Associate Director, Operational Excellence (US Commercial Business Technology Solutions)

AbbVie • Mettawa, IL

12h

About The Position

AbbVie's mission is to discover and deliver innovative medicines and solutions that solve serious health issues today and address the medical challenges of tomorrow. We strive to have a remarkable impact on people's lives across several key therapeutic areas – immunology, oncology, neuroscience, and eye care – and products and services in our Allergan Aesthetics portfolio. For more information about AbbVie, please visit us at www.abbvie.com . Follow @abbvie on X , Facebook , Instagram , YouTube , LinkedIn and Tik Tok . The Process Excellence Lead enables the execution of senior leadership’s strategic priorities by translating direction into coordinated plans, disciplined governance, and measurable outcomes across the technology organization. The role drives process excellence, operational rigor, and cross-functional alignment by standardizing ways of working, strengthening execution models, and continuously improving core planning, financial, and delivery processes. Acting as a central connector across teams and stakeholders, the role removes execution barriers, reinforces accountability, and accelerates sustained progress against enterprise and organizational goals. This position demands a comprehensive understanding of financial principles, superior organizational abilities, and the capability to collaborate effectively with cross-functional teams to ensure robust budget management, optimal resource allocation, and operational efficiency. The successful candidate will be responsible for cultivating and maintaining executive-level, cross-functional partnerships to drive change, align priorities, and coordinate teams to achieve and implement strategic objectives. Ideal candidates will be self-motivated, intellectually curious, and driven to challenge the status quo while actively engaging in hands-on execution to deliver results. The role requires the ability to navigate between high-level strategic initiatives and detailed operational tactics across a diverse stakeholder base. The individual must possess the ability to influence and align outcomes without direct authority, and demonstrate a strong executive presence.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s Degree or an equivalent combination of education and work experience, including 9+ years of work experience involving business analysis, project management, portfolio management, strategic planning, and 2+ years of experience managing or coaching employees.
• Exceptional communication and interpersonal skills, with proven ability to building trust, listen, and ask effective questions. Able to give context while influencing without authority and managing expectations/demands.
• Innovative thinking and the ability to leverage past experience to be successful in an entrepreneurial environment.
• Demonstrated interest in technology trends and application of technology to improve end user’s experience.
• Proven track record of effective project leadership and positive results.
• Ability to self-manage time and priorities.
• Experience in analyzing financial data and preparing financial reports.
• Familiarity with procurement processes and procedures.
• Experience negotiating with IT suppliers and vendor & agencies.
• Understanding of internal controls and governance standards.
• Excellent attention to detail and organizational skills.
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively within a team environment.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite or other tools.
• Interest in technology trends and application of technology to improve end user’s experience.
• Proven track record of effective project leadership and positive results.
• Keeps calm and executes while self-managing time and priorities.
• Demonstrated competency in strategic thinking, leadership, and ability to influence executives.
• Past experience managing and overseeing a department budget of >$5MM
• Proactive – thinks, acts, and communicates in advance.
• Working knowledge of IT pricing and contracting practices.
• Understands and can communicate the pharmaceutical market, including role of providers, patients, payers, distributors and policy makers.

Nice To Haves

• Preference for Bachelor's Degree with 9 years’ experience; Master's Degree with 8 years’ experience; PhD with 4 years’ experience.

Responsibilities

• Strategic Planning and Execution: Assist in the development and implementation of strategic plans and initiatives. Monitor progress of organizational goals and provide regular updates to the executive team. Support and enable the driving of BComFi Strategic Priorities working with key stakeholders to advance us in the following areas (not exhaustive): NextGen CRM and End to End Programs Web Development Strategy DevOps implementation Architecture & Technology Orchestration Operational excellence Integration Modernization Commercial Finance Transformation BT&I evolution and go-to-market model Other key enterprise programs or strategic initiatives.
• Operational Management: Design, define and implement a revised Governance framework across BComFi to reorientate the organization to cross-functional collaboration. Identify and resolve issues that hinder organizational progress. Oversee organizational wide operational KPIs and processes to ensure visibility and preparedness. This includes, but is not exhaustive: Disaster and crisis management champion and coordinator Aggregated Risk and Compliance Management Demand Intake and Capacity Management Service Metrics and Operational Hygiene Factors Solutions Catalog, Capabilities Map and STAR evolution Other initiatives as requested.
• Portfolio Insights and Optimization: Work with the PMO team to derive insights and strategic plans related to optimizing our portfolio. Coordinate cross-functional teams to deliver key projects on time and within budget. Drive visibility and insights about our Application portfolio including roadmaps, sunsetting and decommissioning status (Application rationalization and Total Cost of Ownership) Vendor & Contract Management including Vendor assessment, rationalization, driving consistent business reviews and insight derivation. Evaluation of contracts, evaluation, rationalization and cost saving opportunities.
• Financial performance: Own end-to-end financial performance accountability across the organization. Partner with BTS Finance, cost center owners, team leaders, financial and portfolio managers to set targets, manage budgets, and oversee forecasts (LBs). Drive financial governance, investment prioritization, and trade-off decisions aligned to enterprise strategy. Enable transparent, data-driven decision-making through consistent financial reporting and performance reviews. Identify and proactively manage financial risks and optimization opportunities. Coordinate and align financial priorities with global stakeholders and peer Business Technology Organizations (BTOs).
• Communication and Liaison: Serve as a trusted advisor and confidante to the VP and leadership team, ensuring effective communication and coordination among various departments. Harmonize stakeholder communications across BComFi. Establish a consistent and comprehensive communication model to share our projects and portfolios across the business stakeholders. Foster and facilitate departmental reviews, town halls, cultural and social activities Work with organizational leaders to establish a process for communicating successes across BComFi in a consistent manner.
• Leadership, Culture and Team Development: Mentor and develop internal leaders to foster a high-performance culture. Support recruitment, onboarding, and development of senior staff members. Design and drive action plans derived from Employee surveys and organizational insights in collaboration with the BComFi Leadership team, cultural committees and champions.

Benefits

• We offer a comprehensive package of benefits including paid time off (vacation, holidays, sick), medical/dental/vision insurance and 401(k) to eligible employees.
• This job is eligible to participate in our short-term incentive programs.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level