Executive Director, Regulatory Operations and Submission Management

Executive Director, Regulatory Operations and Submission Management

The Executive Director, Regulatory Operations will provide strategic and operational leadership for global regulatory operations and systems, submission management and execution across the product portfolio and lifecycle. This role is accountable to build and lead a high-performing Regulatory Operations function and for ensuring submission quality, compliance with current regulations, and timeliness across global regions.

The Executive Director will oversee end-to-end submission operations including systems and technology, submission planning, management, and tracking, document readiness and quality control, publishing, dispatch, archival, and submission lifecycle management. The role will be accountable to establish operations process excellence, including SOPs/work instructions/templates/standards, operational metrics, vendor governance, and inspection readiness for regulated systems and regulatory archives. The role will be expected to maintain a current knowledge of the global regulatory environment, implement changes within the AVEO environment to align with global regulatory expectations, and effectively communicate to cross functional stakeholders and executive leaders.

The Executive Director will serve as the business owner for regulatory systems and information management capabilities (e.g., RIM and publishing platforms), driving optimization, data governance, and scalable ways of working as the organization grows. The position requires deep expertise in global submission standards (eCTD/CTD), strong project/program leadership, and the ability to influence and partner across Regulatory Affairs, Medical Writing, CMC/Technical Operations, Quality, Clinical, and IT in a fast-paced environment.

Principal Duties

• Establish and lead the Regulatory Operations strategy and execution to deliver compliant, high-quality global submissions and maintain submission/registration archives across the product lifecycle (development through post-approval).
• Build, develop, and manage a Regulatory Operations organization (direct reports, vendors and/or matrix resources), including capability building, training, performance management, and succession planning.
• Oversee submission planning, tracking, publishing, compilation, QC, dispatch, and archiving for major submission types (e.g., INDs/CTAs, NDAs/BLAs/MAAs, amendments/supplements/variations, annual reports, and other lifecycle submissions), ensuring adherence to global health authority technical requirements and timelines.
• Serve as the operational submission execution partner to Regulatory Strategy and Regulatory CMC leads and cross-functional teams, translating regulatory milestones into feasible operational plans, resourcing models, and publishing schedules while proactively identifying risks and mitigation strategies.
• Establish and lead Regulatory Operations process excellence, including creating/maintaining SOPs, work instructions, templates, style guides, and best practices for document readiness, publishing, archival, and controlled submission records.
• Establish and manage quality systems for Regulatory Operations, including technical QC standards (formatting, hyperlinks/bookmarks, PDF requirements, metadata), submission readiness checks, error prevention, corrective actions, and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Lead Regulatory Information Management (RIM) and publishing systems governance, acting as business owner for tools supporting submission planning/content management/publishing/archival and regulatory data integrity; partner with IT and Quality on validation, access controls, audit trails, change control, and vendor-managed services where applicable.
• Oversee and manage external vendors/outsourcing partners (publishing, system providers, ancillary submission services) including scope definition, budgets, performance monitoring, and issue resolution.
• Ensure inspection readiness for Regulatory Operations processes, regulated systems, and submission archives; support audits/inspections by preparing evidence packages, demonstrating system/process controls, and coordinating responses and CAPAs in partnership with Quality.
• Maintain regulatory operations intelligence regarding evolving global electronic submission standards and operational requirements (e.g., agency technical specifications, lifecycle management expectations), and lead change implementation to keep the organization compliant and current.
• Partner cross-functionally with Regulatory Affairs Strategy, Medical Writing, CMC/Technical Operations, Quality, Biometrics, Clinical Operations, IT and Project Management to embed operational excellence and predictable submission execution into integrated development plans.

Required Qualifications / Experience

Education Bachelor's degree in Life Sciences or related discipline required.

• 15+ years of progressive experience in Regulatory Operations and global submission management/publishing within pharmaceutical and/or biotechnology organizations, including leadership responsibility.
• Demonstrated experience leading end-to-end submission execution (planning, publishing, QC, dispatch, archival) for U.S. and ex-U.S. submissions, with strong knowledge of global submission formats and technical standards (eCTD/CTD/ACTD, as applicable).
• Proven experience serving as business owner and implementing/optimizing regulatory systems (e.g., RIM/publishing/content management), including data governance and user adoption.
• Experience establishing SOPs/standards and driving operational and quality process improvements in a regulated environment.
• Experience managing vendors/outsourcing partners and developing scalable operating models (insourcing/outsourcing mix) across different stages of company growth.

Skills

• In-depth, working, knowledge and understanding of FDA, EMA and ICH regulations and guidelines governing electronic submission standards.
• Expert knowledge of electronic submission publishing concepts and technical QC expectations (e.g., document formatting standards, hyperlinking/bookmarking, PDF technical requirements, metadata integrity).
• Strong ability to lead and influence cross-functional, matrixed teams, excellent stakeholder management and strong executive communication skills.
• Comfortable with a player/coach role with an enterprise mindset.

This job description is intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by employees assigned to this position. It is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, or skills. The Company reserves the right to modify duties and responsibilities as business needs evolve