Deciphera is seeking an experienced business and people leader with a passion for building and leading high-performing teams and preparing for the anticipated launch of tirabrutinib, a highly potent and selective Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor being advanced for patients with relapsed or refractory primary central nervous system lymphoma (R/R PCNSL). PCNSL is a rare and aggressive extra-nodal non-Hodgkin lymphoma with significant unmet need, and tirabrutinib represents an important potential new treatment option for patients facing limited therapeutic choices. The Regional Business Director will lead a regional sales team and play a critical role in shaping launch readiness by building regional business plans, developing team capabilities, and partnering closely with Market Access, Medical Affairs, Marketing, Commercial Operations, and other cross-functional stakeholders to prepare for a successful launch and support Deciphera’s efforts to bring tirabrutinib to patients in need.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities of the Position:
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 hematology sales team, but also partnering with cross-functional commercial partners to:
Become a true subject matter expert on the key factors that will impact launch success, including disease state, product profile, market dynamics, customer segments, account needs, market access, and competitive landscape
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 strategy and contribute to the development of resources, tools, and processes critical to field readiness, account execution, and identification of appropriate 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:
Setting 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:
Prioritizing regional efforts and resources to support launch readiness and successful commercialization of tirabrutinib
Ensuring team efforts across key accounts and stakeholders maximize launch readiness, sharing customer insights, and helping the team secure and deploy resources effectively
Shaping regional deployment strategies, customer targeting, account prioritization, and engagement plans in partnership with Commercial Insights & Operations (CI&O) to support launch readiness and future execution
Utilizing CRM and other commercial tools as strategic resources to assess customer status, capture insights, and track progress against regional launch and account plans
Inspiring and influencing direct reports and functional partners to contribute to the shaping of strategic direction and to achieve objectives
Ensuring completion of sales administrative requirements (T&E, compliance SOPs, Sunshine reporting, etc.)
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
Assessing skills, identifying gaps, and collaborating 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
Creating 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, assigned training)
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.”
Playing 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.
Creating and cultivating 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.
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).
Be involved in challenging assignments that contribute to the building and shaping of the growing organization