Director, Commercial Chief of Staff

Are you ready to join a team committed to making a meaningful impact on cancer treatment through the discovery and development of precision medicines? At Kura Oncology, you have an opportunity to be a part of something bigger, with a lasting impact that you can be proud of.

At Kura Oncology, we are working to change the paradigm and improve the science of cancer treatment. As an organization, we strive to cultivate a diverse and talented professional culture driven to develop precision medicine therapeutics.

As we continue to build a leading biotech organization with a strong culture, a patient-focused mindset and a team focused on relentless execution, we are looking for innovative, passionate professionals to join us and make our vision a reality.

To succeed at Kura, you will need to have a demonstrated ability for excellence in drug discovery and development and a roll-up your sleeves attitude. The ideal candidate will possess a values-driven work style where integrity and grit drive all behaviors, decisions, and actions.

Essential Job Functions:

The Chief of Staff (COS) to the Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) enables the CCO to work most effectively with internal and external stakeholders, drive strategic priorities, and ensure alignment across teams. This is a strategic and facilitative role that requires a combination of focus and flexibility, as well as a willingness to play an active, behind-the-scenes role.

As the CCO’s trusted counsel, the COS must be a highly resourceful individual with strong emotional intelligence, self- motivation, and excellent analytical and communication skills. The role is ideal for someone who connects the dots quickly, is solution-oriented and energized by helping a team deliver results through thoughtful planning, coordination, and execution.

• Partner with the Chief Commercial Officer to prioritize initiatives, manage complexity, and ensure follow-through on strategic goals
• Support execution of the commercial strategy by translating high-level priorities into coordinated workplans, timelines, and tracked deliverables
• Coordinate cross-functional workstreams that enable effective execution of commercial initiatives, ensuring clear communication, stakeholder alignment, and follow-through
• Organize and manage Commercial Leadership Team meetings and offsites, including agenda setting, content development, logistics, and action-item tracking
• Lead preparation and development of senior leadership presentations, meeting materials, and internal communications that clearly convey progress, insights, and recommendations
• Support annual and quarterly planning cycles by gathering inputs, consolidating information, coordinating reviews, and maintaining planning documentation
• Identify operational risks and issues within commercial activities, escalate concerns appropriately, and track remediation actions to resolution
• Partner with Alliance Management and company’s co-promotion partner to ensure smooth interactions in brand planning, budget planning and standing steering committees
• Support goal-setting processes across commercial and ensure quantitative follow-up on progress toward objectives
• Partner with Finance and HR to support commercial budgeting, headcount planning, and routine performance tracking
• Maintain effective communication between the CCO and commercial teams by facilitating information flow, clarifying expectations, and ensuring timely updates
• Provide routine progress updates, operational insights, and synthesized summaries to commercial leadership to support decision-making and coordination

Job Specifications:

• Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree preferred
• 8–10+ years in the pharmaceutical or biotechnology industry, with broad experience in strategic roles and a strong understanding of commercial functions
• Proven experience leading cross-functional strategic and organizational initiatives in a matrixed environment
• Strong project management and prioritization skills with the ability to manage multiple workstreams across stakeholders
• Excellent communication skills—written, verbal, and visual—with experience developing materials for senior and executive audiences
• High emotional intelligence, cultural awareness, and the ability to build trusted relationships across teams and geographies
• Strong leadership presence and the ability to influence without formal authority
• Comfortable navigating ambiguity, complexity, and high-stakes environments
• Willingness to travel up to 30% as needed

The base range for a Director is $213,800 - $242,000 per year. Individual pay may vary based on additional factors, including, and without limitation, job-related skills, experience, work location, and relevant education or training. Kura's compensation package also includes generous benefits, equity, and participation in an annual target bonus.

Kura’s Values that are used for candidate selection and performance assessments:

• We work as one for patients
• We are goal-focused and deliver with excellence
• We are science-driven courageous innovators
• We strive to bring out the best in each other and ourselves

The Kura Package

• Career advancement/ development opportunities
• Competitive comp package
• Bonus
• 401K + Employer contributions
• Generous stock options
• ESPP Plan
• 20 days of PTO to start
• 18 Holidays  (Including Summer & Winter Break)
• Generous Benefits Package with a variety of plans available with a substantial employer match
• Paid Paternity/Maternity Leave
• In-Office Catered lunches
• Home Office Setup
• Lifestyle Spending Stipend
• Commuter Stipend (Boston Office)
• Regular employee social activities, including happy hours, monthly birthday celebrations, Kura Koffee Talks, and much more!

Kura Oncology is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company committed to realizing the promise of precision medicines for the treatment of cancer. The Company’s pipeline consists of small molecule drug candidates designed to target cancer signaling pathways. Ziftomenib, a once-daily, oral menin inhibitor, is the first and only investigational therapy to receive Breakthrough Therapy Designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) for the treatment of relapsed/refractory (“R/R”) NPM1-mutant acute myeloid leukemia (“AML”). In November 2024, Kura Oncology entered into a global strategic collaboration agreement with Kyowa Kirin Co., Ltd. to develop and commercialize ziftomenib for AML and other hematologic malignancies. Enrollment in a Phase 2 registration-directed trial of ziftomenib in R/R NPM1-mutant AML has been completed, and in the second quarter of 2025, the companies announced the FDA’s acceptance of a New Drug Application for ziftomenib for the treatment of adult patients with R/R NPM1-mutant AML and assignment of a Prescription Drug User Fee Act target action date of November 30, 2025. Kura Oncology and Kyowa Kirin are also conducting a series of clinical trials to evaluate ziftomenib in combination with current standards of care in newly diagnosed and R/R NPM1-mutant and KMT2A-rearranged AML. KO-2806, a next-generation farnesyl transferase inhibitor, is being evaluated in a Phase 1 dose-escalation trial as a monotherapy and in combination with targeted therapies for patients with various solid tumors. Tipifarnib, a potent and selective farnesyl transferase inhibitor, is currently in a Phase 1/2 trial in combination with alpelisib for patients with PIK3CA-dependent head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. For additional information, please visit Kura’s website at www.kuraoncology.com and follow us on X and LinkedIn.

Kura Oncology is committed to creating a diverse environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, or veteran status. 

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