Associate Director MA Portfolio & Program Management

Associate Director MA Portfolio & Program Management 

Location – Hyderabad #LI Hybrid

About the Role:

Step into a pivotal role where your expertise will drive the planning and operational oversight of therapeutic area medical budgets and transform complex data into actionable insights for senior leadership. As a key partner to Global Medical Directors and cross-functional teams, you’ll ensure high-quality, timely, and cost-effective execution of Medical Affairs objectives. Your leadership will foster operational excellence, process simplification, and a culture of compliance - empowering teams to thrive in a dynamic, matrixed environment and adapt quickly to evolving business needs.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead the planning and operational oversight of therapeutic area (TA) owned medical budgets, consolidating Scientific Communications and Study Execution budget reports into comprehensive, category-level overviews with insights, risks, and opportunities for monthly review by senior leadership.
• Partner closely with Global and International Medical Affairs Medical Directors to coordinate operational planning, monitoring, and reporting of TA-owned operational management activities, ensuring alignment with business objectives.
• Support the Director/Senior Director of the Portfolio and Program Management in generating customer-oriented portfolio analyses across assigned disease areas and therapeutic areas, utilising data from multiple sources to inform scenario-based strategic planning and resource allocation.
• Ensure the most accurate TA operational management budget planning and execution within budget for assigned disease areas, supporting both International and Global Medical Affairs.
• Manage key functional interfaces and act as the single point of contact for disease area and cross-functional partners, facilitating effective communication and collaboration.
• Lead the management of Portfolio Management Advisory Team meetings, including setting agendas, taking minutes, and following up on actions with business owners to ensure accountability and progress.
• Oversee the execution of TA-owned operational management activities, consolidating and reporting portfolio and budget information for assigned disease areas, including operational risks and mitigations, and ensuring adherence to business processes for review, approvals, and documentation.
• Track and report progress of TA-owned operational management activities at both International and Global Medical Affairs levels, supporting the Head of Project Management in overall portfolio reporting and executive communications. As a member of the Portfolio and Program Management team, contribute to team objective setting, achievement, communication, and culture-building, representing the function in key meetings and supporting the team’s culture journey.

Commitment to Diversity & Inclusion: :

We are committed to building an outstanding, inclusive work environment and diverse teams representative of the patients and communities we serve.

Essential Requirements:

• Advanced degree or equivalent education in life sciences or healthcare; Doctor of Pharmacy or Doctor of Philosophy preferred.
• At least 8 years of proven operational experience in planning, executing, and reporting global clinical trials within a pharmaceutical company or contract research organisation.
• Demonstrated ability to work independently in a complex matrix environment, including remote or virtual teams.
• Strong project management skills with a track record of meeting timelines and delivering high-quality results.
• Excellent communication, influencing, and negotiation skills, with the ability to build effective relationships with internal and external stakeholders.
• In-depth understanding of medical affairs activities, functions, and responsibilities, including Good Clinical Practice and global drug development processes.
• Experience in budget planning, resource allocation, and management of operational issues within medical affairs or clinical research.
• Proven leadership in operational aspects, including process adherence, risk management, and compliance with quality standards.

Desirable Requirements:

• Robust understanding of basic science or relevant therapeutic areas, with solid knowledge of global drug development processes.
• Advanced understanding of business processes and experience working cross-functionally in global teams.

Why Novartis: Our purpose is to reimagine medicine to improve and extend people’s lives and our vision is to become the most valued and trusted medicines company in the world. How can we achieve this? With our people. It is our associates that drive us each day to reach our ambitions. Be a part of this mission and join us! Learn more here: https://www.novartis.com/about/strategy/people-and-culture

You’ll receive: You can find everything you need to know about our benefits and rewards in the Novartis Life Handbook. https://www.novartis.com/careers/benefits-rewards

Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion:
Novartis is committed to building an outstanding, inclusive work environment and diverse teams' representative of the patients and communities we serve.
Join our Novartis Network: If this role is not suitable to your experience or career goals but you wish to stay connected to hear more about Novartis and our career opportunities, join the Novartis Network here: https://talentnetwork.novartis.com/network.