Sr Director, Security

Gilead Sciences • Foster City, CA

8d • $226,185 - $292,710

About The Position

At Gilead, we’re creating a healthier world for all people. For more than 35 years, we’ve tackled diseases such as HIV, viral hepatitis, COVID-19 and cancer – working relentlessly to develop therapies that help improve lives and to ensure access to these therapies across the globe. We continue to fight against the world’s biggest health challenges, and our mission requires collaboration, determination and a relentless drive to make a difference. Every member of Gilead’s team plays a critical role in the discovery and development of life-changing scientific innovations. Our employees are our greatest asset as we work to achieve our bold ambitions, and we’re looking for the next wave of passionate and ambitious people ready to make a direct impact. We believe every employee deserves a great leader. People Leaders are the cornerstone to the employee experience at Gilead and Kite. As a people leader now or in the future, you are the key driver in evolving our culture and creating an environment where every employee feels included, developed and empowered to fulfil their aspirations. Join Gilead and help create possible, together. Job Description The Senior Director, Corporate Security is responsible for defining, leading, and continuously evolving Gilead’s global corporate security strategy, operating model, and performance outcomes. This role owns the delivery of security operations across a complex, highly regulated global footprint, ensuring the protection of employees, facilities, physical assets, and critical business operations. Reporting to the Vice President, Corporate Operations within the CFO organization, this role serves as both a strategic advisor and operational leader, providing executive‑level guidance during routine operations, periods of transformation, and high‑consequence crisis events. The role leads a globally distributed team and oversees integration of security capabilities across physical, technical, investigative, intelligence, and operational domains. The Senior Director will partner closely with Legal, IT, HR, Facilities, Compliance, Manufacturing, R&D, Finance, and executive leadership to align security strategies with enterprise objectives, regulatory expectations, employee safety, and business continuity requirements. In addition, the role will drive the modernization of the corporate security program through technology enablement, intelligence‑led approaches, data‑driven decision‑making, and continuous improvement, ensuring the function scales to meet evolving risk and business needs.

Requirements

• Bachelor's Degree and Fourteen Years’ Experience; OR Masters' Degree and Twelve Years’ Experience; OR PhD and Twelve Years’ Experience
• Bachelor’s degree with 14+ years of progressive experience in corporate, government, military, or law enforcement security roles, with significant leadership responsibility; Master’s degree preferred.
• Demonstrated success leading enterprise‑scale security operations globally, with accountability for risk outcomes, operational performance, and global consistency.
• Experience providing executive‑level counsel and decision support during crises, major incidents, and sensitive investigations in high‑pressure, ambiguous environments.
• Experience modernizing security programs through technology enablement, intelligence‑led approaches, data‑driven decision making, and continuous improvement.
• Demonstrated financial acumen, including management of significant global budgets and third‑party security providers at scale.
• Strong executive communication skills with the ability to influence senior leaders and convey risk insights with clarity and impact.
• Proven ability to build, lead, and develop high‑performing global teams, including coaching senior leaders and driving organizational transformation.
• Willingness to travel internationally as required.
• Create Inclusion - knowing the business value of diverse teams, modeling inclusion, and embedding the value of diversity in the way they manage their teams.
• Develop Talent - understand the skills, experience, aspirations and potential of their employees and coach them on current performance and future potential. They ensure employees are receiving the feedback and insight needed to grow, develop and realize their purpose.
• Empower Teams - connect the team to the organization by aligning goals, purpose, and organizational objectives, and holding them to account. They provide the support needed to remove barriers and connect their team to the broader ecosystem.

Responsibilities

• Global Corporate Security Leadership & Operations Own global delivery of corporate security operations globally, providing strategic direction and operational oversight to protect employees, facilities, physical assets, and business continuity. Ensure consistent global standards, governance, and operational execution, while addressing regional risk, regulatory, and business requirements. Integrate physical, technical, investigative, intelligence, and operational security capabilities to anticipate emerging threats and drive proactive, enterprise‑wide risk mitigation. Develop measurable performance metrics, conduct regular risk assessments, and lead continuous operational improvement initiatives.
• Organizational Development Build and sustain a high‑performing global security organization focused on accountability, capability building, and continuous development. Lead organizational design, talent planning, and change management efforts to ensure the security organization evolves in alignment with corporate growth, transformation initiatives, and an evolving risk landscape.
• Crisis Leadership & Executive Decision‑Making Serve as a trusted advisor to executive leadership during high‑pressure, time‑critical situations such as major incidents, crises, and high‑consequence security events Own global emergency preparedness, crisis management, and incident response programs, including coordination with executive stakeholders, GSOC and intelligence capabilities, and external agencies such as law enforcement and regulators. Deliver clear, timely, and actionable risk assessments and recommendations to enable informed executive decision‑making and ensure continuity of enterprise operations.
• Leadership and Collaboration Influence senior leaders across Legal, IT, HR, Compliance, Facilities, Manufacturing, R&D, and Finance to embed security considerations into enterprise programs while aligning with business objectives. Own global vendor strategy, third‑party security provider governance, and contract management to deliver scalable, cost‑effective, and high‑quality security services. Maintain strong partnerships with external stakeholders, including law enforcement, intelligence networks, and regulatory bodies, to support investigations, incident response, and regulatory engagement.

Benefits

• This position may also be eligible for a discretionary annual bonus, discretionary stock-based long-term incentives (eligibility may vary based on role), paid time off, and a benefits package.
• Benefits include company-sponsored medical, dental, vision, and life insurance plans.
• For additional benefits information, visit: https://www.gilead.com/careers/compensation-benefits-and-wellbeing
• Eligible employees may participate in benefit plans, subject to the terms and conditions of the applicable plans.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director
• Number of Employees: 5,001-10,000 employees