Regional Operations Head, Senior Director - Hybrid

MSD•Rahway, NJ

4d•$173,200 - $272,600•Hybrid

About The Position

The Regional Operations Head (ROH) acts as Chief of Staff to the Regional Head, GCTO Region (RRD), providing end-to-end business and portfolio oversight to ensure performance, quality, and compliance across regional programs and protocols. The ROH plays a critical role in supporting strategy development with the RRD and regional leadership team to drive high performance aligned with strategic and operational goals. The individual must have the following core competencies in operational excellence: Driven, Strategic Thinking & Business Acumen, Change Champion, and Proficient in AI Fluency, and Data Analytics.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in life science discipline.
Minimum 10 years of experience in clinical operations, preferably within a Sponsor environment, managing studies in different therapeutic areas, phases, from study initiation through completion.
Understanding of inspection readiness.
Strong leadership skills to align teams with the goals and mission of our Research & Development Division Global Clinical Development (GCD), and GCTO.
Demonstrated success in building and maintaining networks.
Ability to communicate effectively with stakeholders, to work independently as well as strong business and financial acumen.
Willingness to take accountability for actions and to drive results within region.
Comprehensive understanding of ICH GCP guidelines and global, regional, and local regulatory requirements.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English, with the ability to communicate effectively and professionally at all levels.

Nice To Haves

Advanced graduate degree (e.g., Master’s in life sciences, or PhD, PharmD); Business and Financial Management (e.g., MBA) advantage.
AI Certification
Proficiency in local languages is advantageous but not mandatory.

Responsibilities

Support the RRD and GCTO Region by facilitating cross-functional meetings to align teams on project goals, timelines, and deliverables.
Prepare dashboards, status reports, and materials to communicate progress, risks, and issues to leadership.
Act as liaison between RRD, Clinical Research Directors (CRDs), regional teams, and key stakeholders including our Research & Development Division and Human Health (HH) to clarify priorities, resolve conflicts, and ensure alignment on critical GCTO issues.
Track key milestones, dependencies, and resource gaps, proactively identifying risks and driving follow-up actions to ensure accountability and timely execution.
Develop and manage the regional project portfolio, tracking realization goals and using data to analyze and propose mitigation strategies.
Identify inefficiencies and propose process improvements to enhance operational effectiveness.
Oversee regional clinical trial allocation, coordinating allocation proposals and engaging stakeholders across functions to build a comprehensive knowledge base at capability, therapeutic area, scientific, and strategic levels.
Collaborate with GCTO regional/country leadership, and other key stakeholders in region to develop and align clinical research strategies with long-term regional and corporate objectives.
Partner with regional support roles to define, track, and align performance metrics and quality standards in project management operations.
Work closely with the Regional Operations Support Lead (ROSL) to understand capacity needs and integrate them into country allocation discussions.
Provide guidance to project management teams on developing and implementing regional processes and tools.
Lead regional issue escalation and conduct trend analysis to identify operational challenges across studies and therapeutic areas.
Facilitate resolution and action plans in coordination with HQ, CRDs, and delegates, serving as a sentinel for operational risks.
Foster cultural diversity awareness and address cross-country business needs in regional interactions.
Contribute to defining and executing regional priorities to ensure successful delivery across countries.
Provide deep insights into operational strategy, functional areas, and networks that enable effective execution.
Share best practices, seek improvement opportunities, and drive alignment across GCTO.
Lead and manage the regional team, including the Regional Operations Lead (ROL), Regional Operations Support Lead (ROSL), and Regional Operations Analyst (ROA).