Overview:
Certara accelerates medicines using proprietary biosimulation software, technology and services to transform traditional drug discovery and development. Its clients include more than 2,000 biopharmaceutical companies, academic institutions, and regulatory agencies across 62 countries.
Certara is a global leader in model-informed drug development and regulatory science. Our software and services accelerate decision-making across the life sciences ecosystem. We are seeking an Associate Director, Portfolio Account Management (AD) for Modeling & Simulation (M&S) to join our American commercial team and global M&S portfolio organization.
This role spans Certara’s full suite of M&S capabilities, including both mechanistic approaches (systems biology, QSP, PBPK, digital simulations) and empirical approaches (population PK/PD, exposure–response, meta-analyses). The AD operates through the AMER zone account teams while ensuring client needs are met quickly, collaboratively, and without organizational barriers.
Responsibilities:
Position Summary
The AD is one of several portfolio managers in the AMER region. Each PAM may be assigned a territory and/or set of accounts to ensure full coverage across the zone. The role has a solid reporting line to the Global Portfolio Leader for M&S and a dotted line to the AMER Zone commercial leader(s), ensuring both global alignment and zone-level execution.
The PAM will:
- Lead portfolio strategy and business development for the full range of M&S solutions within their assigned accounts/territory.
- Build and execute go-to-market strategies for scaling the M&S business in AMER
- Build and manage a team of PAMs operating through the AMER team and with the scientific and marketing teams; manage their quotas and the AMER M&S target
- Partner with Global Account Directors (Tier 1), Enterprise Account Managers (Tier 2), Inside Sales (Tier 3), and Renewals to expand client adoption and deepen Certara’s value.
- Serve as the subject matter expert and pursuit leader for M&S opportunities, while respecting other account activity and coordinating all client engagement through account teams.
- Develop strong client relationships in coordination with account owners, with a focus on efficiency and transparency.
Key Responsibilities
- Portfolio Growth & Strategy
- Develop and execute a go-to-market plan for assigned accounts/territory, in line with the global M&S portfolio strategy.
- Carry a portfolio quota that contributes to the overall AMER zone sales bookings.
- Identify and qualify opportunities across both empirical and mechanistic domains.
- Track market trends and client needs to shape offering positioning and pipeline generation.
- Collaboration with Account Teams
- Work through zone account teams to ensure seamless pursuit of opportunities.
- Engage in joint account planning and pipeline reviews with GADs, EAMs, and ISRs.
- Provide enablement, training, and pursuit support to account teams on M&S solutions.
- Ensure account teams facilitate portfolio pursuits within assigned accounts/territory.
- Client Engagement
- Act as the domain expert in client meetings, workshops, and proposals.
- Build and maintain executive and scientific relationships to establish Certara as a trusted advisor.
- Position M&S solutions to address client challenges in discovery, development, and regulatory submission.
- Coordination & Governance
- Document opportunities in CRM, aligned with account pipelines.
- Resolve conflicts quickly through escalation and alignment on shared sales bookings goals.
- Ensure handoffs to scientific delivery teams are smooth, efficient, and client-centric.
Success Measures
- Attainment of portfolio quota (new business + expansion).
- Growth in adoption of M&S across Tier 1–3 accounts within assigned territory/accounts.
- Evidence of joint pursuits and shared sales bookings attribution with account teams.
- Increased number of cross-portfolio opportunities (software + services).
- Positive feedback from clients and internal account leaders on coordination and value delivered.
Qualifications:
Qualifications
- Advanced degree (MS/PhD) in life sciences, computational biology, pharmacology, or related field and 3-5 years of experience in consulting, sales, or biopharma science; or equivalent commercial experience in modeling & simulation.
- Strong understanding of the drug discovery & development process, including both mechanistic and empirical modeling approaches.
- Proven success in solution selling within pharmaceutical or biotech industries.
- Ability to work collaboratively in a matrix sales structure with global portfolio and zone reporting lines.
- Track record of successful team management
- Excellent communication, presentation, and relationship-building skills.
- Willingness to travel as needed within AMER.
Certara bases all employment-related decision on merit, taking into consideration qualifications, skills, achievement, and performance. We treat all applicants and employees without regard to personal characteristics such as race, color, ethnicity, religion, sex, sexual orientation, age, nationality, marital status, pregnancy, physical or mental condition, genetic information, military service, or other characteristic protected by law.