Executive Administrator to the Chief Commercial Officer
Cambridge, MA
Full-time
Onsite
1 month ago
About the role
Administrative
Cambridge, MA
ID: 16R-19
Full-Time/Regular
This position is currently based in our Cambridge, MA office. Please note that our offices will be relocating to Waltham, MA later this year, and this role will transition accordingly. We follow a flexible, “magnet not mandate” approach to in-office work, encouraging collaboration and onsite engagement while supporting hybrid flexibility based on role and business needs.
Nearly 37 million Americans are currently affected by Chronic Kidney Disease. 37 million.
At Akebia we take that number very seriously and every day we come to work, with the purpose of bettering the lives of each person impacted by kidney disease and the renal community that serves them.
Our tenacious, passionate employees’ challenge the status quo and work to develop unique therapeutics that have the potential to set new standards of care for people living with kidney disease.
This is life-changing work, and we are all in, are you?
Job Summary
Akebia is seeking a highly experienced, proactive, and trusted Executive Assistant to support our Chief Commercial Officer (CCO), SVP of Customer Engagement, VP Marketing, VP of Sales, and VP Government Affairs. This role is critical to enabling the success of Akebia’s Commercial organization, including Customer Engagement, Sales, Market Access, National Accounts, Commercial Operations, Marketing, and Commercial Effectiveness.
The Executive Assistant will serve as a strategic administrative partner to the CCO, ensuring effective prioritization, seamless communication, and operational excellence across a dynamic, cross-functional commercial environment. The ideal candidate thrives in a fast-paced, launch-oriented setting and demonstrates exceptional organization, discretion, and business acumen.
Essential Duties And Responsibilities
Executive & Strategic Support
Commercial Leadership Coordination
Product Launch & Field Engagement Support
National Accounts / Market Access / Patient Advocacy
Operational Excellence & Process Improvement
Basic Qualifications
Preferred Qualifications
Skills & Competencies
Personal Attributes
Compensation
Targeted Base: $100,737-$124,439
Are you an Akebian?
An Akebian is curious, empathetic, and values making connections to people and ideas. Akebian’s aren’t afraid of diving in and owning a process or a problem, because we all want to deliver a great solution. Akebian’s believe that we are better together because we are all working toward a common purpose – to better the life of each person impacted by kidney disease. Want to learn more about what it means to be an Akebian? Visit our website: www.akebia.com
Akebia is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes all job applicants. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, disability, or any other factors prohibited by law.
Cambridge, MA
ID: 16R-19
Full-Time/Regular
This position is currently based in our Cambridge, MA office. Please note that our offices will be relocating to Waltham, MA later this year, and this role will transition accordingly. We follow a flexible, “magnet not mandate” approach to in-office work, encouraging collaboration and onsite engagement while supporting hybrid flexibility based on role and business needs.
Nearly 37 million Americans are currently affected by Chronic Kidney Disease. 37 million.
At Akebia we take that number very seriously and every day we come to work, with the purpose of bettering the lives of each person impacted by kidney disease and the renal community that serves them.
Our tenacious, passionate employees’ challenge the status quo and work to develop unique therapeutics that have the potential to set new standards of care for people living with kidney disease.
This is life-changing work, and we are all in, are you?
Job Summary
Akebia is seeking a highly experienced, proactive, and trusted Executive Assistant to support our Chief Commercial Officer (CCO), SVP of Customer Engagement, VP Marketing, VP of Sales, and VP Government Affairs. This role is critical to enabling the success of Akebia’s Commercial organization, including Customer Engagement, Sales, Market Access, National Accounts, Commercial Operations, Marketing, and Commercial Effectiveness.
The Executive Assistant will serve as a strategic administrative partner to the CCO, ensuring effective prioritization, seamless communication, and operational excellence across a dynamic, cross-functional commercial environment. The ideal candidate thrives in a fast-paced, launch-oriented setting and demonstrates exceptional organization, discretion, and business acumen.
