Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical

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Director, Commercial Lead Gene Therapy, EMEA

Summary

Leads EMEA commercial strategy and execution for gene therapy products, coordinating cross-functional teams to ensure successful launches, patient access, and operational readiness across Berlin, London, and Zurich.

Why Join Us?
Be a hero for our rare disease patients
At Ultragenyx, we fundamentally believe that taking real impactful action to care for the needs of patients and our people is always the right thing to do. To achieve this goal, our vision is to lead the future of rare disease medicine. For us, this means going where other biopharma companies won’t go – challenging the status quo and creating a new model that advances our field so more patients and caregivers can benefit from life-changing treatments. We do this by following the science, applying a novel rapid development approach, making innovative medicines at fair and reasonable prices, and creating a collaborative ecosystem to reach patients in ways that are most meaningful for them.
Our commitment and care for patients extends to our people, so culture is an essential cornerstone for Ultragenyx. We remain continuously focused on creating a supportive and inclusive environment of profound learning and growth – so employees can thrive in all areas of their lives, in and outside of work. Ultimately, we want to be an organization where we would be proud for our family, friends and children to work.
If you want to have a meaningful impact, do the best work of your career, and grow a lot, both professionally and personally, come join our team.

Position Summary:

ultradedicated – Your biggest challenges yield rare possibilities

As the Director, Commercial Lead, EMEA for assigned Gene Therapy products, you are the primary EMEA point of contact and accountable for translating global strategy into successful regional and local launch execution. You will lead cross-functional launch planning, country readiness, commercial execution, and launch performance across EMEA markets. Working closely with Global, regional, and country stakeholders, you will ensure launch readiness, patient access, operational excellence, and commercial success throughout the product lifecycle.

This role requires a deep understanding of the complexities involved in launching gene therapies, including regulatory, supply chain, and access challenges unique to these modalities.

Work Model:

Flex: This role will typically require onsite work 2-3 days each week, or more depending on business needs. In many locations, the business will set certain days each week that Flex employees are required to be onsite.

Responsibilities:

  • Lead the development and execution of EMEA pre-launch, launch, and post-launch plans, translating global strategy into market-specific execution frameworks across EMEA.
  • Serve as the primary EMEA point of contact for assigned products, ensuring alignment across Global teams, regional functions, and country organizations throughout the launch journey.
  • Partner with General Managers and country teams to develop local launch readiness plans, build capabilities, and incorporate market insights into regional plans.
  • Lead the regional cross-functional launch team across Commercial, Medical, Market Access, Regulatory, Supply Chain, Quality, and Patient Advocacy to ensure coordinated and timely launch execution.
  • Establish launch governance processes, readiness reviews, operational dashboards, and milestone tracking to manage risks and ensure execution excellence.
  • Lead commercial readiness activities, including go-to-market planning, treatment-site readiness, and launch execution to support successful market entry and expansion.
  • Partner with Market Access, Business Operations, Technical Operations, and Medical Affairs to support pricing, reimbursement, supply chain readiness, logistics planning, and treatment-site activation.
  • Define and monitor launch KPIs and readiness metrics, proactively identifying risks and implementing corrective actions to achieve launch objectives.
  • Drive launch performance reviews, operational improvement initiatives, and lessons-learned activities to strengthen future launch effectiveness across EMEA.
  • Manage launch-related investments and budgets, supporting forecasting, business reviews, and leadership reporting while ensuring alignment with strategic priorities.

Requirements:

Education

  • Bachelor’s degree in Business, Life Sciences, or a related field
  • Advanced degree such as PHd, MBA or MSc highly preferred

Skills and Competencies

  • Strategic thinker with a deep understanding of launch planning frameworks and operational execution in highly complex, cross-functional settings.
  • Exceptional leadership and stakeholder management skills in a matrixed, multicultural environment. Ability to lead end to end cross functional teams and inspire to execute.
  • Excellent project management, communication, and analytical skills.
  • Ability to anticipate and solve complex challenges with agility and strategic foresight.

Experience

  • 10+ years of pharmaceutical or biotech experience, including proven success launching products across multiple markets in EMEA.
  • Experience launching cell or gene therapies strongly preferred.
  • Rare or ultra-rare disease experience highly desirable.
  • Strong understanding of the complexities of end-to-end supply of Gene Therapies preferred.
  • Demonstrated experience with EMEA pricing, access (including early access), and regulatory environments, ideally in advanced therapy medicinal products (ATMPs).

Physical Demand Requirements:

  • Travel: As required to ensure launch optimization in countries and to enable best practice sharing
  • Full compliance with Ultragenyx policies, industry regulations, and applicable laws is required.

#LI-CK1 #LI-Hybrid

Full Time employees across the globe enjoy a range of benefits, including, but not limited to:
· Generous vacation time and public holidays observed by the company
· Volunteer days
· Long term incentive and Employee stock purchase plans or equivalent offerings
· Employee wellbeing benefits
· Fitness reimbursement
· Tuition sponsoring
· Professional development plans
* Benefits vary by region and country

Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical is an equal opportunity employer and prohibits unlawful discrimination based on race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, national origin/ancestry, age, disability, marital and veteran status, and any other status or classification protected by applicable federal, state, and/or local laws. Reasonable accommodation will be provided for all protected statuses or classifications protected by applicable law, including individuals with disabilities, disabled veterans, for pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions, and based on sincerely held religious beliefs. Applicants can request an accommodation prior to accepting a job offer. If you require reasonable accommodation in completing this application, or in any part of the recruitment process, you may contact Talent Acquisition by emailing us at talentacquisition@ultragenyx.com.

It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.

Note to External Recruiters: All candidate activity and open positions are managed strictly through our Human Resources Department. Our Human Resources Department kindly requests that recruiters not contact employees/hiring managers directly in an attempt to solicit business and present candidates. Please note that failure to comply with this request will be a factor in determining a professional relationship with our organization. Submission of unsolicited resumes prior to an agreement set in place between the Human Resources Department and the recruiting agency will not create any implied obligation. Inquiries on developing a recruiting relationship with us, may be directed to: talentacquisition@ultragenyx.com.
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