VIE - R&D, Strategy & Operations Manager

Ipsen•Boston, MA

About The Position

Ipsen is a mid-sized global biopharmaceutical company with a focus on transformative medicines in three therapeutic areas: Oncology, Rare Disease and Neuroscience. Supported by nearly 100 years of development experience, with global hubs in the U.S., France and the U.K, we tackle areas of high unmet medical need through research and innovation. Our passionate teams in more than 40 countries are focused on what matters and endeavor every day to bring medicines to patients in 88 countries. We build a workplace that champions human-centric leadership and fosters a culture of collaboration, excellence and impact. At Ipsen, every individual is empowered to be their true selves, grow and thrive alongside the company’s success. Join us on our journey towards sustainable growth, creating real impact on patients and society! V.I.E (Volontariat International en Entreprise) is a program run by Business France, the French government agency. It allows young professionals from the European Economic Area to work for a French company outside of France for a limited period. Participants are not Ipsen employees but have a special V.I.E status. To take part in the program, there are specific eligibility criteria that must be met and will be verified by Business France. Those who do not meet the eligibility criteria cannot be part of this program but can apply to other opportunities within Ipsen. The Strategy and Operations department is responsible for driving the overall strategic direction and operational excellence of the Early Development (ED) and the Research & External Innovation (R&EI) departments. In this role, the Strategy & Operations Manager will report directly into the ED, R&EI Strategy & Operations Head/Chief of Staff and will play a key role to foster effective communication and coordination across the two departments, and to support with the effective implementation of both teams’ goals and objectives. The deliverables of the ED and R&EI Strategy and Operations department will have five main areas of focus, including (1) strategic collaboration to strengthen collaboration between two departments, (2) operational efficiency to identify areas for improvement within each department, (3) drive cross-functional initiatives to implement special projects in partnership with other core functions within Ipsen (e.g. Global Partnering, Legal, Finance, R&D TAs), (4) optimize resource management (including budgets) to ensure maintenance and development of high performing team, and (5) communication enhancement to build clear communication strategies to promote cooperation and shared understanding of goals. In this role, the selected candidate will be accountable for supporting the ED and R&EI Strategy & Operations Head/Chief in those deliverables, and for driving some specific projects more autonomously, such as: Lead several projects and initiatives to pursue the ED, R&EI department transformation. Strengthen operational processes, proactively collaborating with the cross-functional teams involved (i.e., R&D, Legal, Value & Access, Finance, HR, and Business Operations). Be a cross-functional team partner, to capture areas for improvement in both teams and provide clear recommendations for improvement to the ED and R&EI Strategy & Operations Head/Chief.

Requirements

Master, MBA, or PhD in sciences and/or business preferred.
Minimum 3 years’ experience in matrix and global environments.
The ability to understand, simplify and synthesize complex situations is a must.
Leadership, influence, and adaptation are a must.
Strong problem-solving mindset.
Good planning, analytical, time management and organizational skills.
Autonomy, self-motivation, and drive.
Excellent communication and presentation skills, including to Senior Leaders.
Ability to propose constructive ideas to Senior Leaders.
English is required.
French is an advantage.

Nice To Haves

Strategic Consulting, Internal Audit and/or Pharmaceutical Industry experience is a strong plus.
Good understanding of pharmaceutical R&D/Innovation is highly appreciated.

Responsibilities

Build trust with all stakeholders, demonstrate strong listening and critical analysis abilities.
Be capable of driving change, demonstrating empathy but also conviction, energy and influencing skills.
Support or lead several projects and initiatives to pursue the ED, R&EI departments transformation, while being a reliable cross-functional team partner: Pipeline monitoring projects, working cross-functionally to ensure milestone delivery.
Process improvement and deliverables tracking, highlighting the risks to timeline execution.
Communications for the EVP, Head of R&D as needed.
Key internal and external meetings, including offsites.
Assist and/or lead special projects (e.g. Global and cross-functional), as needed, including IND-excellence.
Overall communication and change management across ED & R&EI to ensure appropriate timing and delivery of department efforts, including new asset integrations and scientific advances.
Promotion of key initiatives, while partnering with support functions (HR, R&D communications, etc.) to support these efforts.
For key team meetings, support with the preparation of the agendas and timely delivery of minutes.
Monitor action plans implementation.
Develop best practices to share success and key scientific contributions within the two departments.
When necessary, liaise with R&D communications team for internal and external communications.