Vice President, Head of US Finance
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.
This position will be a key member of the US Leadership Team and the Global Finance Leadership Team. As the Head of US Finance, this is a high-visibility, high impact position that will drive and generate critical business and financial decision support and will play an integral role in establishing and driving processes such as in Business Advice, Budgeting/Forecasting, Gross-to-Net Forecasting, Management Reporting, Government Reporting and ad hoc analyses as the US organization grows.
The team is organized in three categories:
Commercial Finance (Gross to Net and Government Pricing), and
Business Finance (FP&A)
This leader will also have dotted line leadership accountability for the US-based Global Finance Operations team, which supports Financial Accounting (e.g., revenue recognition, reporting, US tax liaison).
The role is based in Princeton, New Jersey and will report directly to the EVP, President of US and have dotted line accountability to the SVP Global Finance, based in Copenhagen, Denmark. Close collaboration with the Ascendis Pharma CFO, broader global organization, and the US Leadership Team is expected.
Key Responsibilities
You will lead a skilled team of people and will engage in detail where needed
Provide financial and strategic business partnership and decision support to the US Organization (marketing, field, access, medical affairs, government affairs, etc.) as well as the Global Finance Leadership Team
Establish and maintain key US business processes and policies in areas such as: Revenue Forecasting, Gross-to-Net Forecasting and Accruals, Operating Expense Forecasting, Pricing/Discounting, Revenue Recognition, Government Pricing, Expense Tracking, Financial Operations, etc.
Make recommendations to President, US and broader US Leadership Team on strategic resource allocation across the US Business Unit, balancing both near-term and long-term priorities of the US Business Unit and Global Enterprise
Develop, analyze, interpret and present revenue, gross-to-net, and operating expense insights to various stakeholders within the organization, with the ability to adapt messaging depending on the audience, from executive level to the line manager level.
Support Investor Relations with interpretation on US commercial performance and outlook
Reporting and Compliance: Interact with group reporting on technical accounting matters, ensure compliance with local reporting requirements, and collaborate with Group Tax on ad hoc basis
Partner with Commercial to lead the development of a Monthly Commercial Business Review process
Establish and define Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) (Business and Financial Metrics) and reports to manage and measure business performance in the most effective manner
Proactively and creatively seek out opportunities to generate business cases to evaluate various options and assess their respective financial and business impact
Create and present analyses and recommendation to key Ascendis Senior Management
Track and understand the competitive landscape
Help optimize financial processes and planning within the US Business Unit, e.g. based on data provided by external parties or contained within disparate systems
Support and provide input into Global Financial processes and timelines; actively communicate with US organization to ensure they adhere to requirements
Key stakeholder for Financial Systems implementations, such as EPM (Enterprise Performance Management), BI (Business Intelligence) and DW (Data Warehouse) tools as part of building out the necessary Finance technology infrastructure
Requirements
Minimum 15+ years' finance and leadership experience; must have demonstrable success within commercial stage biotech and/or pharmaceutical industry
Bachelor's degree required; CPA/MBA is preferred
Ability to think bigger picture across different functional areas of the business and help arrive at the best decision for the overall organization
Ability to incorporate multiple perspectives and variables to analyze issues to reach an opinion and recommendation on best path forward
Ability to clearly articulate pros and cons of different available options and propose recommendations
Experience in Gross to Net revenue recognition and forecasting
Experience in Government Pricing and Reporting
Experience and familiarity with ERP, MDM, Planning/Reporting and BI technologies
Hands-on, with the ability to transition from strategic thinking to tactical execution
Analytical and problem-solving skills
Excellent interpersonal and organizational skills, can multi-task in a dynamic and fast-paced environment with changing priorities
Understanding of GAAP/IFRS accounting principles is required
Ability to travel up to 15% Domestically and internationally
Preferred Skills
Experience in a multi-national corporation supporting users across different geographies
Experience with commercial stage assets in competitive environments and managed care contracting
Advanced skills in MS Office, particularly Excel, PowerPoint, PowerBI
Compensation
The estimated salary range for this position is $330,000-$375,000. Actual salary determination is dependent on a variety of factors some of which include: experience, qualifications, and geographic location. This position may be eligible for a discretionary annual bonus or an incentive compensation plan (eligibility varies based on role and position level), discretionary stock-based long-term incentives, paid time off, and a comprehensive benefits package.
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
