Director, Commercial Operations

Location: Field-Based or HQ; Travel Required
Company: Palvella Therapeutics
Function: Commercial
FLSA Status: Exempt
Reports To: SVP Sales

Position Summary:

The Director, Commercial Operations serves as a critical operational backbone for the commercial organization by partnering cross-functionally to ensure that all customer-facing field teams, including the Sales organization, Patient Access Market Access, and Field Marketers, are equipped with the systems, data, processes, and support infrastructure necessary to operate with excellence in a competitive and highly regulated marketplace.

This role requires a rare blend of strategic thinking and hands-on execution. The ideal candidate thrives in ambiguity, excels at translating commercial strategy into operational action, and brings deep expertise in CRM platforms, field reporting, cross-functional coordination, and commercial analytics. As a growing company, this role will evolve rapidly and offers significant opportunity for career advancement.

Key Responsibilities:

Field Operations Support—Sales Team

  • Serve as the primary operational point of contact for the full sales organization.
  • Manage and optimize CRM system (Veeva) configuration, data integrity, and user adoption across the field sales team.
  • Design and maintain territory alignments, call plans, and sample management workflows in close collaboration with Sales leadership.
  • Support incentive compensation (IC) program administration, working with Finance and HR to ensure accurate, timely payouts and quota-setting processes.
  • Build and maintain sales force effectiveness (SFE) dashboards and reporting tools that enable leadership to monitor performance in real time.

Field Operations Support—Patient Access & Reimbursement Team

  • Provide dedicated operational support to the Patient Access field team, Patient Access Liaisons, and Hub/specialty pharmacy partners.
  • Track and report on access metrics including prior authorization approval rates, time-to-therapy, and hub case status to identify bottlenecks and improve the patient journey.
  • Manage vendor relationships for hub services, specialty pharmacy networks, and co-pay/patient assistance program providers.

CRM, Systems & Data Infrastructure

  • Own day-to-day administration and continuous improvement of the commercial CRM platform (Veeva preferred), including user access, field configurations, validation rules, and integrations.
  • Manage data governance standards across all commercial systems, ensuring data accuracy, completeness, and compliance with company and regulatory policies.
  • Partner with IT and data vendors to implement new tools, system integrations, and process automation that improve field team productivity.
  • Maintain master data management (MDM) for customer (HCP/HCO) records, territory hierarchy, and organizational rosters.

Reporting, Analytics & Business Insights

  • Develop and distribute regular commercial performance reports and dashboards for senior leadership, including weekly/monthly KPI readouts across all field teams.
  • Support quarterly business reviews (QBRs) with data compilation, slide preparation, and performance narrative.
  • Leverage syndicated data sources (e.g., IQVIA, Symphony Health, Specialty Pharmacy data) to enrich commercial analytics and provide actionable insights.
  • Produce ad hoc analyses as requested by the SVP Sales, Chief Commercial Officer, or other senior stakeholders.

Cross-Functional Collaboration & Compliance

  • Act as a liaison between the commercial field teams and internal functions including Marketing, Medical Affairs, Market Access, Finance, Legal, Compliance, and Human Resources.
  • Ensure all commercial operations activities adhere to relevant regulatory requirements, including FDA promotional guidelines, HIPAA, Sunshine Act (Open Payments), and company-specific SOPs.
  • Support onboarding of new field personnel with system access provisioning, training coordination, and equipment/materials setup.

Qualifications:

Required

  • Bachelor’s degree required; degree in Life Sciences, Business, Public Health, or a related field preferred.
  • Minimum of 5–8 years of progressive experience in commercial operations, sales operations, or a related function within the pharmaceutical or biotechnology industry.
  • Direct experience supporting multiple field-based commercial teams (e.g., Sales, Patient Access, TLLs/Field Marketing, or MSLs).
  • Proficiency in CRM platform administration and optimization, with Veeva CRM strongly preferred.
  • Strong working knowledge of specialty pharmaceutical commercial models, including specialty pharmacy distribution, hub services, and reimbursement support programs.
  • Demonstrated analytical capabilities, including experience with BI/reporting tools (e.g., Tableau, Power BI, Excel) and commercial data sources (e.g., IQVIA, Symphony Health).
  • Excellent organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple concurrent priorities in a fast-paced, resource-constrained environment.
  • Proven ability to work effectively with cross-functional stakeholders at all levels of the organization.
  • Strong understanding of pharmaceutical compliance requirements, including PhRMA Code, OIG guidelines, and Sunshine Act (Open Payments).

Preferred

  • Experience at a commercial-stage specialty biotech or rare disease company.
  • Familiarity with incentive compensation design and administration.
  • Experience with launch preparation and commercialization activities in a publicly traded biotech setting.
  • Exposure to Market Access analytics, including payer mix, pull-through, and formulary reporting.

Working Conditions & Travel:

  • Position may be based at company headquarters or remote/field-based
  • Travel of approximately 20–35% expected, including attendance at national sales meetings, regional field rides, and key commercial events.
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