Associate Director - Portfolio Strategy & Operations

Novartis • Cambridge, MA

1d • Hybrid

About The Position

The Associate Director, Portfolio Strategy & Operations, supports the effective strategic management and operational execution of the Therapeutic Area (TA) functions that comprise Translational Medicine Discovery & Profiling (TMDP). Reporting to the TMDP - Strategy & Planning Lead Director, this role contributes to TA strategic planning, business operations, portfolio coordination of key TAs, and delivery of key initiatives that enable the TA(s) and TA Heads to achieve their objectives. The position aligns closely with Functions, cross-functional teams, and internal stakeholders to ensure seamless operations and effective execution of strategic priorities.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree MBA, MSc, PhD strongly preferred in life sciences, or related field
• Minimum 6 years of experience in pharmaceutical, biotech, or related industry
• Prior experience with pharma portfolio analysis, portfolio management and strategy or portfolio operations
• Strong analytical and problem-solving capabilities
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to collaborate across teams and levels
• Ability to synthesize complex information and communicate clearly
• Excellent organizational skills and ability to manage multiple priorities

Nice To Haves

• Experience within early development, clinical development, business operations or R&D operations preferred
• Ability to leverage technologies and AI
• Proficiency with business tools (Excel, PowerPoint, Power BI, AI agents, etc.)
• Ability to working in global matrixed organizations preferred

Responsibilities

• Acts as strategic thought partner for TMDP TA Head(s), reflecting on key topics and trends across therapeutic pillars. Maintain an integrated portfolio view for the assigned TA(s), overseeing study tracking, milestone progression, and identification of risks or shifts requiring alerts
• Provides comprehensive TA portfolio assessments in TM relevant projects including analysis of scale, speed, efficiency metrics to guide portfolio alignment with strategic objectives and delivers value efficiently
• Continuously engage in portfolio analysis and strategy topics to bring TMDP TA strategic prospective into various portfolio reviews and prioritization across TM and different management/decision boards
• For the responsible TA(s), lead goals tracking, portfolio analysis, bring insights, and support effective alignments among project management, DA Portfolio Strategy Development (PSD), TA Leadership (TAL)and Disease Area Decision Board (DADBs)
• Supports TMDP TA Head(s) for coordinating essential internal processes and priority initiatives such as TA objective planning, internal TA meetings including cross-TA meetings, FTF meetings with partner groups, external reviews and collaborations, headcount planning, resource forecasting, and performance tracking of responsible TA(s)
• Support TA Heads in internal communication across strategic meetings, presentations and updates. Coordination of TA‑level team meetings, including agenda setting, material preparation, facilitation and action follow‑up.
• Lead operational excellence, process simplification, automation opportunities, AI enabled improvements, and coordination of cross-functional initiatives to address enterprise level challenges
• Coordinates a strategy for KOL interactions, including oversight of logistics
• Contributes to organizational development activities, including change management, capability initiatives and trainings

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director