Director, Field Force Effectiveness

Ascendis Pharma is a dynamic, fast-growing global biopharmaceutical company with locations in Denmark, Europe, and the United States. Today, we're advancing programs in Endocrinology Rare Disease and Oncology.

Here at Ascendis, we pride ourselves on exceptional science, visionary leadership, and skilled and passionate colleagues.

Guided by our core values of Patients, Science, and Passion, we use our TransCon® drug development platform to fulfill our mission of developing new and potentially best-in-class therapies to address unmet medical needs.

Our culture fosters a place where skilled, adaptable, and highly resourceful professionals can truly make their mark. We offer a dynamic workplace for employees to grow and develop their skills.

As the Director of Field Force Effectiveness, you will lead initiatives and support services that are essential for maximizing the performance of our field teams. This role involves collaborating with leadership, Sales, Marketing, and Patient Service teams to ensure field teams are strategically deployed with the right territory alignment. You will also focus on targeting the right customers with effective call plans and implementing incentive compensation plans that motivate and reward team performance. You will provide the necessary insights to elevate performance across these areas. To achieve these objectives, you will develop methodologies, generate analytics, deploy effective strategies, and implement processes and tools that support field leadership in driving sales, patient onboarding, and overall organizational growth. The ideal candidate will have extensive expertise in biopharma commercialization strategies, including deployment, targeting, incentive compensation, and field analytics. As a leader within the Commercial Analytics and Operations team, you will also collaborate closely with teams from HR, Legal/Compliance, IT, and external vendors to fulfill your responsibilities.

We are seeking a high-energy, detail-oriented, and self-motivated individual with a proven track record in customer service, operational excellence, and strong problem-solving skills.

The position will be based in Princeton, New Jersey.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and manage field deployment, sizing, and territory alignment by collaborating with sales, marketing, patient services to ensure field teams are strategically aligned to achieve commercial goals.
• Oversee the targeting and call planning/optimization process, working with commercial leadership to ensure field teams are focused on the right customers with the correct contact frequency, using the appropriate promotional channels and discussion topics to ensure optimal patient access and treatment outcomes.
• Utilize predictive modeling to enhance field force effectiveness, improve customer experiences, and drive other key business outcomes.
• Contribute to the commercialization strategy for both new assets and existing brands, focusing on sales force sizing, call planning, target customer identification, and market opportunity assessment.
• Lead the design and administration of incentive compensation (IC) programs, contests, and awards, partnering with internal teams and external vendors to ensure these programs are motivating, rewarding, and aligned with business objectives.
• Oversee the development, design, and implementation of IC plans, contests, and annual awards for field teams and their management teams.
• Provide leadership in the governance, inquiry handling, and approval processes for IC plans, contests, and awards.
• Ensure effective strategies and processes are in place for accurate performance tracking, bonus calculations, and contest payouts.
• Ensure clear and timely communication to field teams regarding IC plans, contest goals, performance reports (scorecards), and related administrative processes.
• Collaborate with the Global IT to ensure consistent performance metrics and reliable data integrations for IC systems.
• Lead the analysis and reporting of field performance at national, sub-national, and customer levels, working closely with sales, patient services, and national account leadership teams.
• Monitor and evaluate performance against key business targets, identifying gaps and opportunities for improvement. Provide insights through sales performance dashboards and reports, making recommendations to enhance market/customer opportunities and field force effectiveness.
• Partner with Global IT teams to ensure systems, data infrastructure, and processes related to alignment, targeting, IC, Veeva CRM, syndicated data, and performance reporting support the needs of the US field force.
• Partner with sales training teams to enhance business skills for field management and personnel, focusing on improving territory management, business acumen, and overall field performance.

Requirements

• At least 12 years of progressively responsible experience in the pharmaceutical or biotech industry, with expertise in biopharmaceutical field incentive compensation, field force deployment, targeting, and performance analytics.
• A minimum of 2 years of people management experience, with a proven ability to lead and develop teams.
• Experience in Specialty or Rare Disease, preferred.
• Proven leadership capabilities, including the ability to set a clear vision, define strategies, and execute initiatives that optimize the effectiveness of field-based teams.
• Demonstrated success in improving field force performance by using performance metrics and driving deployment, alignment, and targeting strategies.
• Strong expertise in designing and managing incentive compensation plans.
• Proven ability to establish strong relationships with field leadership and collaborate effectively with cross-functional teams.
• Familiarity with commercial data concepts, industry-level physician/patient/payer data, the VeevaCRM platform, and reporting tools like PowerBI or similar analytics software.
• Advanced proficiency in MS Excel and PowerPoint.
• Well-organized with the ability to manage multiple priorities, delegate tasks, and adapt strategies in a fast-paced, cross-functional team environment.
• Strong interpersonal and collaboration skills with a demonstrated ability to work effectively with others across functions.
• Willingness to travel approximately 20%.

A note to recruiters:

We do not allow external search party solicitation. Presentation of candidates without written permission from the Ascendis Pharma Inc Human Resources team (specifically from: Talent Acquisition Partner or Human Resources Director) is not allowed. If this occurs your ownership of these candidates will not be acknowledged.

Benefits

• 401(k) plan with company match
• Medical, dental, and vision plans
• Company-offered Life and Accidental Death & Dismemberment (AD&D) insurance
• Company-provided short and long-term disability benefits
• Unique offerings of Pet Insurance and Legal Insurance
• Employee Assistance Program
• Employee Discounts
• Professional Development
• Health Saving Account (HSA)
• Flexible Spending Accounts
• Various incentive compensation plans
• Accident, Critical Illness, and Hospital Indemnity Insurance
• Mental Health resources
• Paid leave benefits for new parents