Director, International Data Enablement
Novartis AG
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Job summary
Novartis AG in Basel, Switzerland, seeks a Director, Data Platform (Data and Semantic Enablement) to drive data enablement for International domains, focusing on Medical Affairs, Value & Access and Patient.
You will translate business needs into data and technology requirements, partnering with DDIT, EDM and Architecture to lead data foundations for analytics, AI and retrieval-ready content.
Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in a technical or business-related field.
- 8+ years in data, analytics, or related roles.
- 5+ years in pharmaceutical, biotech, healthcare, Medical Affairs, Market Access or related life sciences.
- Fluency in English, written and spoken.
Responsibilities
- Act as main Data team contact for data enablement across IMA, V&A and Patient.
- Lead the expansion of International data capabilities with a scalable enablement model.
- Define data enablement requirements for structured and unstructured data use cases.
Skills
Education
Tools
Job description
Location: Basel, Switzerland
Relocation Supported
Welcome to where we thrive together! Novartis’ ambition is to be a recognized leader in Data, Analytics, AI & Platforms (DAP). As Director, Data Platform (Data and Semantic Enablement), you will act as a key data enablement partner for International, with focus on Medical Affairs (IMA) and Value & Access (V&A), helping these domains unlock value from structured and unstructured data in a trusted, scalable, governed and compliant way.
Historically, the International Data team has been primarily focused on Commercial data enablement, where data demand, global data products and platform maturity are more advanced. This role will support the expansion of Data, Analytics, AI & Platform capabilities into adjacent International domains, with an initial focus on IMA, V&A and Patient. You will be responsible for understanding business priorities, identifying data enablement needs, translating them into clear data and technology requirements, and co‑leading the enablement of scalable data capabilities with DDIT, business stakeholders and other DAP teams.
A core focus of the role will be enabling the use of both structured and unstructured data across Commercial, Medical Affairs and Value & Access, use cases. This includes helping define the data foundations required to support analytics, advanced analytics, AI and Agent‑based solutions, such as semantic layers, business ontologies, metadata, taxonomies, knowledge representations, vector databases, context engineering and retrieval‑ready content/data structures.
You will help to ensure that business needs are translated into trusted, practical and scalable data enablement solutions, aligned with enterprise architecture, data governance, privacy, compliance and Novartis Enterprise Data Management standards.
You will work closely with IMA, V&A, AI & Data Science, Analytics, Data Platform, Marketing Platforms, other CLS teams, IRC (International/Regions/Countries), Strategy & Growth (S&G), DDIT, Finance, Ethics, Risk & Compliance, Legal and other stakeholders to ensure that data enablement capabilities effectively support the evolving International business agenda.
- Act as the main Data, Analytics, AI & Platform Data team point of contact for data enablement across International Medical Affairs (IMA), Value & Access (V&A) and Patient, partnering with business stakeholders to understand priorities, processes, analytics needs and AI/Agent opportunities.
- Lead the expansion of International data capabilities beyond Commercial by establishing a scalable Data Enablement model for IMA, V&A and Patient, maximizing the reuse of existing data foundations, capabilities and standards.
- Ensure that NovartisInternational is maximizing its investment in Data by leading as the internal expert and proactively educates stakeholders on the value, availability, and proper use of datawhile automating, cost optimizing and harmonizing for redundancy.
- Identify, assess and prioritize structured and unstructured data needs across Commercial, IMA, V&A and Patient, including medical insights, field medical activity data, scientific content, publications, market access materials and other relevant sources.
- Lead the definition of data enablement requirements for structured and unstructured data use cases, including data access, metadata enrichment, taxonomy alignment, semantic tagging, contextualization, retrieval requirements and AI-readiness.
- Support the development and adoption of semantic and contextual data capabilities, including semantic layers, business glossaries, ontologies, taxonomies, knowledge graphs, vector databases and other structures that enable scalable analytics, AI and Agent-based solutions.
- Define the business context, terminology, concepts, relationships, trusted sources and governance expectations required to make IMA, V&A and Patient data understandable, discoverable and reusable by analytics products, AI solutions and digital Agents.
