Associate Director, IT Business Solutions

About This Role

Axsome Therapeutics is seeking an Associate Director, IT Business Solutions to join the Information Technology team. This hands-on role requires deep cross-domain knowledge of broadly defined Corporate Systems and is responsible for both functional business and technical systems activities. The incumbent will partner closely with business stakeholders and IT teams to enhance technology solutions by translating high-level epics and user stories into actionable product backlogs, supporting testing efforts, and serving as a project lead or subject matter expert as needed. This individual will also manage select escalated post-implementation support issues and coordinate vendor engagement when appropriate to ensure timely and effective issue resolution. Leveraging strong domain and systems expertise, the Senior Manager will identify and drive opportunities for business transformation through system enhancements, process simplification, and governance initiatives that improve operational efficiency and business outcomes. This role is based at Axsome's HQ in New York City with an on-site requirement of at least three days per week. We are unable to consider candidates who are looking for fully remote roles.

Job Responsibilities and Duties

• Collaborate across Axsome business functions, IT competencies, external partners, and vendors to deliver or enhance technology solutions, tools, processes, security and reporting.
• Own and maintain business processes, user stories, documentation, and training materials on behalf of business partners while ensuring compliance with internal, external, and regulatory guidelines.
• Configure, support, and troubleshoot corporate applications and related technical issues.
• Guide technical and architectural discussions that impact business processes, user experience, and contribute to the evolution of Axsome's technology architecture.
• Contribute to planning, tactical execution, and operationalization of multiple parallel initiatives aligned with departmental portfolios, domain objectives, and applicable regulatory guidelines.
• Build and maintain strong relationships between IT and business functions, including periodic business and technology reviews.
• Apply a broad understanding of cybersecurity solutions and AI platforms to support business initiatives, automation opportunities, reporting, and operational troubleshooting.
• Act in a Product Manager capacity by maintaining product backlogs, prioritizing requirements, refining user stories, and keeping process and systems documentation current.
• Act in a Technical Project Manager capacity by leading feasibility assessments, product and vendor evaluations, implementation planning, release coordination, and delivery oversight.
• Troubleshoot complex issues and mobilize cross-functional teams without direct authority.
• Develop deep knowledge of Axsome's cloud-first technology architecture and the highly-regulated end-to-end business processes it supports.

Requirements / Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree with 10+ years of relevant experience, or Master's degree with 7+ years of relevant experience.
• 5+ years in a lead Business Analyst role, with demonstrated experience in system delivery, process mapping, and process improvement.
• Experience in the pharmaceutical/biotech industry, preferably in one or more of the following areas: Commercial Operations, Sales, Marketing, Regulatory, and core Corporate systems.
• Ability to work on site Monday, Tuesday & Thursday. We are unable to consider candidates who are looking for fully remote roles.

Experience, Knowledge and Skills

• Exposure to Agile development methodologies.
• Solid understanding of system integration technologies.
• Experience with GxP, ICH, 21CFR Part 11 regulations/systems, Annex 11, GDPR, or CCPA rules.
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to engage and influence internal and external partners at multiple organizational levels and quickly translate needs into clear designs and requirements.
• Demonstrated technical understanding of application architecture including various technologies such as SaaS solutions, web applications, integrated information repositories, and reporting toolsets.
• SQL/Python experience and strong business analytics skills to query databases and repositories, create reports, and develop metrics.
• Experience using AI technologies to support application configuration, reporting, automation, and troubleshooting.
• Demonstrated project management skills across the full lifecycle of product implementations.
• Strong collaboration and negotiation skills, with a high degree of self-motivation and the ability to work independently with minimal supervision.
• Ability to proactively prioritize, plan, organize, and deliver with limited oversight while adapting quickly to changing business scenarios.
• Proficient with essential toolsets, including Windows, Microsoft 365, and project and portfolio management tools.
• Hands-on experience operationalizing end-to-end business processes, evaluating gaps, and developing strategies to improve outcomes for specific business functions.
• Experience with technology release management for SaaS applications.
• Experience with multiple tool categories, workflow automation such as Microsoft Power Platform, analytics and reporting tools such as PowerBI, Tableau, corporate systems such as mid-market ERP, HCM/HRIS, LMS systems, and cloud analytics platforms such as Microsoft Fabric and AWS analytics services.