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.

Purpose

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

1. Affiliate PV Centralization Program Execution & Governance

• Serve as the day-to-day operational lead for the PV Affiliate Centralization initiative, managing the program timeline, milestone tracking, risk escalation, and cross-functional dependencies across a 24+ month phased implementation.
• Coordinate stakeholder engagement activities across twelve identified stakeholder groups, including International Business Unit General Managers, Country General Managers, affiliate PV staff, HR, Legal, Works Councils, and Finance, ensuring alignment with the approved stakeholder analysis and communication cadence.
• Drive change management execution in partnership with HR and organizational development, including workforce transition planning, role mapping, retention strategies, and cultural integration for approximately 40–60 affiliate PV FTEs across EMEA, APAC, LATAM, Canada, Japan, and other international markets.
• Prepare and maintain executive-level program dashboards, status reports, and decision documents for GPS Capabilities leadership, the SVP of Global Patient Safety, and International Business Unit leadership.
• Manage program governance cadence, including steering committee meetings, working group coordination, and escalation protocols to ensure timely resolution of issues and risks.

2. Budget, Resource, and Vendor Management

• Own the GPS Capabilities operations budget, ensuring cost-effective allocation of resources across internal teams, regional hubs, and third-party vendor partners.
• Oversee headcount planning and workforce management for GPS Capabilities, balancing internal staff and outsourced vendors to meet operational, compliance, and regulatory demands.
• Collaborate with Finance and Procurement to forecast resource needs, justify budgetary requirements, and manage vendor contracts and performance for case management and PV operations partners.
• Provide leadership for annual business planning activities, including coordination of timelines, templates, prioritization, and trade-off decisions.

3. Strategic Planning and Cross-Functional Alignment

• Drive the creation and execution of the GPS Capabilities strategic roadmap, ensuring alignment with the overarching GPS-wide strategy and long-range business plan.
• Establish priorities and make strategic trade-offs in partnership with the GPS Capabilities leadership team to meet business objectives while managing financial and human resource investments.
• Foster connectivity between GPS Capabilities sub-functions, GPS Operations, Safety Science, CPQA, View email address on click.appcast.io, Regulatory Affairs, Legal, and International Business Units to align strategic goals and execution.
• Support the AVP of GPS Capabilities on strategic initiatives including competitive benchmarking, business case development, and executive board pre-read preparation.
• Monitor external regulatory trends, industry direction, and peer company benchmarks for incorporation into GPS Capabilities strategies and the PV centralization program.

4. Communication, Reporting, and Leadership Support

• Own the preparation of materials for key meetings, including business reviews, executive briefings, board pre-reads, town halls, and International Business Unit leadership communications.
• Compile and facilitate review of GPS Capabilities key performance metrics and dashboards with the AVP and GPS leadership.
• Manage GPS Capabilities governance meetings (Lead Team, functional town halls, cross-functional working groups) with respect to agenda content, meeting management, action items, and follow-ups.
• Draft executive-level communications on behalf of GPS Capabilities leadership, including stakeholder update emails, strategic narratives, and change communication materials for the PV centralization initiative.
• Manage onboarding plans for new members joining GPS Capabilities and support organizational culture-building initiatives.

5. Operational Excellence and Continuous Improvement

• Ensure effective support processes are in place to quickly resolve issues, trend proactively, prevent operational disruptions, and identify opportunities to improve team performance.
• Maintain risk management and crisis response strategies, including GPS Business Continuity Plan inputs and scenario planning for the centralization transition.
• Identify and develop strategies to drive adoption of the GPS Capabilities organizational identity, culture, and behaviors across GPS and the broader Lilly enterprise.
• Leverage opportunities to increase awareness of GPS Capabilities' strategic contributions and reputation across Lilly Research Laboratories, International Business Units, and corporate functions.
• Integrate Team Lilly, Diversity & Inclusion, and GPS-wide improvement initiatives within the GPS Capabilities function.

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