Associate Director, Integrated Biologics R&D Execution & Engagement Lead

CH05 Lonza Sales AG; Basel; On-site; CHF 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Lonza Group Ltd. in Basel is seeking a Senior Transformation Leader to shape the strategic framework for R&D transformation across our global network.

You will partner with R&D leadership to define priorities, ensure governance, and drive enterprise-wide initiatives that align scientific capability with business goals. You will build internal capabilities, mentor senior talent, and push for continuous improvement.

Qualifications

• Education: Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in relevant field.
• Experience: Leading large-scale organisational transformation and influencing senior stakeholders in a complex, matrixed environment.
• Experience in management consulting is highly desirable.
• Certifications: Change management certification (e.g., PROSCI) or organisational development advantageous.

Responsibilities

• Establish the strategic frameworks that guide transformation across all R&D functions.
• Lead the integration of transformation activities across multiple areas with strong governance.
• Serve as a senior advisor to R&D leadership, leveraging networks to build capabilities and offerings.
• Set people and capability strategy for R&D transformation, championing continuous improvement.
• Identify and solve business challenges by driving ideas into long-term innovation roadmaps.

Skills

Strategic Stakeholder Management

Business Integration

Organisational Development

Talent Development

Education

Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Organizational Development, Business, Psychology, Science, or Engineering

Job description

Today, Lonza is a global leader in life sciences operating across three continents. While we work in science, there is no magic formula to how we do it. Our greatest scientific solution is talented people working together, devising ideas that help businesses to help people. In exchange, we let our people own their careers. Their ideas, big and small, genuinely improve the world. And that is the kind of work we want to be part of.

Key Responsibilities & Behaviours

• Strategic framework implementation: Establish the strategic scientific and operational frameworks that guide transformation practices across all R&D functions
• Enterprise leadership: Lead the integration of transformation activities across multiple areas, defining priorities for cross-platform portfolios with strong governance
• Trusted advisor: Serve as a senior advisor to R&D leadership, leveraging internal and external networks to build new organizational capabilities and offerings
• Capability strategy: Set the people and capability strategy for R&D transformation, acting as a sponsor for continuous improvement and professional growth across the network
• Organizational effectiveness: Identify and solve complex business and industry challenges by driving new ideas into practical strategic options and long-term innovation roadmaps

Key Accountabilities

• Strategic alignment: Accountable for enterprise-wide stakeholder alignment and the successful realisation of transformation benefits
• Sustainable capability: Building internal, sustainable change capability within R&D rather than relying on project-based interventions
• Thought leadership: Providing external and internal thought leadership on organisational readiness and transformation effectiveness

Success Measures

• Measurable business impact: Delivery of enterprise-wide initiatives that result in quantifiable improvements in organisational performance
• Network consistency: Establishment of practices that result in consistent quality and the reuse of best practices across the Lonza network (CoE, R&D Centres of Excellence)
• Cultural evolution: Demonstrated shift in organisational behaviours and a strengthened internal capability to manage future transformations

Required Skills & Competencies

• Strategic Stakeholder Management: Ability to lead and shape stakeholder strategy across teams and functions, ensuring alignment between scientific capability and business needs
• Business Integration: Bridging technical innovation with company and platform strategy to ensure transformation benefits are realised commercially and operationally
• Organisational Development: Setting people and capability strategies for a domain to shape a culture of continuous learning and collaboration
• Talent Development: Building team capability by developing senior talent and fostering inclusive, high-performance cultures

Core Competencies:

• Influencing & Negotiation: Driving cross-functional alignment to accelerate innovation cycles and influence high-level decision-making
• Strategic Execution: Execute the innovation roadmap and ensuring all initiatives integrate scientific creativity with business objectives
• Empowerment & Coaching: Empowering diverse teams to achieve strategic R&D goals and supporting professional growth across all career paths
• Change Leadership: Moving beyond project-based interventions to establish permanent scientific frameworks and practices that support consistency and innovation
• Critical Thinking & Innovation: Fostering a culture of critical thinking and encouraging the integration of emerging methods to maintain a competitive advantage

Qualifications & Experience

• Education: Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Organizational Development, Business, Psychology, Science, or Engineering
• Experience: Significant experience supporting or leading large-scale organisational transformation and influencing senior stakeholders in a complex, matrixed environment
• Experience in management consulting is highly desirable
• Certifications: Professional certification in Change Management (e.g., PROSCI), coaching, or organisational development is highly advantageous

Every day, Lonza’s products and services have a positive impact on millions of people. For us, this is not only a great privilege, but also a great responsibility. How we achieve our business results is just as important as the achievements themselves.

At Lonza, we respect and protect our people and our environment. Any success we achieve is no success at all if not achieved ethically. People come to Lonza for the challenge and creativity of solving complex problems and developing new ideas in life sciences. In return, we offer the satisfaction that comes with improving lives all around the world. The satisfaction that comes with making a meaningful difference.

Every day, our teams across the world work together to turn scientific breakthroughs into life-changing medicines that reach up to 100 million patients a year. Lonza is a place where people can make a unique impact, grow their careers and belong.

Why Lonza:

You will feel at home at Lonza if you:

• Take ownership, step forward, and enjoy meaningful responsibility
• Love solving problems and thrive in a complex, fast-moving environment
• Are curious, always looking to learn and improve
• Work collaboratively, contributing to something bigger than yourself
• Are motivated to make a difference through work that impacts customers and their patients