Sr. Director, COO Strategy & Operations - GPS Capabilities

Senior Director COO Strategy and Operations for GPS Capabilities

At Lilly, we unite caring with discovery to make life better for people around the world. We are a global healthcare leader headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. Our employees around the world work to discover and bring life-changing medicines to those who need them, improve the understanding and management of disease, and give back to our communities through philanthropy and volunteerism. We give our best effort to our work, and we put people first. We're looking for people who are determined to make life better for people around the world.

The Senior Director COO Strategy and Operations for GPS Capabilities serves as the central operational leader supporting the (Associate) Vice President of GPS Capabilities in driving strategic execution, financial stewardship, and organizational effectiveness across the function. This role provides the connectivity between GPS Capabilities' strategic vision and its day-to-day operational delivery, with a primary near-term focus on orchestrating the successful execution of the PV Affiliate Centralization initiative — a multi-year transformation to transition affiliate pharmacovigilance staff from commercial affiliate reporting lines into the Global Patient Safety organization.

This leader will also support the broader GPS Capabilities pillars (e.g. GPS PMO, PV Data and Systems, International PV, and External Collaborations) by driving cross-functional alignment, resource planning, stakeholder communications, and leadership meeting governance. The role requires a rare blend of strategic thinking, operational rigor, change management expertise, and executive communication skills to ensure GPS Capabilities delivers against its commitments to Global Patient Safety, International Business Units, and enterprise leadership.

Primary Responsibilities

• Affiliate PV Centralization Program Execution & Governance
• Budget, Resource, and Vendor Management
• Strategic Planning and Cross-Functional Alignment
• Communication, Reporting, and Leadership Support
• Operational Excellence and Continuous Improvement

Minimum Qualification Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Life Sciences, Business Administration, or a related field.
• Minimum of 10 years of combined work experience within the pharmaceutical industry, with exposure to drug safety, pharmacovigilance, drug development, project management, or strategy and operations.
• Previous experience developing and implementing global business strategies related to organizational change management, stakeholder engagement, and communications.
• Prior experience leading or supporting large-scale organizational transformations, including global centralization activities, operating model redesign, or functional integration programs.
• Experience in resource capacity planning, budget management, and business planning at scale.
• Experience building and executing strategic plans, monitoring deliverables, tracking milestones, and managing cross-functional programs.
• Experience preparing executive-level materials, including board pre-reads, decision documents, and strategic narratives for senior leadership audiences.

Preferred Qualifications

• Advanced degree (MBA, PharmD, PhD, MPH, or equivalent).
• Direct experience in pharmacovigilance or drug safety operations, including familiarity with ICSR processing, regulatory reporting, and PV systems.
• Experience working across international markets with demonstrated cultural intelligence and cross-border collaboration skills.
• Familiarity with AI/digital transformation initiatives in pharmacovigilance or related pharmaceutical operations.
• Experience managing CRO/BPO vendor partnerships and outsourced operations at scale.
• Excellent oral, written, and visual communication skills; able to communicate clearly and succinctly with senior leadership, peers, and staff.
• Strong interpersonal skills with demonstrated ability to foster teamwork in a diverse and inclusive environment.
• Some (10%) domestic and international travel.

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Our employee resource groups (ERGs) offer strong support networks for their members and are open to all employees. Our current groups include: Africa, Middle East, Central Asia Network, Black Employees at Lilly, Chinese Culture Network, Japanese International Leadership Network (JILN), Lilly India Network, Organization of Latinx at Lilly (OLA), PRIDE (LGBTQ+ Allies), Veterans Leadership Network (VLN), Women's Initiative for Leading at Lilly (WILL), enAble (for people with disabilities). Learn more about all of our groups.

Actual compensation will depend on a candidate's education, experience, skills, and geographic location. The anticipated wage for this position is $156,000 - $228,800. Full-time equivalent employees also will be eligible for a company bonus (depending, in part, on company and individual performance). In addition, Lilly offers a comprehensive benefit program to eligible employees, including eligibility to participate in a company-sponsored 401(k); pension; vacation benefits; eligibility for medical, dental, vision and prescription drug benefits; flexible benefits (e.g., healthcare and/or dependent day care flexible spending accounts); life insurance and death benefits; certain time off and leave of absence benefits; and well-being benefits (e.g., employee assistance program, fitness benefits, and employee clubs and activities). Lilly reserves the right to amend, modify, or terminate its compensation and benefit programs in its sole discretion and Lilly's compensation practices and guidelines will apply regarding the details of any promotion or transfer of Lilly employees.