Senior Director, PDM Business Process & Operational Excellence - Foster City

Gilead Sciences, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company that has pursued and achieved breakthroughs in medicine for more than three decades, with the goal of creating a healthier world for all people. The company is committed to advancing innovative medicines to prevent and treat life-threatening diseases, including HIV, viral hepatitis, and cancer. Gilead operates in more than 35 countries worldwide, with headquarters in Foster City, California. 

 
Senior Director, PDM Business Process & Operational Excellence 

Location: Foster City

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES 

Reporting to the Vice President, Pharmaceutical Development and Manufacturing (PDM) Strategy & Operations, and part of the larger PDM organization, the Senior Director, Business Processes & Operational Excellence (OpEx) will support the success of PDM by leading a team focused on cross-functional business process mapping, identifying improvements to existing business processes and leading Operational Excellence (OpEx) initiatives that span multiple PDM functions; OpEx initiatives at individual manufacturing sites are not in scope. Success in this role depends on being able to utilize the tools & training associated with business process management in a strategic capacity to serve as a strategic leader in PDM. 

FOCUS AREAS 

• Build & lead team focused on cross-functional business process mapping and OpEx initiatives. This requires exceptional facilitation skills to gather SME input to design clear end-to-end business processes that are practical and meaningfully improve current processes / approaches, in addition to expertise in business process and OpEx methodologies and tools 

• Rather than emphasizing the operational aspects of business process management, this role needs to serve as a strategic thought leader, identifying business processes that should be prioritized for improvements, determining such improvements and iterating such that the key business processes most important to PDM’s success are monitored and continuously improved upon 

• Ability to analyze situations and/or data, applying sound judgment and reasoning, to identify and resolve problems and make recommendations. These will typically be high impact processes that have implications across multiple PDM functions 

• Lead interface with leaders of each PDM vertical as a valuable thought partner to drive meaningful process improvements in PDM  

• Utilize excellent analytical, communication and influencing skills, as well as a keen problem-solving ability, to drive helpful change and continuous improvement 

• Lead, coach and develop team at various career levels 

QUALIFICATIONS:  

• A degree in life sciences or a relevant business area with 14+ years of varied post-graduation experience in Pharmaceuticals, Biosciences or a related industry. Or MS with 12+ years of relevant experience. Or PhD with 10+ years of relevant experience. 

• Experience leading cross-functional biopharma strategic initiatives 

• Experience leading business process mapping with a variety of stakeholders and SMEs  

• Experience identifying and prioritizing projects to focus on delivery of benefits 

• Experience leading a team 

• Experience with business process mapping tools such as Signavio and Visio 

• Strong interpersonal skills and conflict resolution skills  

• Solid understanding of current industry trends 

• Demonstrated ability to understand complex and complicated situations and to strip out complications 

• Outstanding verbal and written communication skills with the ability to effectively interact with all levels within the organization 

• Leadership qualities of the successful candidate include the following: collaboration, communication, accountability, cross-functional engagement and influence, executive presence, goal setting and performance management 

People Leader Accountabilities:

•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.