Director, U.S. Operational Excellence

Director, U.S. Operational Excellence

Ipsen is a mid-sized global biopharmaceutical company with a focus on transformative medicines in three therapeutic areas:
Oncology, Rare Disease and Neuroscience. Supported by nearly 100 years of development experience, with global hubs in the U.S., France and the U.K, we tackle areas of high unmet medical need through research and innovation.

Our passionate teams in more than 40 countries are focused on what matters and endeavor every day to bring medicines to patients in 88 countries. We build a workplace that champions human-centric leadership and fosters a culture of collaboration, excellence and impact. At Ipsen, every individual is empowered to be their true selves, grow and thrive alongside the company's success. Join us on our journey towards sustainable growth, creating real impact on patients and society!

The Director, Operational Excellence is a critical leadership role supporting the Head of U.S. Field Operations, responsible for orchestrating the day-to-day execution of high-impact operational programs that enable Ipsen's U.S. business and improve outcomes for HCPs and patients.

This role serves as the operational backbone across Fleet, Congress Planning, Strategic Operations, and Project Management, ensuring seamless execution of core processes and removing barriers to performance across the organization.

The Director leads enterprise-wide initiatives including Brand Planning, U.S. meetings and congress strategy, and field resource management, while continuously identifying and implementing improvements to drive efficiency, scale, and executional excellence. Operating with high influence and limited formal authority, this role requires strong cross-functional leadership, the ability to align stakeholders across Commercial, Medical, Value & Access and Global teams, and a disciplined approach to delivering complex programs.

As a trusted partner to Business Operations and Strategy Leadership Team and North America Leadership, the Director contributes to the development and execution of strategic business plans while advancing sales and marketing effectiveness. This role also plays a key part in building organizational capability, developing talent, strengthening ways of working, and shaping the future operating model, making it an ideal position for a high-potential leader preparing for broader enterprise leadership responsibilities.

Commercial Planning & Field Alignment

• Own end-to-end commercial planning (annual cycles, brand planning, field deployment) to ensure strategy translates into consistent execution across all U.S. BUs
• Align Sales, Marketing, and Operations to drive coordinated execution and eliminate gaps
• Standardize and improve planning processes to increase speed, quality, and decision-making

Field Operations

• Lead execution of field-facing activities (national sales meetings, brand planning, congresses, communications, fleet, logistics) across the U.S.
• Ensure operational readiness for launches and key initiatives across Business Units
• Optimize vendors and spend to deliver high-quality execution with cost efficiency
• Drive consistency and scalability of field execution practices
• Identify and remove operational barriers to improve field productivity and experience

Operational Excellence, Systems & Governance

• Own field operations processes, systems, and governance to enable scalable, compliant execution
• Define and track KPIs to drive performance and continuous improvement
• Establish SOPs and standards to ensure consistency across all field activities
• Partner cross-functionally to improve ways of working and execution effectiveness

Leadership & Team Management

• Lead a multi-functional operations team
• Set priorities aligned to commercial goals and business impact
• Drive a culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement
• Influence cross-functional stakeholders to ensure aligned execution

Knowledge & Experience (essential):

• 12+ years of experience in pharmaceutical field operations, commercial operations, or business operations with an advanced degree; or 15+ years with a Bachelor's…