Associate Director, Obesity Strategic Management, Chief of Staff

AbbVie•North Chicago, IL

14h

About The Position

AbbVie has the opportunity to make a meaningful difference in the quickly evolving area of obesity, with the introduction of this new Therapeutic Area to the portfolio. The Associate Director, Obesity Strategic Management will be the Chief of Staff (CoS) to the VP, Obesity Discovery Research and ABA Site Head. The Chief of Staff will support the VP of Obesity Discovery Research in creating a new and Obesity Discovery Research organization, initially focused on enabling research through CROs and external collaborations with small internal research capabilities. The area will be grounded with a strong culture that will increase AbbVie chances of success. This role serves as a strategic partner, responsible for optimizing operational activities, developing, and implementing strategic initiatives, driving alignment with Discovery Research business priorities, and ensuring follow through across the organization. The CoS will provide additional enterprise support by looking across the VP's diverse areas of responsibility (Obesity Discovery Research/AbbVie Bay Area Site Head/Head of Venture Partners) to support efficiencies. Acting as a trusted advisor to the VP, the CoS provides candid feedback, strategic counsel, and enables decision making. The individual is detailed oriented and operationally savvy, adept at cross functional communication and synthesizing diverse inputs to drive alignment and organizational success in complex situations. Success in this role requires strong organizational and political acumen, excellent interpersonal, collaborative skills, and broad strategic thinking.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in physical science (Advanced degree preferred) and a minimum of 15 years of working in the pharmaceutical industry in a variety of leadership roles associated with research and development, program, business, and department management, including experience implementing large-scale change or business transformation.
Research & Development experience in Neuroscience and Obesity Therapeutic Areas preferred.
Demonstrated success in leading complex global processes or initiatives.
Recognized leader in standard business procedures including project management practices, portfolio review, finance, and budgeting.
Excellent business and financial aptitude, very analytical and uses data to drive the business.
Operations experience with large budgets.
Demonstrated ability to operate with a high degree of autonomy.
Excellent collaborator with high EQ – easily builds relationships and gains cross functional alignment.
Key leadership attributes: Excellence Interpersonal skills.
Ability to positively interact with Discovery Research team as well as senior R&D and AbbVie leadership representing Obesity Discovery Research
Ability to manage multiple high priority projects simultaneously and prioritize to meet key deadlines
Recognized team player with proven facilitative leadership skills in a cross-functional global team environment.
Proven performance in a matrix environment with ability to influence and align stakeholders
Ability to develop, assess, and advance multiple solution pathways, including determining when issues require escalation for resolution or intervention
Strong executive presence, maturity, discretion, independent, self-motivated and willing to take decisions on behalf of the VP
Strong analytical skills.
Ability to evaluate complex issues from multiple perspectives to ensure that balanced risk assessments are made
Creates a learning environment, open to suggestions and experimentation for improvement
Excellent oral and written communication skills, including the ability to distill complex analyses and recommendations into clear, concise materials for executive level audiences.

Nice To Haves

Advanced degree preferred
Research & Development experience in Neuroscience and Obesity Therapeutic Areas preferred.

Responsibilities

Directly supports the VP, with development, communication, execution, and management of strategic initiatives as well as ensuring operational excellence across the organization.
Serves as a core member and core strategic thought partner of the Obesity Discovery Senior Leadership Team, setting agendas, facilitating, and influencing both short- and long-term strategies.
Delivers results by aligning strategy and operations, building relationships, facilitating collaboration, and driving the execution of key initiatives to support exceptional departmental performance.
Facilitates collaboration across functions and sites, synthesizes diverse inputs, and monitors progress on cross functional projects, including establishing and driving culture.
Liaison with other departments and functions within AbbVie to foster strategic partnerships, opportunity identification and realization, and issue resolution.
Manages organizational change and transformation, optimizing effectiveness to deliver on strategic goals.
Maximizes opportunities to capture institutional knowledge, highlight best practice, and share learnings across sites and teams.
Maintains and optimizes the area’s business strategy through strong collaboration with Finance, Business Management, and Discovery Leadership.
Responsible for framing complex issues, delivering management presentations, and leveraging operational knowledge to drive organizational improvement.
Responsible for department communications including strategic messages, annual communications and forum planning, material development, and facilitation/delivery.
Coordinates and monitors department business management routines including performance metrics, operating reviews, and management reviews.