Associate Director, Sales Strategy, Operations & Execution- Rare Disease Franchise

About Acadia Pharmaceuticals

Acadia is committed to turning scientific promise into meaningful innovation that makes the difference for underserved neurological and rare disease communities around the world. Our commercial portfolio includes the first and only FDA-approved treatments for Parkinson’s disease psychosis and Rett syndrome. We are developing the next wave of therapeutic advancements with a robust and diverse pipeline that includes mid- to late-stage programs in Alzheimer’s disease psychosis and Lewy body dementia psychosis, along with earlier-stage programs that address other underserved patient needs. At Acadia, we’re here to be their difference.

This is a remote based position with flexibility to be located anywhere in the U.S., near a major airport. 30% travel is estimated.

Position Summary:

The Associate Director, Sales Operations & Execution serves as a key strategic partner and operational leader supporting the Vice President, Rare Disease Sales and Senior Director of Rare Disease Strategy and Operations. This role strengthens sales force effectiveness by driving sales planning, analytics, operational rigor, and execution excellence across the rare disease field organization. In addition, this role will have an opportunity to work on key strategic projects for the marketing team including high visibility with the commercial leadership team.

This individual serves as the connective tissue between sales leadership, field teams, marketing team and cross-functional partners, delivering insights, enabling execution, shaping sales operating rhythms, and supporting high-impact initiatives that elevate performance. The role blends strategic thought partnership with hands-on execution support, enabling the VP of Sales and the broader field team to operate with greater clarity, consistency, and efficiency.

Key Responsibilities:

Sales Operations & Business Planning

Partner with the VP of Sales to refine and operationalize short‑ and long‑term sales strategy.

Support annual and quarterly sales planning processes, including goal-setting, resource allocation, and prioritization aligned to brand and enterprise objectives.

Anticipate market dynamics, competitive shifts, and execution risks; recommend data‑driven adjustments to strengthen sales impact.

Lead preparation for leadership meetings, QBRs, field leadership summits, national sales meetings, and executive updates.

Sales Analytics & Performance Insights

Partner with Commercial Operations & Business Optimization (COBO) to enhance KPI monitoring, field reporting, and incentive compensation support.

Translate complex data sets into clear, actionable insights for Sales Leadership and field teams.

Partner with COBO to support clear sales dashboards, performance tracking tools, scorecards, and executive-level summaries.

Support territory database management needs in collaboration with Sales Leadership and COBO.

Operational Excellence & Field Enablement

Establish and optimize sales operating rhythms (e.g., weekly priorities, monthly business reviews, quarterly business review prep, communication cadence).

Build and maintain sales‑facing communication, messaging, and operational materials to ensure clarity and alignment.

Identify process inefficiencies across the sales operating model and proactively bring forth solutions that improve consistency, speed, and execution.

Serve as a key liaison between headquarters and the field organization to ensure timely feedback loops, alignment, and cross‑functional coordination.

Strategic Project Leadership & Cross-Functional Collaboration

Lead or support high-impact projects that enhance sales execution, field readiness, or customer engagement quality.

Partner with Marketing, Market Access, Medical Affairs, Training, Advocacy, and Commercial Operations to ensure tools, data, and resources are aligned with sales needs.

Manage special projects on behalf of the VP of Sales, including ad hoc analyses, strategic recommendations, and operational initiatives.

Support change management efforts associated with new systems, capabilities, or field resources, ensuring clear communication, training, and adoption.

Lead key projects for brand planning, national and regional sales meetings, and support for key commercial executive and board of directors presentations.

Key Responsibilities:

Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree (MBA or equivalent) preferred.

Experience in sales operations, commercial operations, sales strategy, analytics, or relevant commercial roles within pharma/biotech preferred.

Proven track record supporting senior commercial or sales leaders with insights, analytics, and operational leadership preferred.

Strong expertise with analytical and reporting tools (Power BI, Veeva, Salesforce CRM, advanced Excel).

Deep understanding of sales force effectiveness, territory alignment, targeting, call planning, incentives, and KPI frameworks.

Exceptional communication required, and executive‑level presentation skills preferred.

Strong project management capability with ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast‑paced environment required.

High emotional intelligence with strong relationship-building skills across leadership levels.

Demonstrated ability to influence without authority and operate effectively within a complex, matrixed environment.

Adaptable, proactive, and comfortable navigating ambiguity; consistently models Acadia values and sales‑aligned culture.

A desire for growth and a versatility to be a commercial and/or sales leader.

Work Location/Travel Expectations:

This is a remote-based corporate role with 30% travel expected. While the position may be performed remotely, the individual will be expected to travel periodically for business needs, including field meetings, national and regional sales meetings, leadership meetings, and in-person collaboration with Rare Disease Sales, Commercial Operations/Strategy, Marketing, and other cross-functional partners. This may include travel to corporate office locations, including Princeton, NJ and San Diego, CA, as needed to support business planning, execution, and key strategic initiatives.

#LI-SM1 #LI-REMOTE

In addition to a competitive base salary, this position is also eligible for discretionary bonus and equity awards based on factors such as individual and organizational performance. Actual amounts will vary depending on experience, performance, and location.

Salary Range

$152,000 — $190,400 USD

What we offer US-based Employees:

Competitive base, bonus, new hire and ongoing equity packages

Medical, dental, and vision insurance

Employer-paid life, disability, business travel and EAP coverage

401(k) Plan with a fully vested company match 1:1 up to 5%

Employee Stock Purchase Plan with a 2-year purchase price lock-in

15+ vacation days

13 -15 paid holidays, including office closure between December 24th and January 1st

10 days of paid sick time

Paid parental leave benefit

Tuition assistance

EEO Statement (US-based Employees): Studies have shown that women and people of color are less likely to apply for jobs unless they believe they meet every one of the qualifications in the exact way they are described in job postings. We are committed to building a diverse, equitable, inclusive, and innovative company, and we are looking for the BEST candidate for the job. That candidate may be one who comes from a less traditional background or may meet the qualifications in a different way. We strongly encourage you to apply, especially if the reason you are the best candidate isn’t exactly what we describe here.

It is the policy of Acadia to provide equal employment opportunities to all employees and employment applicants without regard to considerations of race, including related to hairstyle, color, religion or religious creed, sexual orientation