VP of Operations & Finance
Juvena Therapeutics
VP of Operations & Finance
Position Description
Juvena Therapeutics, Inc., a venture-backed, regenerative medicine biotechnology company, is seeking a highly-motivated, proactive individual to manage, maintain, evolve, and scale operations for its growing team. This position reports directly to the CEO and will manage administrative and operational activities, including facilities, finance, information technology, and human resources, including designing and implementing new processes and improved workflows for a scaling organization. Working with the CEO, senior leadership, the operations and project management teams, and all Juvena employees, the successful candidate will help develop and drive existing and new company operational objectives, deliverables, execution, and timelines. The role is mission-driven and strategic in nature, meant to function as a cross-functional and cross-hierarchical facilitator to help grow the company, to drive the company’s mission and initiatives, and to help foster and build a positive company culture. Juvena is looking for candidates who can bring thoughtful long-term vision and planning combined with the ability to roll up their sleeves to execute and problem-solve as needed. The ideal candidate will be looking for a diverse and challenging role where they can contribute broadly across the organization and be a key contributor to the long term success of the company.
Candidates should be excited to join a company focused on the discovery and validation of novel disease-modifying biologics that promote tissue regeneration. Juvena’s unique platform discovers secreted proteins that can promote disease-modifying effects by restoring homeostatic signaling, and translates them into engineered regenerative biologics for a variety of chronic and age-related diseases.
The position is full-time starting as early as possible. This is the perfect opportunity for someone interested in the exciting and fast-paced environment of a growing biotech startup company and looking to make a significant difference in improving human healthspan.
Company Summary
Juvena Therapeutics is on a mission to discover and develop biologics for rare and chronic degenerative diseases by mining the secretomes of human pluripotent stem cells through a machine learning (ML)-enhanced platform. Juvena’s approach integrates proteomics, transcriptomics and imaging with phenotypic human in vitro disease model screening and extensive preclinical validation to mine stem cell secretomes as a rich source of new medicines for chronic and rare diseases. We are advancing leads for muscular dystrophies and muscle atrophy, and validating hits across metabolic and pulmonary diseases with a goal to identify and develop two new assets in new disease indications over the next two years. Since our launch in mid-2018, Juvena has discovered dozens of hits for neuromuscular, skeletal, metabolic and pulmonary diseases, including several muscle regenerative protein therapeutic candidates with potent human in vitro and mice in vivo efficacy. Juvena is advancing a developmental candidate for Myotonic Dystrophy Type 1, a rare autosomal dominant, progressive muscle-wasting disease, in IND-enabling studies.
Juvena Therapeutics has secured venture capital, NIH, and CIRM funding to develop our top lead to a clinical-stage investigational new drug, to build our stem cell secretome database, and to leverage our discovery platform to rapidly identify and validate novel protein-based drug candidates for multiple rare and chronic diseases across metabolic and pulmonary therapeutic areas. At Juvena we embrace a diversity of backgrounds, experience and approaches that all combine to lead us to world-class scientific results in an inclusive environment.
Position Location and Work Permit Requirement
640 Galveston Dr. Redwood City, 64063. Primarily onsite.
Candidates must be legally authorized to work in the US.
Position Requirements and Duties
- Oversee, manage and lead (with Juvena Operational staff) key operational activities and initiatives to support achievement of corporate goals; this includes establishing a productive and functional work environment, ensuring all employees have the resources and operational support they need to be efficient and effective, and addressing important operational challenges as they arise.
- Be a strategic thinker to enable the organization as it scales, advise employees navigating essential topics, and be a proven collaborator with critical functional partners.
- Own all financial functions (accounting, budgeting and reporting, tax, banking, etc.) directly, through direct reports, and/or in collaboration with consultants
- Own all office and lab facilities functions directly, through direct reports, and/or in collaboration with consultants
- Own all IT functions directly, through direct reports, and/or in collaboration with consultants
- Oversee the recruiting function by establishing clear internal alignment on new roles and helping manage and evolve our hiring process.
- Support the CEO’s HR directives and operations directly, through direct reports, and/or in collaboration with consultants
- Ensure awareness of and compliance with all state and federal regulations
- Support the implementation of performance management and compensation decisions in collaboration and through management of the HR team
- Work alongside all Juvena employees across R&D and G&A to support interdepartmental communications between important collaborators and the implementation of operational initiatives that support community building, core values, conflict resolution and collaboration
- Work with CEO and human resource team to establish, maintain and operationalize important HR initiatives to ensure all employees are and feel recognized and supported and have clear avenues to address any issues that arise
Qualifications
- Undergraduate degree required, with preference for accounting, business or a scientific discipline relevant to Juvena’s business
- 15+ years of experience in administration and/or operations in a biotech / pharma company
- 5+ years relevant experience in a start-up and/or venture-backed biotech company, with a preference for experience owning administration and/or operations responsibilities in a startup
- Background/expertise in accounting, financial planning and financial reporting
- HR experience in a start-up or venture-backed company a plus
- Pragmatic and efficient problem solver and decision maker, knowing when to roll up your sleeves and when to outsource
- Self-motivated, highly organized and able to manage and prioritize multiple functions simultaneously
- Experience creating and implementing new operations procedures and processes
- Process-driven and detail-oriented, and good at inspiring others to follow procedures
- Service-oriented mindset with a love for enabling teams and individuals
- Experience working cross-functionally with scientific, operational and G&A functions
- Ability to operate in a fast-paced, multi-disciplinary environment.
- Strong oral and written communication skills and meeting facilitation skills with the ability to work with many types of personalities to achieve objectives.
- Basic understanding of pharmaceutical drug discovery/development
- Skilled with relevant software tools (Google Drive, Powerpoint, Excel, etc.)
Compensation
Competitive salary, Medical/Dental/Vision, paid holidays, partial 401K matching, and generous stock options.
Apply for the Position
Apply to this Job through the following means:
- LinkedIn job posting
- Website job posting
Please email your CV and Cover Letter to apply@juvenatherapeutics.com with the title of the position as the subject line.