Essential Duties And Responsibilities
Executive & Strategic Support
- Manage highly complex and evolving calendars aligned with commercial strategy, brand initiatives, field priorities, advisory boards, and cross-functional leadership meetings
- Anticipate scheduling needs and proactively resolve conflicts to ensure optimal use of executive time
- Prepare high-quality presentations, briefing materials, and executive summaries for Commercial Leadership Team (CLT), Executive Leadership Team (ELT), and Board updates
- Coordinate domestic travel, national and regional field engagements, conference participation, and related expense management
- Draft and manage professional communications on behalf of the CCO and SVP/VP team as appropriate
- Serve as a key partner to the Commercial leadership team in identifying, creating and leading employee engagement and culture-building initiatives, events and communications; be a key partner in helping to strengthen our commercial culture (in coordination with our people team colleagues)
Commercial Leadership Coordination
- Support the Commercial Leadership Team by coordinating agendas, materials, and follow-up actions for recurring leadership meetings
- Assist in tracking strategic initiatives, launch milestones, and cross-functional deliverables
- Partner with Commercial Operations to support quarterly business reviews, planning cycles, performance reviews, and execution timelines
- Facilitate alignment between Commercial and key internal stakeholders including Medical Affairs, Regulatory, Finance, Technical Operations, and Corporate functions
Product Launch & Field Engagement Support
- Support the planning and logistics for national sales meetings, brand planning sessions, business reviews, advisory boards, and industry conferences
- Coordinate materials and communications for field leadership meetings and sales leadership summits
- Support scheduling and preparation for interactions with key external stakeholders, including consultants, agencies, customers and market access partners
National Accounts / Market Access / Patient Advocacy
- Support scheduling and coordination related to contracting and payer strategy meetings, patient services initiatives, and advocacy interactions
- Maintain confidentiality related to pricing strategy, reimbursement initiatives, contracting, and performance metrics
Operational Excellence & Process Improvement
- Maintain organized systems for document management, meeting materials, and tracking of action items
- Identify and implement process improvements that enhance executive effectiveness and cross-functional coordination
- Support financial management process and serve as department expert related to procurement and expense systems
- Ensure activities are conducted in alignment with company policies and compliance standards within a highly regulated industry
Basic Qualifications
- 8–10+ years of experience supporting senior executives, preferably within biotech, pharmaceutical, or healthcare organizations
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience supporting a Chief Commercial Officer, Head of Sales, or senior Marketing executive strongly preferred
- Experience in product launch environments or field-based commercial organizations is highly desirable
- Prior exposure to Board-level preparation and executive presentations is a plus
Skills & Competencies
- Exceptional organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple high-priority initiatives simultaneously
- Strong business acumen and understanding of commercial functions within a biopharmaceutical company
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills
- Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Office (Outlook, PowerPoint, Word, Excel) and collaboration tools
- High attention to detail and ability to maintain strict confidentiality
Personal Attributes
- Demonstrates integrity, professionalism, and sound judgment
- Proactive, resourceful, and solutions-oriented
- Calm and adaptable in a fast-paced, performance-driven environment
- Collaborative team player committed to supporting a culture of accountability and patient-focused impact
Compensation
Targeted Base: $100,737-$124,439
- Base Compensation for this role will depend on a number of factors including a candidate’s qualifications, skills, competencies, and experience, and may fall outside of the range shown. Base pay is only one component of the company’s total rewards package, all regular employees are also eligible for the corporate bonus program or the incentive compensation program (if applicable), as well as equity. Additional benefits include health care, vision, dental, retirement, PTO, etc.
Are you an Akebian?
An Akebian is curious, empathetic, and values making connections to people and ideas. Akebian’s aren’t afraid of diving in and owning a process or a problem, because we all want to deliver a great solution. Akebian’s believe that we are better together because we are all working toward a common purpose – to better the life of each person impacted by kidney disease. Want to learn more about what it means to be an Akebian? Visit our website: www.akebia.com
Akebia is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes all job applicants. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, disability, or any other factors prohibited by law.
Skills
Business Development and SalesBiotechnology Research