Associate Director, GRA Organizational Change Management

Takeda

21h • Remote

About The Position

At Takeda, we are a forward-looking, world-class R&D organization that unlocks innovation and delivers transformative therapies to patients. By focusing R&D efforts on four therapeutic areas and other targeted investments, we push the boundaries of what is possible in order to bring life-changing therapies to patients worldwide. The Associate Director of Organizational Change Management (OCM) supports transformation across Global Regulatory Affairs (GRA) by shaping, planning, and executing day‑to‑day organizational change strategies based on established OCM practices. Reporting to the Senior Director of OCM, Training, and Knowledge Management, the role leads core OCM activities—including stakeholder engagement, communication planning, change readiness, and training—to enable successful process and cultural shifts for Global Regulatory Affairs. Partnering closely with the leaders in GRO, broader GRA, and R&D functions including the R&D Change Coalition, the Associate Director develops and executes OCM plans and key deliverables such as awareness sessions, hypercare support, and targeted training. The role applies standardized OCM methodologies to strengthen operational excellence, drive adoption of new ways of working, and ensure clear, aligned, and collaborative change execution across the organization.

Requirements

• Bachelor Degree in Life Sciences, Business or related Field, advanced degree a plus
• 8+ years project experience in Healthcare/Pharmaceutical or related industry
• 3+ years client-facing and internal and/or external communication experience
• 2+ years working with communication effectiveness analysis tools
• Storytelling and Communication: Capable of crafting clear narratives to convey project value and outcomes.
• Considerable knowledge of change management & dealing with complex and dynamic business environments, including integration projects
• Working knowledge of turning business needs into compelling communications
• Solid organizational skills including attention to detail and multitasking skills
• Strong working knowledge of Microsoft Office including SharePoint and Teams
• Ability to build trust and collaboration across functions
• Adaptability & Resilience: Demonstrated ability to navigate evolving priorities, resource constraints, and organizational transitions
• Excellent English verbal and written communication skills, fluency in another language beneficial

Nice To Haves

• Good working knowledge of Global Regulatory Affairs and overall R&D functions
• Awareness/understanding of regulatory processes, operations and standards in pharmaceutical development

Responsibilities

• Lead and oversee Change Management Workstream activities - planning, coordination and implementation of communications and engagement projects, campaigns and programs for a wide range of internal/external audiences
• Assist in the definition of workstream scope and objectives with regards change and communication, involving all relevant stakeholders and ensuring relevant and timely engagement
• Strong ability to recognize and consider interdependencies of change and communications planning in a dynamically complex business, translate to engagement solutions, communicate at all levels
• Coordinate cross-functional teams to align on learning objectives and the execution to stakeholders
• Translate business needs into operational excellence communications, creates an optimized awareness of ‘this mean that’ to intended audience / community
• Develop and oversee the creation of well written, detailed communication plans, with appropriate metrics for monitoring effectiveness and user feedback loop
• Manage diverse internal stakeholders and engage with external vendors, representing the needs of the business and those of the team/s and our internal partners
• Create and deliver clear and professional presentations with appropriate messaging and focused recommendations.
• Work in a fast-paced environment with demonstrated ability to delegate & juggle multiple competing tasks and demands, often with a degree of ambiguity.
• Lead and participate in curating and implementing innovative ways to communicate with stakeholders to improve visibility of team and associated initiatives
• Influence others at all levels & work collaboratively across different stakeholders
• Take initiative and coordinate resources to drive tasks to deadlines
• Develop and maintain influencing forums, work closely to build and enhance awareness of function and initiatives and scope.

Benefits

• U.S. based employees may be eligible to participate in medical, dental, vision insurance, a 401(k) plan and company match, short-term and long-term disability coverage, basic life insurance, a tuition reimbursement program, paid volunteer time off, company holidays, and well-being benefits, among others.
• U.S. based employees are also eligible to receive, per calendar year, up to 80 hours of sick time, and new hires are eligible to accrue up to 120 hours of paid vacation.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Number of Employees: 5,001-10,000 employees