Associate Director, Commercial Operations

Commercial Operations

Nearly 37 million Americans are currently affected by Chronic Kidney Disease. 37 million.

At Akebia we take that number very seriously and every day we come to work, with the purpose of bettering the lives of each person impacted by kidney disease and the renal community that serves them.
Our tenacious, passionate employees' challenge the status quo and work to develop unique therapeutics that have the potential to set new standards of care for people living with kidney disease.

This is life-changing work, and we are all in, are you?

Job Summary

The Associate Director Commercial Operations will be responsible sales operations and customer relationship management (CRM) initiatives. This pivotal role will oversee the optimization of sales processes, drive data-driven decision-making, and ensure the seamless operation and enhancement of our CRM system. The ideal candidate is a proactive leader with a deep understanding of sales workflows, CRM platforms (e.g., Veeva, Salesforce), and performance analytics, capable of aligning operational strategies with company revenue goals, and with a proven track record of implementing scalable solutions in a fast-paced environment.

Key Responsibilities

• CRM Strategy & Management:
  
  
  
  • Work with internal stakeholders within the commercial & medical teams to develop enhancements & additional capabilities.
  • Manage enhancements and collaborate with managed IT services to test, move to production, and distribute reports and analytics to the field.
  • Oversee the design, implementation, and continuous improvement of the company's CRM system to align with sales goals and business strategies.
  • Ensure data integrity, user adoption, and system scalability within the CRM platform.
  • Develop and maintain dashboards, reports, and analytics to provide actionable insights for sales leadership and executives.
  • Update training materials to reflect new CRM vendor enhancements
  • Training field based new hires and current sales representatives on CRM, Sales Reporting platform & other technology related platforms.
  • Work with external data warehouse vendor to optimize internal capabilities and maintain and streamline the customer master file administration process.
  • Collaborate with and gather feedback from key stakeholders to optimize the CRM environment.
  • Act as the key point of contact for all questions and incidents related to the CRM.
  
  
  
  
• Sales Process Optimization
  
  
  
  • Design, implement, and refine sales processes to streamline workflows, reduce inefficiencies and improve overall team performance
  
  
  
  
• Data & Analytics
  
  
  
  • Develop and maintain dashboards, reports, and KPIs to provide actionable insights for sales leadership and track performance against targets.
  
  
  
  
• Incentive Compensation
  
  
  
  • Assist in the development of Incentive compensation design strategy.
  • Analyze the effectiveness of IC plans, through data analysis & modeling.
  
  
  
  

• Performance Management
  
  
  
  • Monitor and analyze sales team performance, identifying areas for improvement and implementing training or coaching initiatives as needed.
  
  
  
  

• Budget & Resource Management
  
  
  
  • Assist in managing the sales operations budget, including vendor contracts, software subscriptions, and headcount planning.
  
  
  
  

• Cross-Functional Collaboration
  
  
  
  • Act as a liaison between sales, marketing, finance, and product teams to ensure alignment on goals, pricing strategies, and go-to-market plans.
  
  
  
  

• Forecasting & Planning
  
  
  
  • Oversee the development and execution of accurate sales forecasts, leveraging historical data, market trends, and pipeline analysis.
  • Establish and refine forecasting models to predict revenue outcomes and identify risks or opportunities.
  • Monitor and analyze variances between forecasted and actual results, recommending corrective actions to close gaps
  
  
  
  

• Team Enablement
  
  
  
  • Collaborate with training and enablement teams to ensure sales reps are equipped with the tools, processes, and knowledge to succeed.
  
  
  
  

• Technology Integration
  
  
  
  • Evaluate and integrate new tools and technologies to enhance sales operations and CRM functionality.
  
  
  
  

• Compliance & Data Integrity
  
  
  
  • Ensure data accuracy within the CRM and enforce compliance with company policies and industry regulations.
  
  
  
  

Basic Qualifications

• Experience: 8+ years of experience in broad sales operations (Forecasting, IC, Field Reporting & Analytics), with at least 3 years in a leadership role managing CRM systems within the Life Sciences sector.
• Education: Bachelor's degree in business, Marketing, or a related field; MBA or advanced degree preferred.
• Technical Skills: Expert-level proficiency with MS Office (Excel, Powerpoint), CRM platforms (e.g., Salesforce, Veeva) and sales analytics tools (e.g., Tableau, Power BI).
• Data: Extensive experience working with Pharmaceutical / Life Sciences data (Komodo, IQVIA, Definitive, Veeva Compass).

Preferred Qualifications:

• Analytical Mindset: Strong ability to interpret data, identify trends, and translate insights into actionable strategies.
• Leadership: Proven track record of owning processes and driving cross-functional initiatives.
• Communication: Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to present complex information to diverse stakeholders.
• Problem-Solving: Strategic thinker with a hands-on approach to resolving operational challenges.
• Vendor Management: Experience working with / managing Life sciences vendors & consultants.
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, results-oriented culture.
• Certification in Salesforce or Veeva Administration CRM platform.
• Familiarity with ERP systems and their integration with CRM.

Compensation

Targeted Base: $162,435 - $200,655 *

*Base Compensation for this role will depend on a number of factors including a candidate's qualifications, skills, competencies, and experience, and may fall outside of the range shown. Base pay is only one component of the company's total rewards package, all regular employees are also eligible for the corporate bonus program or the incentive compensation program (if applicable), as well as equity. Additional benefits include health care, vision, dental, retirement, PTO, etc.

Are you an Akebian?

An Akebian is curious, empathetic, and values making connections to people and ideas. Akebian's aren't afraid of diving in and owning a process or a problem, because we all want to deliver a great solution. Akebian's believe that we are better together because we are all working toward a common purpose - to better the life of each person impacted by kidney disease. Want to learn more about what it means to be an Akebian? Visit our website: www.akebia.com

Akebia is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes all job applicants. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, disability, or any other characteristics protected by applicable law.