Sr Director, Business Operations, EMEA

Overview

Why Join Us? Be a hero for our rare disease patients. At Ultragenyx, we believe in taking real impactful action to care for patients and our people. Our vision is to lead the future of rare disease medicine by going where others won t go — challenging the status quo and creating a new model that advances our field so more patients and caregivers can benefit from life-changing treatments.

Our commitment to patients extends to our people, with a culture focused on support, learning, and growth. We strive to be an organization where employees would be proud for their family and friends to work. If you want to have a meaningful impact, do the best work of your career, and grow, join our team.

Position Summary ultra impact – Make a difference for those who need it most. As the EMEA Business Operations Lead, you are responsible for driving operational excellence across the EMEA region, including customer engagement, analytics and insight generation, operational and business processes, strategic planning, leadership alignment, and governance activities. This role is critical as the organization grows its footprint and prepares to launch several new rare disease assets in the coming 5 years.

This role will work closely with the VP Commercial Operations, VP Medical Affairs, VP Market Access & Pricing, ED Supply Chain, Director EMEA Finance, Snr Dir and EMEA Head of HR.

Work Model

Flex:
This role will typically require onsite work 2-3 days each week, or more depending on business needs. In many locations, certain days are set for onsite work.

• Business Reviews and Strategic planning – Design and execute Quarterly Business Reviews and country deep dives, annual budgeting, long-range planning (LRP) and monthly revenue reviews in collaboration with Finance and EMEA commercial leadership.
• Governance and Leadership Support to the SVP Region Head – Organize and lead monthly EMEA leadership team meetings and GM/Functional Forums, including agenda preparation, documentation, and follow-ups; facilitate and lead discussions.
• Field and Launch Excellence Training – Manage field force excellence training hub for the EMEA region; develop and implement training programs to enhance field force effectiveness (medical and commercial teams). Design and execute strategies to improve effectiveness and efficiency, focusing on performance metrics, training, resource allocation, and Go To Market model optimization.
• Business Analytics Management and Insight Generation – Optimize country launch reporting, analyze launch performance, and provide insights to support GMs. Lead analytics and reporting capabilities within the region, coordinating with Global and Regional product and Local country leadership; support cross-functional KPI development and tracking.
• Digital initiatives and Data Management – Supervise digital initiatives and data management to ensure data integrity, accessibility, and compliance with regional and global standards. Support deployment and usage of regional CRM and other digital tools with IT collaboration.
• Operational Effectiveness and strategic projects – Lead projects to improve processes and operational effectiveness; collaborate with Supply Chain to ensure product availability; oversee collaboration with EAP and Named Patient Supply service providers.
• Lead operational readiness for pipeline portfolio (including gene therapy) for the region; drive operational excellence by identifying and leading regional and local cluster projects (e.g., legal entity assessments, wholesaler selection).

Education

• Bachelor’s degree in business, Life Sciences, or a related field
• Advanced degree such as MBA or MSc

Experience

• 15+ years in the biotech, pharmaceutical, or healthcare industry, with significant experience leading cross-functional projects.
• Demonstrated expertise in rare disease, specialty markets commercialization and operations with deep understanding of cross-functional roles. Experience in launch excellence and field force training is a plus.
• Proven track record in managing complex regional operations, including governance processes and strategic planning.
• Proven ability to lead…