Process & Solutions Lead
Description
The Process & Solutions Lead serves as an internal consultant and trusted advisor to US Medicine business and service owners, diagnosing complex execution challenges, framing improvement opportunities and the case for change, and leading the design and implementation of solutions across a flexible portfolio of high-priority and often complex Therapeutic Area (TA)- and Medicine Excellence (MedX)-owned priorities. This may include challenges and solutions that extend into the broader US Medicine Organization and involve Corporate alignment. Reporting to the Medical Operations & Practice Exchange Lead, the role independently applies a common improvement discipline spanning performance measurement, process and solution design, implementation, stabilization and change management, while influencing senior stakeholders without direct authority.
Portfolio assignments are set by the Medical Operations & Practice Exchange Lead based on enterprise priorities and will change over time. Assignments may include TA-led activities (e.g., MSL and Field Medical execution, Medical Strategy and ICP execution, evidence generation, stakeholder engagement, launch or indication readiness), MedX shared-service priorities (e.g., Medical Information / Medical Review, medical content development and review, Publications, External Research, Grants and Funding, Medical Education, Early Access Programs), and enterprise enabling priorities (e.g., optimization of recruitment for US clinical trial sites, operational performance measurement, process improvement, reporting and dashboard development). These examples are not a fixed scope; the role is expected to rapidly build sufficient domain understanding, structure ambiguous problems, and work effectively across multiple concurrent assignments as organizational priorities evolve.
The incumbent works with accountable owners and senior stakeholders to define the problem and desired outcomes, establish fit-for-purpose performance measures, identify root causes, evaluate solution options and trade-offs, redesign workflows, and lead implementation through adoption and stabilization. The role develops evidence-based recommendations, facilitates decisions, and translates US requirements to Global capability and product owners where relevant, partnering with reporting, analytics, technology and specialist resources to deliver fit-for-purpose solutions. Given the complexity of assigned initiatives, the Process & Solutions Lead develops and applies the process-improvement strategy, including the diagnostic approach, improvement hypothesis, case for change, measures and decision criteria, sequencing of process, governance, organizational, data and technology interventions, and the implementation, stabilization and handoff approach. Functional and service owners retain accountability for the strategy and subject-matter direction of the underlying deliverable, ongoing delivery and business outcomes.
Duties & Responsibilities
Performance Measurement and Diagnosis:
Partners with accountable business and service owners to define fit-for-purpose performance measures, baselines and review cadence for assigned priorities, which may include demand, capacity, cycle time, effort per unit, quality, first-pass yield, backlog or milestone delivery.
Works with reporting, analytics, systems and data owners to translate agreed measures into validated data and visualization requirements, confirming the information is sufficient to support decisions and identifying gaps that require system or process change.
Interprets performance trends and visualizations, distinguishes isolated issues from recurring or systemic problems, and converts findings into prioritized improvement opportunities and recommendations for accountable owners and senior decision forums.
Establishes baseline performance before improvement work and confirms post-implementation measurement is in place to evaluate solution effectiveness.
Builds or specifies fit-for-purpose operational dashboards and self-service reporting solutions, with analytics and data partners, so US Medicine, TA and MedX leaders have ongoing visibility into demand, capacity, cycle time, quality, execution risk and realized benefits where relevant.
Process Excellence and Solution Design:
Assesses current processes and operating practices to identify bottlenecks, unnecessary handoffs, rework, duplication, unclear decision rights and capacity constraints.
Develops the applied improvement strategy for assigned initiatives by defining the improvement hypothesis, diagnostic approach, case for change, decision criteria and sequence of interventions across process, governance, roles, data, technology and change. Determines, with accountable owners, what should be simplified, standardized, redesigned, automated, scaled, transitioned or discontinued based on evidence, expected value, feasibility and risk.
Designs improved workflows, governance, roles, standards and supporting tools with the relevant business or service owner, balancing enterprise consistency with justified Medicine, TA- or service-specific variation.
Frames the case for change and evaluates process, organizational, governance, reporting, automation, AI and other technology-enabled solution options, including expected value, feasibility, risks, trade-offs and measurable success criteria, to support senior stakeholder decisions on priority changes.
Serves as the US translation point for assigned processes and platforms where Global capabilities are involved: assesses local impact, facilitates structured input from US stakeholders, translates business needs into requirements, user stories and acceptance criteria, and coordinates with Global capability and product owners so US requirements are represented in solution design, testing and implementation.
Additional Duties & Responsibilities
Implementation, Change & Stabilization:
Develops and leads phase-appropriate implementation and change strategies of the applied improvement strategy for assigned initiatives, including stakeholder impact assessment, readiness and resistance identification, communications, training, pilot design, adoption measures and reinforcement plans linked to measurable implementation outcomes.
Coordinates pilots, testing and user acceptance activities with business owners, Global capability or product owners, Information Technology, digital teams and other specialists, as applicable.
Acts as a first line of resolution for complex project-level roadblocks, frames options and implications, and escalates unresolved resource, governance, risk or decision issues with sufficient context and lead time for senior intervention.
Monitors adoption and early performance against defined success measures, adjusts the solution or change approach where needed, and stabilizes the new process or capability before transferring sustainable ownership to the accountable function.
Confirms steady-state roles, governance, documentation and follow-through are established at transition.
