Job Description

General Summary:

The Executive Director, Finance NECAD (Norther Europe, Canada, Australia & Distributor markets) and INPP (International New Product Planning) will lead finance strategy, decision support, and performance management for both the NECAD region and International New Product Planning. The NECAD Region represents a significant contribution to the International Region operating across more than 50 highly diverse markets, ranging from large affiliates and complex HTA markets to diverse distributor markets. Additionally, the New Product Planning function comprises a dynamic and fast moving and agile team responsible for pre-launch planning and execution across a number of significant pipeline assets.

The role operates at executive-level within a highly complex, global, and fast-evolving environment.

For the NECAD Region the role provides strategic financial direction and high-impact insights across business support, pricing and access, geographic expansion, internal controls, key value drivers, and business KPIs, as well as P&L optimization. As a member of the NECAD and International Commercial Finance Leadership teams, the Executive Director will play a critical role in delivering both short- and long-term objectives, actively shaping regional execution and influencing overall business strategy.

For the International Product Planning function, the role is accountable for partnering closely with the Head of New Product Planning in addition to global cross-functional leaders to evaluate new product opportunities, pre-launch market preparation and execution and investment decisions whilst providing clear financial insights that inform portfolio, launch, and long-range planning.

This position is accountable for all Finance delivery to its responsible functions, with oversight of significant budgets and revenue delivery. The role provides strategic decision support at the highest level, influencing execution, shaping strategy, and guiding resource allocation decisions critical to Vertex’s long-term growth and sustained success.

Key Duties and Responsibilities:

• Provide strategic finance leadership to leadership, acting as a senior finance business partner to commercial leadership and cross-functional teams to shape strategic decision-making through financial strategy, scenario analysis, and executive-level insights across performance management, pricing, access, geographic expansion, portfolio prioritization, pipeline, and launch planning.
• Lead financial planning, forecasting, budgeting, and performance management, including variance analysis, long-range planning, and use of key business drivers and insights to optimize the P&L and inform both short-term and mid- to long-term decisions.
• Lead business case development, scenario modelling, portfolio prioritization, and investment decision support, ensuring that commercial and pipeline assumptions are financially robust, appropriately resourced and aligned with strategic objectives including P&L optimization.
• Anticipate and manage risks, opportunities, and complexity particularly in more volatile distributor markets to support sustainable growth, resilience, compliance and internal controls.
• Serve as a key member of the NECAD and New Product Planning leadership teams, pro-actively influencing strategy, performance management and execution of business priorities whilst dynamically managing risks and opportunities to drive growth and P&L optimization.
• Lead and develop a high-performing finance organization, fostering a culture of excellence, collaboration, change agility and collaborative strategic partnership with the business to deliver outcomes with high impact.
• Champion the adoption of AI and advanced analytics within Finance to drive rapid uptake of new tools and technology to drive efficiencies, improved forecast precision, simplified planning, and faster insight-led decision-making.

Experience, Education, and Knowledge/Skills

• Bachelors degree in Finance/Accounting and professional commercial finance qualification
• Typically requires 15 years+ experience in a finance management role demonstrating strong strategic business partnering, implementation of strategic finance KPI’s, delivery of excellent commercial execution and demonstration of implementing value drivers at scale whilst working in a collaborative team-based environment at executive level with a track record of developing future finance leaders
• Strong communication, influencing and interpersonal skills necessary for daily interaction with management at the highest level, as well as business partners and peers across all functions within Vertex
• Capacity to understand the pharmaceutical industry to address a broad range of challenges and business issues globally across all functions with the ability to make and facilitate quick decisions
• Ability to lead and drive change in a rapidly developing business environment, coordinating processes involving large numbers of people, complex systems, and tight deadlines across multiple time zones
• Capability to proactively participate in leading within a cross-cultural matrix organization
• Strong strategic analytical and financial skills to evaluate a broad range of financial questions especially business cases, pricing and access submissions complex business questions
• Capacity to partner with commercial business leaders at executive level in order to proactively guide and influence execution and strategy to accelerate growth
• Ability to prioritize, roll-up the sleeves and being agile in a highly complex and fast paced environment
• Proven leadership expertise to manage and develop a high performing group of Finance business partners

Company Information