Who We Are

Terns Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: TERN) is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing a portfolio of small molecule product candidates to address serious diseases, including oncology and obesity. Terns’ pipeline includes three clinical-stage development programs – an allosteric BCR-ABL inhibitor for CML, a small molecule GLP-1 receptor agonist, and a THR-β agonist – as well as a preclinical GIPR modulator program.

Who We Are Looking For

The Vice President, Regulatory Affairs and Quality Assurance, will lead the regulatory and quality functions for all development-stage programs. This role will focus on developing and executing regulatory strategies, managing global health authority interactions, and overseeing quality operations to ensure compliance and successful progression through clinical development and approval processes. As a member of the Senior Leadership Team, the VP will work closely with internal teams and external partners to ensure regulatory milestones are met while maintaining the highest quality standards across all projects.

What You’ll Do

Lead global regulatory strategy development for small-molecule product candidates in oncology and obesity.
Manage interactions with FDA, EMA, and other global health authorities to ensure regulatory milestones are met.
Oversee regulatory submissions, including INDs, NDAs, and MAAs, ensuring compliance with global standards.
Provide strategic leadership of the quality team and collaborate with the existing QMS personnel to maintain compliance with regulatory standards (FDA, ICH, EMA).
Work cross-functionally with clinical, manufacturing, and non-clinical teams to ensure alignment between regulatory and quality efforts and corporate goals.
Manage and lead the regulatory and quality teams, ensuring cohesive execution of regulatory and quality strategies.
Stay current with evolving regulatory requirements and provide guidance on regulatory and quality compliance, particularly in oncology and obesity.
Contribute to the development of corporate strategy, ensuring regulatory and quality perspectives are integrated into decision-making processes.

What You’ll Bring to Our Team:

A people-first mindset with a collaborative approach to problem-solving.
Strong leadership skills with the ability to manage regulatory and quality functions in a fast-paced, dynamic environment.
10+ years of regulatory experience in the pharmaceutical or biotechnology industry, with a focus on small molecules.
Proven success managing regulatory interactions with FDA, EMA, and other global health authorities.
Experience overseeing quality systems in a regulatory capacity, with strong understanding of compliance standards (FDA, ICH, EMA).
Demonstrated success in regulatory submissions, including IND, NDA, and MAA filings.
Experience in oncology and/or obesity therapeutic areas is highly desirable.
Bachelor’s degree in a science-related field is required; an advanced degree is preferred.

Competencies

Setting Strategy

The ability to create and articulate a clear regulatory and quality strategy that aligns with the company's broader objectives, particularly in the development of small-molecule product candidates in oncology and obesity.
A data-driven approach to decision-making, seeking regulatory insights from multiple sources, and aligning the regulatory and quality strategy with corporate goals.
An entrepreneurial mindset that encourages innovation within the regulatory framework, exploring novel regulatory pathways such as accelerated approvals and combination development strategies.
The ability to balance ambitious strategic objectives with regulatory realities, creating realistic and actionable implementation plans that ensure compliance while driving innovation.

Executing for Results

Demonstrates the ability to set clear, challenging regulatory and quality goals, driving the organization toward compliance and successful submission of key documents (INDs, NDAs, MAAs).
Ability to manage ambiguity, adapt nimbly to regulatory changes, and lead the organization through complex regulatory environments and shifting quality standards.
Takes well-informed risks by collaborating with cross-functional teams to anticipate regulatory hurdles and quality challenges, ensuring a proactive approach to compliance and regulatory submissions.
A leader of high integrity who approaches decisions with transparency, consistently weighing the long-term impact on both the regulatory and quality functions and the overall organization.

Leading Teams

Skilled in attracting, recruiting, and developing top regulatory and quality talent, delegating responsibilities effectively while fostering a culture of continuous improvement.
Demonstrates resilience in overcoming regulatory and quality challenges, commanding respect by maintaining high standards and ensuring operational excellence across all regulatory submissions and quality processes.
Self-reflective and aware of personal limitations, driving organizational performance by leading with humility, being open to feedback, and continuously seeking self-improvement.

Relationships and Influence

Builds strong relationships across regulatory agencies, internal teams, and external partners, demonstrating high emotional intelligence and persuasive communication skills.
Inspires trust within the regulatory and quality teams, as well as with cross-functional teams, by leading with passion and conviction in their regulatory strategy and quality oversight.
Shares the spotlight with team members, celebrating both individual and team successes, and fostering a collaborative culture across departments.
Creates a strong sense of purpose for the regulatory and quality teams, aligning them with the company’s mission to address serious unmet medical needs through the development of innovative therapies.

This position will be based in our Foster City, California office. The expected base pay for this full-time position is $280,000 - $325,000 + bonus + equity + benefits. At Terns, our salary ranges are determined by role, level, and location. The ranges are subject to change and individual pay within that range can vary for several reasons including location, skills/capabilities, experience, and available budget.

Terns Pharmaceuticals is committed to being an Equal Opportunity Employer and our policy is to provide equal employment opportunities to all applicants and employees without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, citizenship status, age, national origin, ancestry, disability, veteran status, or any other legally protected status and to affirmatively seek to advance the principles of equal employment opportunity.

TO ALL RECRUITMENT AGENCIES: Terns Pharmaceuticals does not accept agency resumes. Please do not forward resumes to our jobs alias or Terns employees. Terns Pharmaceuticals is not responsible for any fees related to unsolicited resumes.

Terns Pharmaceuticals

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Vice President Regulatory Affairs Quality Assurance