Summary

Onsite
Location: East Hanover, New Jersey
Hybrid
#LI-Hybrid

About the role:
When you are a part of the Global Operational Excellence team, you'll have countless opportunities to develop your career, as you'll be surrounded by people you can learn from and help you reach your full potential.

Our team is seeking a Global Operational Excellence Director.

This role is a cross-disciplinary pioneer with a positive personality, entrepreneurial mindset, and an uncompromising drive to transform drug development and improve lives. Defined by an exceptional ability to build relationships, this role is a thought-leader who can drive highly performant partnerships with senior executives across divisions, challenge the status quo through cross-disciplinary thinking and create new opportunities for organizational impact.

• Identify, propose, and deliver strategic imperatives for Development as x-divisional improvement projects using data as the performance baseline.
• Accountable for the faultless delivery of a portfolio of large-scale improvement projects that employ project management best practices to enhance certainty of success (i.e. project plans - scope, time, cost/resources, communication plans, impact measures/ metrics).
• Structure ambiguous problems and take action to solve them, with clear linkage to Development principles, strategy and priorities.
• Synthesize clear takeaways from complex information into outcomes and recommendations using both qualitative and quantitative methods (i.e. external benchmarks, internal metrics, process performance analyses etc.)
• Lead multi-disciplinary teams, influencing without authority, to develop the best solution and move stakeholders and the organization to act.
• Establish trust-based relationships with senior leaders and stakeholders to better serve their organizations.
• Deploy superior verbal and written communication skills to transmit information effectively to all audiences, including senior leaders, in a structured manner.
• Drive project teams and organizations to comprehensively improve operating model design, process simplification, data & technology enablement, and financial success, whilst ensuring quality standards and regulatory compliance.
• Proactively bring disruptive thought leadership, technology, processes and capabilities with intent to bring more drugs to the patients faster.
• Maintain awareness of process improvement methodologies and best practices.
• Build a deep talent bench for Novartis by driving top-level talent acquisition, succession planning and development of associates across GDD and Divisions are working to their full potential and to build a strong talent pipeline for Novartis.
• Strengthen OpEx by developing an excellence-oriented One Development culture, change excellence management, fostering innovation, and building best-in-class teams that fully exploit "Drug Development" opportunities, internal systems, programs, processes, and tools.

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggbnzRY9z8w

• Bachelor's degree in life science and/or in business administration with 8+ years of experience working in the pharmaceutical industry, life sciences / drug development or equivalent.
• International and/or cross-disciplinary background; appreciation of complex operating models (i.e. matrix) and proven ability to influence without direct authority.
• Sophisticated and credible at managing senior executive relationships. Proven track record of generating new stakeholder partnerships that lead to successful engagements.
• Outstanding interpersonal communication skills - both verbal and written: Ability to present complex ideas effectively.
• Exceptional program/project management capabilities by qualification, training, and experience, and awareness of methodologies (e.g. IQP, Lean six sigma, Scrum, Agile ...); able to adjust to multiple demands, shifting priorities and unexpected events while maintaining a positive work attitude
• Seasoned cross-functional leadership skills and proven ability to develop high performing teams from diverse backgrounds and execute solutions for business challenges within a highly matrixed organization.
• Team-orientated and collaborative approaches; outstanding listening skills and the ability to manage through influence to optimize contributions from team members as individuals and members of a cohesive team.
• Strong analytical skills, critical thinker, and problem-solving abilities to structure ambiguous problems and take action to solve them.
• Deep understanding of drug research and development process; expertise in improvement methodologies. Certified Agile/ Scrum/ Lean six sigma or blackbelt is preferred.
• Willingness to travel

• Advance degree preferred (e.g. MBA desired or equivalent)