Director, Global Forecasting COE Standards & Training

AbbVie•Mettawa, IL

About The Position

AbbVie’s Global Forecasting Center of Excellence (COE) sustains and advances the organization’s volume forecasting capabilities established under Finance Transformation Forecasting Excellence. The COE defines forecasting standards, governs best practices, oversees deployment of enabling technologies, executes centralized forecasting functions on behalf of the organization, and builds forecasting competencies across AbbVie’s US, International, and Allergan Aesthetics commercial organizations. Functional leadership of the COE is divided across two roles: Forecasting Standards & Training and Forecasting Operations & Insights. These roles partner closely to ensure that AbbVie forecasters are equipped with consistent, high-quality methodologies and receive the operational support needed to deliver forecasting excellence across the enterprise. The Director, Global Forecasting Standards & Training is accountable for defining how AbbVie forecasts—setting the strategic direction for forecasting methodology, best practices, and capability development—while leading a team that delivers training, documents and maintains forecasting standards, monitors adherence to standards, and maintains forecaster engagement across the organization.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in a quantitative field (Finance, Economics, Data Science, Engineering, Life Sciences, or related); advanced degree preferred.
10+ years of relevant experience in the pharmaceutical, biotech, or life sciences industries in quantitative or analytical roles.
10+ years of direct forecasting experience, including hands-on development and maintenance of forecasting models.
Demonstrated ability to set direction and drive adoption across a decentralized stakeholder community without formal authority; influence and credibility are crucial to drive impact in this role.
Deep familiarity with common pharmaceutical data sources (IQVIA TRx/NBRx, 852/867, patient flow, epidemiology) and their application in strategic decision-making.
Demonstrated experience designing and leading training or capability-building programs in a corporate or commercial setting.
Strong communication skills, including dynamic executive presence, analytical storytelling, excellent presentation development, and ability to adapt content for diverse audiences.
Proven ability to influence without direct authority across cross-functional and cross-cultural environments.
Strong stakeholder management skills, including the ability to constructively challenge business partners and forecasting leadership.

Nice To Haves

Experience developing or maintaining standards and governance frameworks within a center of excellence or comparable organizational structure.
Expertise in purpose-built forecasting tools (e.g., Forecast Horizon, ForecastPro, FlexiCast) and their role in enabling forecasting at scale.
Familiarity with data visualization or analytical tools (e.g., PowerBI, SQL, Tableau).
International or multi-geography forecasting experience across product lifecycle.

Responsibilities

Owns the vision and direction for AbbVie's Global Forecasting Standards—defining the frameworks, methodologies, and best practices that govern forecasting activity across all business units globally.
Leads the team in the ongoing development, documentation, and maintenance of AbbVie Global Forecasting Standards, ensuring they reflects current methodology guidance, evolving business needs, and external best practice.
Monitors forecasting practices across US, International, and Allergan Aesthetics organizations; identifies opportunities to drive standardization and determines where guidance or intervention is needed.
Maintains a network of internal and external resources to inform continuous improvement of AbbVie's standards, incorporating best-in-class practices from the broader industry.
Partners with functional forecasting leaders and Forecast Champions to ensure standards are grounded in the realities of local forecasting environments.
Sets the strategic direction for AbbVie's forecasting training curriculum, including defining scope, sequencing, and learning objectives.
Leads the team in designing, developing, and deploying training content across the forecasting community, encompassing: Onboarding programs for new forecasters. Methodology-focused modules covering topics such as trending, event modeling, patient flow, analog research, and other core forecasting techniques. Data literacy curricula covering common US and International pharmaceutical data sources including syndicated third-party sources (e.g. IQVIA TRx, NBRx, MIDAS), 852/867, patient flow/new patient starts, epidemiology (e.g. incidence/prevalence by indication, LoT, disease severity, biomarker), etc. Advanced and elective modules for experienced forecasters.
Facilitates access to external training programs and industry resources to complement the team's internal offerings.
Owns the COE's strategy for forecaster engagement—defining how the COE communicates, supports, and influences forecasters across the enterprise.
Leads the team in executing change management and adoption programs that support rollout of new standards, tools, and processes, partnering closely with AbbVie's internal Change Management function to align on approach and leverage enterprise resources and expertise.
Directs Forecaster Engagement Liaisons to ensure consistent application of standards and to surface adoption challenges requiring escalation or strategic response.
Leads Forecaster Engagement Liaisons in cultivating and managing the Forecast Champions network, enabling peer-to-peer reinforcement of COE standards and practices within local forecasting teams.
Establishes regular forums and communication cadences, delivered by the Liaisons, to keep forecasters informed of standards updates and training opportunities.
Serves as a subject matter authority on forecasting methodology, advising forecasters and finance leaders on how to address novel or complex forecasting challenges.
Provides guidance on analog research, event modeling, and scenario analysis approaches across therapeutic areas and geographies.
Provides guidance on cross-functional initiatives (e.g., launches, LOE planning, label changes) where forecasting methodology expertise is critical.
Leads a team responsible for the execution of training delivery, standards documentation, engagement programs, and change management initiatives across the enterprise forecasting community.
Owns prioritization and work planning for the team, ensuring resources are allocated against the highest-value activities and that individual workloads reflect both organizational needs and team members’ development goals.
Provides regular feedback, coaching, and career development support to direct reports.
Models AbbVie’s Ways of Working and fosters a team culture of intellectual curiosity, inclusivity, and continuous improvement.
Recommends and implements structural changes when needed to support the team’s mission as the COE evolves.