Director, Marketing Innovation

Job Description Summary

#LI-Hybrid

As Director, Marketing Innovation, you’ll turn bold marketing ideas into evidence that shapes what comes next. You’ll lead concepts from clearly defined problems through rapid experimentation and real-user testing, helping determine whether ideas should scale, evolve, or stop. You’ll bring together cross-functional partners across Brand, Medical, Legal, Data, technology, and agencies while applying strong technical and artificial intelligence judgment to areas such as generative artificial intelligence, personalization, content and workflow automation, and emerging customer experiences. Success in this role is about accelerating learning, making confident evidence-based decisions, and creating a clear path for the innovations with the greatest potential to move forward.

This position is based in East Hanover, NJ site and will not have the ability to be located remotely. This position will require up to 10% travel as defined by the business (domestic and/or international). Please note that this role would not provide relocation and only local candidates will be considered.

Job Description

Key Responsibilities

• Own a portfolio of innovation concepts, moving each from problem framing through evidence-based scale, pivot, retest, or stop decisions.
• Frame clear hypotheses, learning agendas, test designs, and success measures to generate meaningful evidence from real users.
• Lead cross-functional teams across Brand, Medical, Legal, Data, technology, Transformation, Product, and agency partners through influence.
• Build and test focused prototypes while establishing appropriate risk guardrails before live experimentation.
• Apply strong artificial intelligence and technical judgment to generative artificial intelligence, personalization, automation, and emerging customer experiences.
• Evaluate technical feasibility, scalability, costs, and maintenance considerations in partnership with technology and engineering teams.
• Translate customer, market, performance, and technology signals into well-framed innovation opportunities and testable concepts.
• Develop evidence-based recommendations and communicate findings clearly to senior stakeholders and decision‑making forums.
• Transition validated concepts to Transformation and Product with business cases, risk guardrails, technical plans, and user evidence.
• Strengthen experimentation capabilities by sharing learnings, improving methods and standards, and coaching cross‑functional team members.

Essential Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in business, marketing, computer science, engineering, design, a related discipline, or equivalent relevant experience; advanced degree preferred.
• 8+ years of progressive experience in product innovation, digital marketing, experimentation, or venture and incubation work.
• 3+ years personally leading early‑stage concepts, pilots, or test‑and‑learn programs through scale, pivot, or stop decisions.
• Experience working in pharmaceutical, healthcare, or another highly regulated environment with relevant governance and risk requirements.
• Strong technical and artificial intelligence expertise, with experience shaping prototypes and evaluating feasibility, scalability, cost, and maintenance.
• Demonstrated ability to design experiments, establish baselines, measure outcomes, and make clear, evidence‑based recommendations.
• Proven success leading cross‑functional teams through influence across marketing, medical, legal, technology, data, and agency partners.
• Strong understanding of pharmaceutical marketing, customer and patient journeys, content and channel operations, and agency ways of working.

Desirable Requirements

• Background in customer experience, behavioral or marketing science, with familiarity in prototyping and training in design thinking, lean start‑up, or similar methods.
• Prior people leadership experience and fluency in generative artificial intelligence, agentic solutions, and YAML.

Novartis Compensation Summary

The salary for this position is expected to range between $185,500 and $344,500 per year.

The final salary offered is determined based on factors like, but not limited to, relevant skills and experience, and upon joining Novartis will be reviewed periodically. Novartis may change the published salary range based on company and market factors.

Your compensation will include a performance‑based cash incentive and, depending on the level of the role, eligibility to be considered for annual equity awards.

US‑based eligible employees will receive a comprehensive benefits package that includes health, life and disability benefits, a 401(k) with company contribution and match, and a variety of other benefits. In addition, employees are eligible for a generous time off package including vacation, personal days, holidays and other leaves.

EEO Statement

The Novartis Group of Companies are Equal Opportunity Employers. We do not discriminate in recruitment, hiring, training, promotion or other employment practices for reasons of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital or veteran status, disability, or any other legally protected status.

Accessibility and reasonable accommodations

The Novartis Group of Companies are committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodation to individuals with disabilities. If, because of a medical condition or disability, you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application process, or to perform the essential functions of a position, please send an e‑mail to View email address on click.appcast.io or call View phone number on click.appcast.io and let us know the nature of your request and your contact information. Please include the job requisition number in your message.

Salary Range

$185,500.00 - $344,500.00

Skills Desired

• Agility (Inactive)
• Brand Awareness
• Cross-Functional Collaboration
• Customer Engagement
• Customer Experience (CX)
• Customer Insights
• Data Strategies
• Digital Marketing
• Go-to-Market Strategies
• Influencing Skills
• Inspirational Leadership
• Marketing Strategies
• Media Campaigns
• People Management
• Product Marketing
• Product Roadmap
• Return on Investment (ROI)
• Stakeholder Engagement
• Stakeholder Management