Vice President / Head of Information Technology

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals is a leading global gastrointestinal (GI) healthcare company on a mission to advance the treatment of GI diseases and redefine the standard of care for GI patients. We are pioneers in the development of LINZESS® (linaclotide), the U.S. branded prescription market leader for adults with irritable bowel syndrome with constipation or chronic idiopathic constipation. Ironwood is also advancing apraglutide, a next-generation, long-acting synthetic GLP-2 analog being developed for rare gastrointestinal diseases, including short bowel syndrome with intestinal failure, as well as several earlier stage assets. Building upon our history of GI innovation, we keep patients at the heart of our R&D and commercialization efforts to reduce the burden of GI diseases and address significant unmet needs. 

Purpose/Summary:

Accelerates the transformation to a digital leading GI service-oriented organization through the deployment of high-quality delivery and value-add technologies. Reporting to the office of the CFO, lead our IT strategy, initiatives, and operations, ensuring the effective delivery of technology solutions to support the enterprise’s mission and objectives.  Conduct risk assessments and operationalize cybersecurity policies, procedures and controls to protect sensitive data and IT assets from cyber threats and unauthorized access.

Essential Functions:

Collaborates with cross-functional teams to understand business requirements and preferences, ensuring that IT solutions align with customer needs and expectations.  Advises and supports the C-Level and other key business leads to ensure a full view of technology innovation and opportunity.

Authors the tactical and strategic roadmap to deliver new or enhanced solutions to the organization; contributes to strategic business planning by identifying and implementing best practices that will support the organization’s future needs.  Actively engages and maintains a perspective on data technology ecosystems.

Oversees the vision, design, development, and review of company information systems and software investments (now and in the future), factoring compatibility of emerging technologies, vendor services, and internal resources.  Plans and maximizes organizational budgets and costs of approved technology budgets with a focus on accountability for value-add and cost effectiveness of technology platforms.

Manages relationships with technology vendors, service providers, and strategic partners.  Negotiates contracts, service level agreements, and pricing terms to ensure value and alignment with organizational goals. Evaluates and selects new vendors and partners to support our evolving IT needs.

Develops policies concerning data privacy regulations, service operations, and other technological aspects, keeping informed on technological advances.

Continually improves IT operations and systems by measuring performance to ensure seamless flow of operations. Identifies new IT developments and technologies; anticipates resulting organizational modifications.

Leads the development, documentation and maintenance of information security policies, procedures, and standards while initiating, facilitating, and promoting activities to create information security awareness throughout the organization (training, simulations, etc.).

Annually assesses and benchmarks compliance to NIST CSF (cybersecurity framework) in tandem with enterprise penetration testing to ensure alignment to industry standard security controls.

Leads the creation and maintenance of the information systems disaster recovery, cybersecurity insurance and business continuity plans while monitoring changes in local, state, federal regulations and accreditation standards affecting information security, to make recommendations to the leadership and on the need for policy changes.

Build collaborative value-add relationships with third party vendors and managed services partners to ensure IT services are delivered seamlessly and cost-effectively to the organization.

Stewards commercial data management comprising of data from external vendors, partners, and internal applications creating valued insights (single point of truth) for call and prescription data supporting commercial operations, analytics, finance, and compliance.

Enhances the growth of business intelligence and reporting for the organization (i.e., Sales Ops, Business Analytics, Finance, Compliance, Quality and Global Patient Safety).

Leads content management for the enterprise comprising of all regulated and non-regulated data, records, and workflows for data repositories such as SharePoint and O365R to support industry regulations (GXP) and best practice guidelines (GARP).

Attracts and develops talent by effectively building diverse capabilities necessary to achieve goals, including recruiting, training, and developing talent of high technical and leadership caliber.  Contributes to equity assessments and develop talent both within function and cross-functionally.  Promotes Ironwood’s mission, vision, and values as a means of engagement

Develops and implements training programs and user documentation to empower customers to effectively utilize IT tools and resources.

Maintains current knowledge of and ensures all functional work team activities are conducted in compliance with the full range of related internal and external systems, technology, regulatory, GxP requirements and related policies and procedures.  Advocates for full legal compliance and ethical conduct in all business transactions.

Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change, or new ones may be assigned as business and organizational requirements evolve.

The reporting structure of this role is detailed in Ironwood’s official organizational charts. 

Prerequisite Education, Experience, & Skills:

Bachelor’s degree in computer science, information technology, or a related field or equivalent; Master's degree a plus.

Proven experience (15+ years) in a senior IT leadership role within IT, preferably within the Life Sciences industry.

Excellent strategic planning and execution skills; track record of driving digital transformation initiatives.

Demonstrated strength in contracting and managing external IT services as well as leading and developing an internal team.

Strong technical expertise in cloud-based infrastructure management, particularly with Microsoft Azure.

Experience with implementing AI and data analytics solutions, including generative AI algorithms.

Exceptional communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to collaborate effectively across teams and influence stakeholders at all levels.

Demonstrated leadership and team management capabilities, with a focus on fostering a culture of innovation, collaboration, and continuous learning.

Ironwood is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or protected veteran status.
 

Ironwood currently anticipates that the initial base salary for this position could range from between $307,000 to $357,735.  The actual base salary will depend, in part, on the successful candidate’s qualifications for the role, including education and experience.  Ironwood offers a comprehensive compensation and benefits program to eligible employees, including Restricted Stock Unit awards; eligibility to participate in either a bonus or sales incentive program; company-sponsored 401(k) with matching contributions; eligibility for medical, dental, vision and prescription drug benefits; wellness stipends; and a generous vacation/holiday schedule.

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