Director I, R&D Digital & Data Strategy

AbbVie's mission is to discover and deliver innovative medicines and solutions that solve serious health issues today and address the medical challenges of tomorrow. We strive to have a remarkable impact on people's lives across several key therapeutic areas – immunology, oncology, neuroscience, and eye care – and products and services in our Allergan Aesthetics portfolio. For more information about AbbVie, please visit us at www.abbvie.com. Follow @abbvie on X, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn and Tik Tok.

The Director will serve as a strategic leader within AbbVie’s Convergence initiative, with a primary focus

on advancing integrated data and AI/ML strategies to support Value & Evidence (V&E) stakeholders—

including HEOR, Epidemiology, RWE, and Health Impact functions. Reporting to the Director II, R&D

Data and AI Strategy for Medical Affairs + Health Impact, this role will drive the identification, design,

and execution of high-impact use cases that generate timely, actionable insights across the evidence

lifecycle. As a key member of the R&D Convergence Core Team, the Director will represent functional

or therapeutic area perspectives in cross-functional R&D forums and decision-making bodies. They will

collaborate closely with scientists, clinicians, and data scientists across R&D to lead projects involving

the aggregation and analysis of large, diverse datasets. These efforts will uncover key trends, inform

scientific and strategic decisions, and ultimately deliver measurable value to AbbVie’s pipeline and

enterprise R&D priorities. The Director will ensure that all initiatives align with the broader

Convergence data integration framework while driving meaningful return on investment for their

functional or therapeutic area.

Responsibilities:

1. Strategic Leadership & Alignment

· Shape and execute Convergence strategies that integrate RWE, clinical trial data, and advanced

analytics to address Value & Evidence (V&E) priorities, including evidence generation, value

demonstration, and stakeholder engagement.

· Translate functional/therapeutic area needs into high-impact, data-driven initiatives aligned

with the broader R&D Convergence vision.

· Influence functional leadership, strategic direction, and investment decisions to accelerate

adoption of data and digital capabilities across V&E and Medical Affairs.

2. Insight Generation & Scientific Enablement

· Translate complex business challenges and scientific questions into testable hypotheses,

leveraging AI/ML, epidemiology, and statistical methodologies.

· Partner with computational scientists, data scientists, and technologists to develop innovative,

cross-functional use cases that unlock insights from diverse data sources (e.g., EMR, claims,

PROs, clinical trial data).

3. Portfolio & Project Management

· Build and manage a portfolio of V&E-focused Convergence projects, ensuring strategic

alignment, resource optimization, and measurable impact across the evidence lifecycle.

· Lead planning, budgeting, and execution of initiatives, ensuring the right mix of scientific,

technical, and functional expertise is in place.

4. Matrix Leadership & Stakeholder Engagement

· Lead and inspire cross-functional teams of HEOR scientists, epidemiologists, medical directors,

and policy experts across technical and medical career ladders.

· Act as a trusted advisor and connector between the R&D Convergence Core Team, V&E leaders,

and subject matter experts, promoting best practices and shared learnings.

· Cultivate strong relationships with Medical Affairs, Market Access, Regulatory, and Clinical

teams to ensure alignment and integration of evidence strategies.

5. Change Leadership & Executive Communication · Champion digital transformation by promoting a culture of innovation, data fluency, and evidence-driven decision-making within the V&E ecosystem. · Clearly communicate complex insights, priorities, and value propositions to senior stakeholders and governance bodies, enabling cross-functional alignment and executive buy-in. 6. Capability Building & Talent Development · Shape and support digital talent strategies by mentoring team members, guiding upskilling efforts, and enhancing digital acumen across functional teams. · Influence talent development initiatives to build sustainable, future-ready capabilities in data, analytics, and integrated evidence. 7. Governance, Integration & External Influence · Represent V&E needs and priorities within the R&D Convergence Core Team and enterprise governance forums. · Facilitate cross-pollination of ideas across R&D functions and ensure scalability of solutions. · Identify emerging data sources, technologies, and partnerships that enhance AbbVie’s V&E strategy, and represent AbbVie in relevant external forums and consortia.

Qualifications

List required and preferred qualifications (up to 10). Include education, skills and experience.

• Ph.D. with approximately 8-10 years of industry experience; at least 3 years of experience enabling data analytics and insights
• Experience in multiple R&D functions and data domains (e.g., preclinical, genomic, clinical, safety, regulatory, real world data, etc.). Considered to have in depth knowledge of drug discovery and development
• Demonstrated excellence and success in leading data integration and analytic programs to major milestones or insights
• Effective interpersonal and communication skills and proven ability to collaborate across multi-disciplinary teams and leading and navigating in a matrixed organization
• Robust understanding of the data analytics value chain from data to decision
• Proven experience with successfully enabling new digital or data science capabilities that are beyond incremental extensions of the current capabilities
• Advanced knowledge of machine learning techniques, predictive modeling, statistical methodologies, and visual analytics
• Experience with “big data” technologies such as Hadoop, Cloud Computing, and related technologies

Key Stakeholders 

Convergence data integration Directors from other R&D functions; Convergence Steering Team including VPs and senior leaders from R&D function and other internal AbbVie collaborators such as legal and HEOR; Matrix team influence including scientists, MD's

Applicable only to applicants applying to a position in any location with pay disclosure requirements under state or local law: ​

• The compensation range described below is the range of possible base pay compensation that the Company believes in good faith it will pay for this role at the time of this posting based on the job grade for this position. Individual compensation paid within this range will depend on many factors including geographic location, and we may ultimately pay more or less than the posted range. This range may be modified in the future. ​

• We offer a comprehensive package of benefits including paid time off (vacation, holidays, sick), medical/dental/vision insurance and 401(k) to eligible employees.​

• This job is eligible to participate in our short-term incentive programs. ​

• This job is eligible to participate in our long-term incentive programs​

Note: No amount of pay is considered to be wages or compensation until such amount is earned, vested, and determinable. The amount and availability of any bonus, commission, incentive, benefits, or any other form of compensation and benefits that are allocable to a particular employee remains in the Company's sole and absolute discretion unless and until paid and may be modified at the Company’s sole and absolute discretion, consistent with applicable law. 

AbbVie is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to operating with integrity, driving innovation, transforming lives and serving our community.  Equal Opportunity Employer/Veterans/Disabled. 

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