and operating model

• Define and drive the long-range market insights functional vision, operating model, and ways of working aligned with evolving brand, franchise, and corporate priorities to support effective decision-making
• Establish and maintain enterprise-wide standards, governance, and operating principles for market insights, ensuring consistent methodologies and decision frameworks across brands, franchises, and functions.
• Design and execute the annual functional plan for Market Insights, establishing clear objectives, and aligning resources and budgets with critical business needs, adapting to evolving priorities as required
• Build and maintain scalable capabilities, frameworks, and knowledge management systems to maximize the impact of insights and analytics on portfolio expansion and future product launches
• Champion advanced analytics, digital, and AI-enabled approaches within Market Insights, in close partnership with Forecasting and cross-functional analytics partners

Leadership, talent, and culture

• Lead, develop, and inspire a high performing market insights team of individual contributors and people leaders; attract, hire, and onboard new talent as appropriate, and build a team that is known for rigorous thinking, extreme attention to detail, pace, and the ability to see patterns and implications others may miss
• Model and reinforce Ionis’ leadership competencies and culture principles, fostering a culture of collaboration, inclusion, accountability, and continuous improvement
• Coach and develop direct reports, including timely and ongoing feedback; elevate team capabilities through mentoring, training, and stretch assignments
• Creates a culture of accountability – sets clear performance standards and expectations, holds cross-functional partners and vendors to commitments, drives individual development, and productively escalates when risks to quality or timelines emerge
• Drives productive debate – is not afraid to challenge assumptions, pressure-test thinking, and lead rigorous, data-driven discussions with senior stakeholders to get to the best answer

Insights strategy and execution

• Own creation of integrated, end to end market insights strategies and plans, prioritizing critical business questions for each brand and pipeline program
• Validate and maintain long-term insights roadmaps across the product lifecycle (pre/clinical, pre launch, launch, post launch) and key stakeholder groups (HCPs, patients, payers, specialty pharmacy, etc.)
• Ensure high standards for research quality and appropriate methodology, leveraging fit for purpose qualitative and quantitative primary research, secondary data, analytics, and competitive intelligence
• Pressure test conclusions and implications from market insight initiatives to ensure assessments are objective, data driven, and grounded in business reality
• Translate complex findings into clear, actionable insights and strategic recommendations that inform brand strategy, lifecycle management, evidence plans, and portfolio decisions
• Provide forward-looking analysis and perspective on macro market shifts, policy changes, and competitive moves, and proactively elevate risks and opportunities to leadership
• Monitor and communicate key performance indicators for Market Insights impact and operational excellence, and drive continuous improvement
• Identify, cultivate, and manage strategic partnerships with agencies, vendors, and experts to support efficient and high-quality execution of insights projects, in line with industry best practices and company standards
• Demonstrate extraordinary attention to detail in the design, execution, and interpretation of insights work, while maintaining a clear line-of-sight to the bigger strategic picture
• Synthesize large, complex bodies of information from multiple sources at speed, distilling them into simple, actionable narratives and options for senior decision-makers
• Connect non-obvious dots across markets, customers, internal data, and competitive moves to surface risks, opportunities, and inflection points before they are broadly visible

Cross functional partnership and enterprise impact

• Oversee the insights team in serving as the principal strategic advisors and single points of contact from I&A to their assigned brands, franchises, and above brand initiatives
• Partner closely with Commercial, Medical Affairs, Market Access, Government Affairs, Supply, R&D, and other functions to ensure cohesive pull through of insights into brand / lifecycle plans, and portfolio strategy
• Serve as a principal strategic advisor to senior leadership, providing executive-level recommendations on implications of market trends, customer dynamics, and competitive activity for program, franchise, portfolio, and enterprise strategy
• Lead and influence strategic and tactical planning, helping cross functional teams frame choices, evaluate trade-offs, and make data driven decisions
• Lead or co-lead high priority, cross functional strategic initiatives and ad hoc projects (e.g., new indication/product/market evaluations, scenario analyses, go to market strategy questions).
• Reconcile dissenting views, negotiate with, and persuade others on complex and sensitive topics, applying high emotional intelligence to drive alignment and positive business outcomes
• Partner with executive leaders across functions to shape company-wide policies, investment priorities, and resource allocation using data-driven insights, scenarios, and risk/benefit assessments

REQUIREMENTS:

• Bachelor’s degree required, advanced degree preferred
• 15+ years of Pharma / biotech experience in market insights or related roles
• Demonstrated success leading integrated market insights strategy for specialty and/or rare disease therapies
• Experience in Neurology, Cardiology, as well as broad and rare disease markets strongly preferred
• Proven track record building and leading scalable, high-performing teams, including people leaders
• Diverse commercial background (e.g., prior roles in Marketing, Sales, Strategy, or Market Access) with mastery of how insights inform P&L, investment decisions, and resource allocation, strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated ability to lead through ambiguity, create structure, synthesize multiple data sources into coherent, actionable narratives and recommendations, driving alignment on complex, cross functional issues
• Deep experience in the U.S. market launches required, global market insights experience preferred
• Strong executive presence with a proven ability to influence cross-functional and enterprise-level decisions, including VP/EVP-level stakeholders
• High emotional intelligence, with a track record of reconciling dissenting views, negotiating tradeoffs, and driving to outcomes that balance enterprise, functional, and brand needs
• Excellent judgment and willingness to take prudent risks, grounded in objective data and market realities
• Innate curiosity and entrepreneurial spirit, with strong personal drive and ownership
• Insatiable learner with demonstrated ability to rapidly get smart on new therapeutic areas, markets, and methods, and to continuously raise the bar for the function
• Proven ability to operate in a high-velocity, fast-changing environment, setting pace and priorities for others while maintaining composure and sound judgment
• Exceptional conceptual thinking and pattern recognition skills, with a track record of spotting connections and implications that are not obvious to others

Please visit our website, for more information about Ionis and to apply for this position; reference requisition # IONIS004011

Ionis offers an excellent benefits package! Follow this link for more details: Ionis Benefits

Full Benefits Link:

The pay scale for this position is $230,000 to $265,000

NO PHONE CALLS PLEASE. PRINCIPALS ONLY.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and all its subsidiaries are proud to be EEO employers.

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Equal Opportunity Employer


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