Senior Director, Strategy and Operations

Introduction

Flagship Pioneering is a company that creates companies, building ground-breaking platforms that change the world. We are a brave and bold organization of creative-thinkers with insurgent mindsets and corporate-builders with incumbent expertise.

What if... we could harness the power of data with AI to create breakthroughs and accelerate the creation of new technologies?  This is the question that Flagship Pioneering seeks to explore with our latest AI-focused business unit. Our mission is to create, launch, and scale breakthrough ventures that transform how we live, work, and connect. We build companies from zero to one, with cutting-edge AI, exceptional user experience, and a strong vision to pioneer an AI-native future.

Role Overview

Join Flagship Pioneering, an industry leader in life sciences venture creation, as a Senior Director driving strategy, operations, and management of pioneering companies. This role offers a blend of responsibilities working closely with Flagship’s executives to translate vision into operational excellence and manage the growth and integration of early- and mid-stage companies in the life sciences sector.

Key Responsibilities

• Strategic and Operational Leadership: Act as a strategic partner to key leaders, reporting to the Origination Business Unit (OBU) head, building and refining internal systems to drive organizational excellence and foster cross-functional collaboration.
• Portfolio and Business Unit Management: Work directly with OBU leadership to execute operational plans, ensuring that all functional needs are met, and drive enterprise-wide initiatives that align with organizational objectives.
• Planning and Integration: Lead the planning, integration, and operational management of multiple early and mid-stage companies, ensuring consistent implementation of processes and driving NewCo to GrowthCo transitions across the OBU.
• Financial Planning and Resource Allocation: Own budget and financial planning processes, guide resource allocation across portfolios, and track value accretion relative to time and resource allocation.
• Governance and Knowledge Sharing: Establish governance mechanisms and cross-company knowledge sharing platforms to improve team-level systems and strategic science insights.
• Complex Initiative Management: Drive complex, cross-functional initiatives through ambiguity and change, setting a standard of excellence in project management and operational rigor.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree (MBA, MS, Ph.D.) preferred.
• 5-10+ years of experience in entrepreneurial executive operations, project management, or strategy consulting within the life sciences sector.
• Strong financial literacy, strategic mindset, and experience in driving complex initiatives.
• Excellent leadership, team building, and communication skills.

Key Experiences and Capabilities

• Proven ability in deploying AI-enabled solutions to amplify core operating functions.
• Ability to frame complex business problems creatively and influence senior leaders.
• Strong presentation skills with the ability to deliver insights effectively to senior leaders.

Work Environment

• Collaborative work with cross-functional teams and external partners.
• Ability to adapt to changing conditions and drive results across multiple simultaneous deliverables.

ABOUT FLAGSHIP PIONEERING

Flagship Pioneering invents and builds platform companies, each with the potential for multiple products that transform human health, sustainability and beyond. Since its launch in 2000, Flagship has originated more than 100 companies. Many of these companies have addressed humanity’s most urgent challenges: vaccinating billions of people against COVID-19, curing intractable diseases, improving human health, preempting illness, and feeding the world by improving the resiliency and sustainability of agriculture.  

Flagship has been recognized twice on FORTUNE’s “Change the World” list, an annual ranking of companies that have made a positive social and environmental impact through activities that are part of their core business strategies and has been twice named to Fast Company’s annual list of the World’s Most Innovative Companies. Learn more about Flagship at www.flagshippioneering.com.

At Flagship, we accept impossible missions to enable bigger leaps. Our core values guide us through uncertainty and toward lasting impact.

We are an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will be considered for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

We recognize that great candidates often bring unique strengths without fulfilling every qualification. If you have some of the experience listed above but not all, please apply anyway. We are dedicated to building diverse and inclusive teams and look forward to learning more about your background and interest in Flagship.

Recruitment & Staffing Agencies: Flagship Pioneering and its affiliated Flagship Lab companies (collectively, “FSP”) do not accept unsolicited resumes from any source other than candidates. The submission of unsolicited resumes by recruitment or staffing agencies to FSP or its employees is strictly prohibited unless contacted directly by Flagship Pioneering’s internal Talent Acquisition team. Any resume submitted by an agency in the absence of a signed agreement will automatically become the property of FSP, and FSP will not owe any referral or other fees with respect thereto.

The salary range for this role is $220,000 - $269,500. Compensation for the role will depend on a number of factors, including a candidate’s qualifications, skills, competencies, and experience. Flagship Pioneering currently offers healthcare coverage, annual incentive program, retirement benefits and a broad range of other benefits. Compensation and benefits information is based on Flagship Pioneering's good faith estimate as of the date of publication and may be modified in the future.