Head of Digital Portfolio Management & Operations, Global Digital & Data Analytics

Roche•South San Francisco, CA

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Head of Digital Portfolio Management & Operations is responsible for establishing and leading the portfolio and investment management function within the Global Data, Digital & AI (GDDA) organization. This role operationalizes GDDA strategy, standards, and product operating model by embedding them into portfolio governance, funding processes, and business rhythms. The position manages prioritization and funding for the full lifecycle of GDDA initiatives, from demand intake and investment approval to delivery oversight and value realization. The goal is to ensure digital, data, and AI investments align with strategic priorities and deliver measurable business value. This role also drives operational discipline by tracking portfolio performance, risk, and value realization, with outcome metrics embedded from the start. The Head collaborates with GDDA leadership, Finance, and senior business stakeholders to translate strategic priorities into clear portfolio decisions, initiative sequencing, and disciplined oversight. Over time, this role will build and lead a portfolio management and operations team focused on portfolio analytics, value realization measurement, and coordination.

Requirements

12+ years of experience in portfolio management, investment leadership, digital program management, or strategy/finance roles within a large, complex organization (experience in pharma, life sciences, technology, or other digital-intensive industries).
6+ years leading, coaching or mentoring talent.
Strong financial acumen, with the ability to build business cases, defend investment proposals, and engage effectively with Finance and senior leadership stakeholders.
Experience designing and operating portfolio management frameworks (e.g., stage-gate processes, portfolio reviews, prioritization models) within matrixed organizations.
Comfortable navigating political complexity and stakeholder dynamics across multiple business units and geographies.
Proven ability to manage competing stakeholder priorities and make clear trade-off recommendations in complex organizational settings.
Understanding of digital, data, and AI investment dynamics, including trade-offs between build vs. buy decisions, platform vs. point-solution investments, and pilot vs. scale economics.
Demonstrated people leadership experience, or clear readiness to build and lead a small team as the portfolio function scales.

Nice To Haves

Advanced degree (MBA or equivalent) or equivalent experience in a finance or portfolio management context.
Prior experience in a data/digital – organization finance/portfolio role at a pharma or large-scale tech company.

Responsibilities

Apply and reinforce GDDA strategy, standards, and global/local operating model guidance through portfolio planning, prioritization, and roadmapping processes.
Set and manage product operations systems, processes, and enablers according to the global digital operating model.
Ensure global vs. local decisions are consistently reflected in portfolio and product roadmaps, providing clarity on what is standardized vs. localized.
Own and operate the roadmapping process, including defining templates and governance to steward functional digital priorities into structured product and platform roadmaps.
Operationalize a single GDDA portfolio prioritization management process including integrated intake criteria, evaluation methodology, sequencing logic, and stage-gate ownership for digital, data, and AI initiatives.
Maintain and oversee a consolidated, cross-portfolio roadmap view in partnership with Roche Digital Technologies (RDT), providing an integrated perspective across products, platforms, and services.
Establish and run regular portfolio review forums to assess progress against milestones, track value realization, manage trade-offs, and drive strategic decisions.
Own the annual and rolling GDDA investment process in partnership with Finance and RDT, including development of the overall investment case and funding model evolution.
Drive allocation of capital and resources across strategic priorities, ensuring funding decisions align with portfolio priorities and expected value.
Ensure clear linkage between prioritization decisions, funding allocation, and delivery commitments across the portfolio.
Monitor adherence to allocated capital and approved business cases, surfacing risks related to overspend, misallocation, or unapproved initiatives.
Define a unified value measurement framework, ensuring clear articulation of ROI, adoption, and business outcomes for digital, data, and AI initiatives.
Ensure value metrics and adoption targets are embedded at the investment stage and tracked end-to-end throughout the initiative lifecycle.
Establish portfolio-level performance tracking, including adoption, usage, and realized business outcomes, with clear visibility for GDDA leadership.
Oversee post-launch value assessments and portfolio-level adoption tracking, surfacing recommendations to scale, iterate, or sunset initiatives based on realized outcomes.
Serve as GDDA's primary interface with Finance, RDT, and business functions on portfolio investment, funding decisions, and resource allocation.
Surface cross-portfolio risks, dependencies, and capacity constraints to enable proactive resolution and informed prioritization.
Partner with GDDA leadership to ensure strategic priorities flow cleanly into portfolio decisions and across the digital program and product portfolio.
Build, develop, and lead a portfolio management team, scaling capabilities as the organization evolves.