Senior Director, Commercial and Product Finance

Foundation Medicine - Boston, MA

Full-time - Senior

Boston, MA

Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services

About the position

The Senior Director, Commercial and Product Finance, is a pivotal leader within Foundation Medicine, responsible for providing comprehensive financial support to the Commercial Business Units and Product Development Teams. This role encompasses a broad spectrum of functional areas, including portfolio management, research and development (R&D) resource allocation, commercial profit and loss (P&L) management, strategic planning, and the evaluation of business development opportunities. The incumbent will oversee planning, forecasting, financial analysis, and business partnering with various business units and product teams, ensuring strategic direction and decision-making support for all commercial and product-related initiatives at FMI. In this capacity, the Senior Director will lead large, complex business and corporate initiatives to successful completion, often coordinating resources and managing teams from diverse functions and organizations. A strong emphasis will be placed on operational improvements, process stabilization, and the implementation of industry best practices. The role requires a deep understanding of the competitive landscape for all business units, enabling the director to proactively propose strategies and solutions to address or anticipate increased competitive activity. Additionally, the position acts as a key advisor to FMI's CEO and CFO on all matters related to financial performance and portfolio decisions. The Senior Director will also work closely with Portfolio and Program Management to drive R&D resource allocation, challenge and enhance FMI's project valuation methodologies, and develop complex financial models that significantly impact business decisions. This role is crucial in instilling a value creation mindset across the organization, ensuring alignment around identifying, quantifying, and implementing future value creation opportunities at FMI. Furthermore, the director will design and implement project costing and project-based budgeting as essential components of FMI's ambitious innovation roadmap, while also driving key work packages in FMI/DIA Finance Harmonization to leverage efficiency and ensure best practices are followed. A proven ability to mentor and manage a team is essential, as is maintaining a high-performing finance organization and actively developing finance talent to contribute to the growth of future finance leaders.

Responsibilities

• Leads overall P&L management of the Business Unit (BUs) by analyzing Top & Bottom-Line drivers and providing explanations & recommendations to the BU and financial management.
• Develops and reports on the appropriate set of performance metrics for the functions and ensures the appropriate financial metrics and reports, and related insights, are provided to operating management on a timely basis.
• Drives the commercial long-range planning, annual operational planning and short-term forecasting.
• Provides monthly performance analysis and commercial reporting through partnership with business stakeholders.
• Proactively identifies and communicates areas for operational and financial improvement within the business or function.
• Has full understanding of the competitive landscape for all BUs and proactively proposes strategies and solutions to respond or anticipate increased competitive activity.
• Acts as the key advisor to FMI's CEO and CFO in all matters related to financial performance and portfolio decisions.
• In close partnership with Portfolio and Program Management (PPM) drives R&D resource allocation.
• Challenges and improves FMI's project valuation methodologies & models and introduces disciplined and fact-based portfolio decision making.
• Develops complex models that substantially illuminate and impact business decisions.
• Interacts with R&D, Operations, Commercial functions and any other key functions in creating business plans and performs financial evaluation to assess the opportunity.
• Instills a value creation mindset across the organization and collaboratively ensures alignment around identifying, quantifying, and implementing future value creation opportunities at FMI.
• Designs, implements and scales the concept of Project Costing and Project Based Budgeting as a key enabler to FMI's ambitious innovation road map.
• Drives key work packages in FMI / DIA Finance Harmonization, to leverage efficiency and ensure best practice.
• Maintains a high-performing finance organization and actively develops finance talent and contributes to the development of future finance leaders.
• Ability to be resourceful in finding answers and solutions when information and data is not readily available.

Requirements

• Master of Business Administration (MBA).
• 12+ years of experience in financial, business, and strategic planning experience with increasing responsibilities.
• 5+ years of management experience.

Nice-to-haves

• Master's Degree or higher educational level in Accounting or Finance.
• 10+ years of experience in forecast and modeling experience, preferably in a financial planning function within a pharmaceutical or biotechnology environment.
• Demonstrate understanding of global P&L management in all its constituents from Top to Bottom-Line to ensure good linkage with Corporate Center.
• Very strong business / industry knowledge adds significant value to financial analysis and decision support.
• Excellent at workload prioritization, resource management, and project management and proven ability to develop and implement processes that are effective and efficient.
• Consistently demonstrates sound business judgment in decision making on matters of increasing complexity.
• Able to make decisions in a timely manner and under tight deadlines and pressure.
• Effectively recognizes and weighs risks and makes appropriate trade-offs.
• Demonstrated ability to participate in and facilitate group meetings and work with cross functional leaders.
• Demonstrated ability to prioritize and meet deadlines in a fast-paced environment.
• Strong leadership history in complex and changing environments with demonstrated ability to gain trust and support from cross-functional peers and teams.
• Strong professional interpersonal written and verbal communication skills.