Senior Director, Business Operations

AbbVie•North Chicago, IL

2d•$206,500 - $393,000•Onsite

About The Position

Serve as the senior strategic and operational partner to the VP of Development Sciences, enabling the Development Sciences Leadership Team to translate strategy into disciplined execution, effective governance, sound resource stewardship, and a high-performing, inclusive organization. The role leads business operations and chief-of-staff activities across the global function.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in a scientific, business, operational, or related discipline.
15+ years of progressively responsible experience in business operations, chief-of-staff, strategic planning, finance/resource management, or organizational leadership roles within pharmaceutical, biotechnology, or R&D environments.
Strong strategic thinking, operational execution, financial acumen, governance discipline, and ability to synthesize complex information into clear recommendations.
Proven experience in change management, process improvement, and building productive, inclusive leadership-team and organizational cultures.
Excellent written, verbal, facilitation, and executive communication skills, with sound judgment and high discretion.
Demonstrated commitment to ethical conduct, quality, compliance, and respectful collaboration.

Nice To Haves

Advanced degree in a relevant scientific, business, or management discipline.
Experience supporting a senior R&D, Development Sciences, or pharmaceutical functional executive as a chief of staff or business operations leader.
Working knowledge of drug development, regulated environments, portfolio governance, and external partner management.

Responsibilities

Advise the VP and Leadership Team on priorities, trade-offs, decisions, and follow-through; convert strategic objectives into integrated operating plans, milestones, risks, and performance indicators.
Shape clear, timely, audience-appropriate communications for leadership forums, organization-wide updates, executive materials, and key external interactions; ensure consistent strategic narrative and message discipline.
Design and facilitate effective leadership-team rhythms, agendas, decision forums, and off-sites; strengthen accountability, inclusion, collaboration, and an environment in which teams can perform at their best.
Lead internal and external financial planning, rolling forecasts, investment tracking, vendor/resource oversight, and scenario analysis; provide transparent insights that support responsible resource allocation and delivery.
Establish and maintain fit-for-purpose governance, controls, policies, decision records, and inspection-ready business processes; partner with relevant functions to identify, escalate, and mitigate operational and compliance risks.
Lead continuous-improvement initiatives that simplify processes, improve operating discipline, enhance data quality, and strengthen organizational capability across Development Sciences.
Build trusted partnerships across R&D, Finance, Procurement, Quality, Legal, HR, Communications, and other global functions to remove barriers, align dependencies, and advance shared outcomes.
Provide core business-operations leadership for the Ludwigshafen site, including site planning, operating rhythms, issue resolution, and local engagement, in close partnership with local site leadership and global partners.
Maintain a concise view of organizational performance, capacity, risks, decisions, and commitments; deliver actionable reporting and recommendations to the VP and Leadership Team.