Director, Business Strategy and Operations
Kite Pharma
Summary
The Director, Business Strategy & Operations reports to the Vice President and General Manager, US Commercial, and serves as a strategic and operational partner focused on improving organizational effectiveness and business impact. The role leads business strategy, planning, operating cadence, executive decision support, and organizational effectiveness, partnering across US Commercial to translate priorities into coordinated action and measurable outcomes.
Job description
Key Responsibilities
- Serve as a trusted advisor to the General Manager (GM), synthesizing complex information into executive-ready insights, recommendations, decision materials, and Board-level communications.
- Translate strategy into priorities, roadmaps, performance measures, operating rhythms, and actionable plans, driving strategic initiatives from development through execution.
- Lead annual strategic, financial, resource, and headcount planning, including coordination of the consolidated Plan of Action.
- Design and manage leadership governance, planning cycles, quarterly business reviews, and accountability mechanisms that enable timely decisions and disciplined execution.
- Coordinate enterprise and functional initiatives across US Commercial, aligning ownership, resources, dependencies, risks, sequencing, and measures of success.
- Represent US Commercial in enterprise and global planning forums, shaping broader decisions and translating enterprise direction into clear commitments for the US business.
- Track business performance and commitments, identify barriers, and drive mitigation, course correction, productivity, and process improvements.
- Lead planning and execution for major GM-sponsored meetings, including National and Midyear Meetings.
- Partner with commercial leadership to coordinate cross-functional readiness for anticipated US product launches.
- Advance organizational and leadership effectiveness by improving how the organization operates, collaborates, communicates, and makes decisions.
- Develop high-impact communications for leadership meetings, business reviews, all-hands presentations, and internal and external audiences.
- Serve on the Kite Commercial BS&O Forum, ensuring alignment between Commercial Strategy & Operations priorities and US Commercial planning and execution.
Basic Qualifications
- Advanced scientific degree (i.e., MD, PharmD, PhD) and 8+ years of experience OR Master’s Degree and 10+ years of experience OR Bachelor’s Degree and 12+ years of experience
Preferred Qualifications
- Significant pharmaceutical or biopharmaceutical experience leading complex strategic and operational initiatives; experience in commercial, finance, or consulting is preferred.
- Ability to translate enterprise strategy into practical plans and deliver results with rigor, accountability, and attention to detail.
- Strong executive presence, judgment, communication, and stakeholder-influence skills, including the ability to lead without direct authority.
- Demonstrated enterprise mindset and ability to navigate ambiguity, connect cross-functional priorities, and manage competing trade-offs.
- Experience with business planning, financial and resource analysis, project management, and product profit-and-loss considerations.
- Proactive, adaptable, and resourceful, with strong emotional intelligence, curiosity, and a continuous-improvement mindset.
- Demonstrated experience driving organizational transformation and operating model effectiveness, including leading change management and adoption across complex, matrixed environments.
Requirements
- Advanced scientific degree (i.e., MD, PharmD, PhD) and 8+ years of experience OR Master’s Degree and 10+ years of experience OR Bachelor’s Degree and 12+ years of experience
- Significant pharmaceutical or biopharmaceutical experience leading complex strategic and operational initiatives; experience in commercial, finance, or consulting is preferred.
- Ability to translate enterprise strategy into practical plans and deliver results with rigor, accountability, and attention to detail.
- Strong executive presence, judgment, communication, and stakeholder-influence skills, including the ability to lead without direct authority.
- Demonstrated enterprise mindset and ability to navigate ambiguity, connect cross-functional priorities, and manage competing trade-offs.
- Experience with business planning, financial and resource analysis, project management, and product profit-and-loss considerations.
- Proactive, adaptable, and resourceful, with strong emotional intelligence, curiosity, and a continuous-improvement mindset.
- Demonstrated experience driving organizational transformation and operating model effectiveness, including leading change management and adoption across complex, matrixed environments.
Benefits
- Medical, Dental & Vision
- Life Insurance
- Paid Time Off
- Annual Bonus
- Stock-Based Long-Term Incentives
Company overview
Kite Pharma, Inc. is an American biotechnology company specializing in cancer immunotherapy with a primary focus on genetically engineered autologous CAR T cell therapy. Founded in 2009 and headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Kite was acquired by Gilead Sciences in 2017 for $11.9 billion. The company develops cell-based therapies that reengineer a patient's own immune cells to attack and fight cancer cells, representing a personalized approach to cancer treatment. Kite's lead product, Yescarta (axicabtagene ciloleucel), was the first CAR T therapy approved by the FDA for treating adult patients with relapsed or refractory large B-cell lymphoma. With approximately 2,000 employees and manufacturing facilities in California, Maryland, and the Netherlands, Kite operates as an independent company within Gilead Sciences while maintaining its singular focus on advancing cell therapy to treat and potentially cure cancer. The company's innovative approach represents a paradigm shift in cancer treatment, moving away from traditional pharmaceutical manufacturing to individualized cell therapies created one patient at a time.