Director, Financial Planning & Analysis, R&D

Summary:

This is an exciting opportunity to serve as a strategic finance business partner to Vaxcyte’s R&D organization, with a focus on clinical studies. The role will support Clinical Operations and the Immunoassay and Non-Clinical teams, with responsibility for clinical trial and serology financial oversight, while flexing to support broader R&D as business needs evolve. This individual will partner closely with Clinical Operations and Serology on planning, forecasting, accruals, financial reporting, and decision support across multiple development programs.

Essential Functions:

• Lead and provide strategic oversight for clinical outsourcing, partnering with Clinical Operations, Clinical Development, Finance, and Legal to assess the best fit for Vaxcyte’s pipeline and outsourced scope of work.
• Lead the financial and commercial aspects of the RFP process, vendor selection, and budget management for the Clinical organization
• Manage clinical trials financial updates and support the annual planning process, including analysis of actuals versus forecast, risk and opportunity assessment, and clear reporting to Finance and business leadership
• Support contract and budget negotiations, bid evaluations, and vendor recommendations across a range of clinical service providers, including CROs, central laboratories, study supply vendors, oversight vendors, and patient recruitment partners
• Assist functional and department managers in the procurement process, including reviewing and validating invoices, supporting financial controls, and ensuring accurate visibility into vendor spend
• Partner with Clinical Operations, Clinical Development, Accounting, Procurement, Legal, and other stakeholders to align operational assumptions, vendor spend, timelines, and financial plans
• Manage the clinical accrual process, including review of applicable CRO and other clinical ancillary vendor contracts. Collaborate with key stakeholders to gather and analyze relevant information to ensure all accruals are complete, accurately computed, documented, and recorded
• Support program and project teams in identifying cost-saving opportunities, improving efficiencies, and optimizing the financial performance of clinical programs
• Implement new forecasting and analytics tools, enabling standardized metrics, scenario modeling, portfolio insights, greater transparency, and strategic decision support with an initial focus on clinical trials and serology
• Understand and maintain Sarbanes-Oxley (“SOX”) documentation and requirements for assigned area
• Lead other ad hoc analysis to support business partnering as needs evolve

Team Leadership

• This is an individual contributor role that requires collaboration with Procurement, Clinical Operations, and R&D leadership, as well as the ability to influence stakeholders without direct authority
• Demonstrate leadership through proactive problem-solving, strong business partnership, and a continuous improvement mindset across financial planning, forecasting, and decision support activities

Requirements: 

BA/BS in life sciences, technical, business, or a related field, advanced degree preferred with a minimum 12 years of progressive experience in biotech/pharma, including meaningful finance, FP&A, clinical outsourcing, CRO, or related business-partnering experience. Other combinations of education and/or experience may be considered

• Experience supporting Phase I-III clinical trials, including budgeting, forecasting, accruals, outsourcing, and vendor spend management, is required. Vaccines experience preferred
• Must possess strong analytical ability, a continuous learning mindset, and solid business acumen, including an understanding of business operations in a fast-paced environment
• Strong negotiations, financial modeling, forecasting, and scenario-analysis skills, with the ability to translate complex operational inputs into clear financial insights and actionable recommendations
• Prior experience with ERP systems, financial planning tools, BI/analytics platforms, and AI-enabled productivity tools preferred
• Knowledge of US GAAP, financial reporting, accounting controls, and analytics
• Strong relationship-building skills with internal and external stakeholders
• Exceptional project management skills, including the ability to prioritize, balance and manage multiple efforts with strong results/goal orientation
• Excellent organizational, multi-tasking, listening, facilitation, and communication skills
• Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively across organizations and utilize resources effectively
• Outstanding written, verbal, and presentation skills, with the ability to convey strategies and results to a diverse audience
• Ability to operate effectively in a dynamic, fast-paced environment and flex across functions as business needs evolve