Cross-Medicine Scaling & Capability Building:
Identifies solutions, practices and tools from assigned initiatives that may create value in other TAs, MedX services or Medicine-wide processes.
Provides evidence, implementation lessons and reusable artifacts to the Medical Operations & Practice Exchange Lead and relevant owners to support broader practice exchange, codification and scaling decisions.
Supports cross-Medicine adoption of proven approaches, tools and ways of working while documenting where local or functional variation is intentional and should be retained.
Designs and delivers practical coaching, training, reusable tools and self-service measurement approaches that build improvement capability within supported teams and enable them to sustain changes independently after handoff.
Incorporates lessons from prior initiatives into future diagnostic, design and implementation work.
Assignment Portfolio & Stakeholder Management:
Manages a flexible portfolio of concurrent, high-priority initiatives spanning TA-owned and MedX-owned work, adapting scope and sequencing as enterprise priorities, performance needs and capacity constraints evolve.
Serves as an internal consultant to initiative sponsors and accountable owners, framing the problem and case for change, aligning scope, objectives, responsibilities, measures and decision rights, and facilitating agreement on material trade-offs before work begins.
Plans and manages initiative dependencies, project-level vendor or consultant support and required specialist resources, escalating broader priority or capacity trade-offs to the Medical Operations & Practice Exchange Lead.
Maintains clear, executive-ready communication on progress, risks, decisions, trade-offs and realized benefits; presents recommendations to senior stakeholders and sustains trusted-advisor relationships with business and service owners throughout the initiative lifecycle.
Compensation
The base salary range for this position is $166,600 to $250,000. The position may be eligible for a role specific discretionary bonus, relocation, and/or other compensation elements. We continuously review market data and may adjust salary ranges as needed in the future. Actual compensation will be based on job-related factors such as skills, experience, and qualifications, and other factors permitted by law.
Benefits include medical, dental and vision coverage, retirement savings opportunities, paid time off, paid holidays, disability and life insurance benefits, and other company-sponsored programs.
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Education Requirements
Bachelor's degree from an accredited institution required, with a minimum of seven (7) years of relevant pharmaceutical, biotechnology, healthcare, operational excellence, business transformation, project/program management or consulting experience. Advanced degree from an accredited institution preferred (e.g., MBA, MSc, PharmD, PhD, MD or equivalent), with a minimum of five (5) years of relevant experience.
A minimum of three (3) years of hands-on experience in process improvement, operational excellence, business transformation, internal consulting and/or project/program management involving process or operating improvements is required, including at least two (2) years leading cross-functional improvement or implementation initiatives from diagnosis or planning through delivery, with measurable results.
These specialized experience requirements may be met within the total years stated above and may overlap. Demonstrated application of structured process-improvement approaches (e.g., Lean/Six Sigma, DMAIC, Kaizen or equivalent) and project-management methods is required; Lean Six Sigma Green Belt (or equivalent) and/or project-management certification (e.g., PMP or equivalent) preferred. Change-management (e.g., Prosci or equivalent) and Agile certifications are advantageous, not required.
Additional Requirements
• Proven ability to independently diagnose complex operating problems, identify root causes, frame the case for change, evaluate options and trade-offs, and translate findings into practical, sustainable process or operating solutions with measurable outcomes.
• Ability to translate business questions into defined improvement objectives, measurable baselines and clear decision criteria.
• Strong process-design capability, including workflow simplification, governance and role clarification, standardization and identification of justified local variation.
• Demonstrated experience leading implementation and stabilization of new processes, operating models, digital tools, automation or AI-enabled solutions, including stakeholder impact assessment, readiness, communications, training, resistance management, adoption measurement and reinforcement through structured change management.
• Strong performance-management capability, including establishing baselines and metric definitions, interpreting operational data and facilitating data-driven problem solving.
• Ability to partner effectively with reporting, analytics, data and system owners to define information requirements and use dashboards or other outputs to support decisions.
• Strong project and program management skills, including milestone planning, dependency management, risk escalation, vendor coordination and implementation follow-through across multiple assignments.
• Strong executive presence, facilitation, stakeholder-management and internal-consulting skills, including the ability to structure ambiguous problems, develop evidence-based recommendations, align diverse senior stakeholders, frame trade-offs and influence decisions without direct authority.
• Proven ability to represent local business requirements with Global capability and product owners, build alignment on enhancement priorities, translate needs into requirements and acceptance criteria, and coordinate testing and implementation so shared processes, platforms and solutions are fit for purpose in the US operating environment.
• Ability to identify where enterprise standardization creates value and where functional, therapeutic-area or service-specific variation should be retained.
• Demonstrated ability to build improvement and self-service measurement capability in supported teams through coaching, practical training, reusable tools and methods that enable teams to sustain improvements independently after handoff.
• Demonstrated proficiency applying structured process-improvement methods (e.g., Lean/Six Sigma, DMAIC, Kaizen or equivalent) to complex, regulated business processes with documented impact; ability to apply Agile or iterative delivery approaches where appropriate.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to present performance findings, recommendations, risks and decisions clearly to senior stakeholders.
• Strong judgment and accountability in ambiguous circumstances, including the ability to determine when to act independently, when to engage accountable business owners, and when material risks, resource trade-offs or decisions require escalation.
• Willing and able to travel domestically as required to meet business needs.