- Partner with DDIT, Data Platform, AI & Data Science and Architecture teams to translate business requirements into feasible data and technology designs, ensuring alignment with enterprise standards, platform capabilities, privacy and compliance requirements.
- Accountable for enabling reusable, governed and scalable data products for IMA, V&A and Patient, in alignment with Novartis Enterprise Data Management (EDM) standards, covering data quality, classification, cataloguing, lineage, ownership and business value realization.
- Support the identification and resolution of data access, quality, metadata, integration and usability challenges that limit the ability of IMA, V&A and Patient teams to generate insights or deploy AI-enabled solutions.
- Help establish and promote standard data enablement frameworks, templates and ways of working for engaging with new business domains, from demand intake and use case shaping through to requirement definition, prioritization and delivery tracking.
- Act as an operational key partner for day‑to‑day data enablement topics related to IMA, V&A and Patient, coordinating with business and delivery teams, tracking progress, managing risks and feeding enhancement needs into backlogs and roadmaps.
- Promote Agile and product‑oriented ways of working, while staying current with industry best practices in data enablement, semantic technologies, unstructured data management, vector search, retrieval‑augmented generation, AI/Agent enablement and responsible data governance.
- Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, Statistics, Analytics, Business, Life Sciences, Health Economics, or another relevant technical or business-related degree. Master’s degree preferred.
- 8+ years of experience in data, analytics, data strategy, data enablement, digital transformation, IT, consulting, or a similar role.
- 5+ years of Pharmaceutical, Biotech, Healthcare, Medical Affairs, Market Access, Value & Access, Commercial or related life sciences experience.
- Experience working at the intersection of business and technology, translating business needs into data, analytics, AI or platform requirements.
- Demonstrated experience supporting data enablement initiatives involving structured and unstructured data.
- Working knowledge of unstructured data concepts, including document metadata, taxonomies, semantic tagging, content classification, information retrieval and AI‑ready data preparation.
- Understanding of semantic and contextual data enablement concepts, such as semantic layers, business ontologies, controlled vocabularies, knowledge graphs, metadata management, vector databases or retrieval‑augmented generation patterns.
- Ability to engage with both business and technical stakeholders and co‑lead requirement definition for data products, analytics solutions, AI use cases or platform capabilities.
- Experience with data governance, data quality, data cataloguing, data lineage, data access management or enterprise data management practices.
- Understanding of cloud‑based data platforms, data lakes, data warehouses, modern data architectures and data integration concepts.
- Fluency in English, written and spoken.
- Experience in Commercial, Medical Affairs, Value & Access, Market Access, Health Economics and Outcomes Research, Real‑World Evidence, Medical Insights or related pharmaceutical functions.
- Experience enabling analytics or AI use cases involving medical, scientific, payer, access, evidence generation, publication, congress or customer engagement data.
- Experience with Agent or Generative AI enablement, including retrieval‑augmented generation, context engineering, prompt/context design, knowledge bases, vector search or enterprise AI governance.
- Experience defining semantic models, domain ontologies, business glossaries, data dictionaries, taxonomies or knowledge structures for business domains.
- Experience with platforms or tools related to metadata management, data cataloguing, data quality, document intelligence, semantic search, vector databases or knowledge graphs.
- Ability to assess business value, feasibility, data readiness and governance requirements for emerging analytics and AI use cases.
- Experience working in international, cross‑functional teams, collaborating across global, regional and local stakeholders.
- Experience working with DDIT, enterprise architecture, data engineering or platform teams to shape technical enablement requirements without directly owning implementation.
At Novartis, we’re committed to reimagining medicine together - and rewarding the people who make it happen.
Expected Annual Base Salary Range for role: 146,300.00 - 271,700.00 CHF
The base salary offered is determined based on gender-neutral objectives, such as relevant skills, competencies and experience in accordance with the Novartis pay setting policy and upon joining Novartis will be reviewed periodically.
In addition to your base salary, you may be eligible for a performance‑based bonus depending on certain performance parameters.
The rewards of being part of our team go far beyond base pay and incentives. We also offer a variety of competitive benefits in kind to help you thrive personally and professionally, such as insurance plans, retirement plans, wellbeing resources and global recognition programs. In addition, we provide flexible and hybrid working options, where possible, and minimum 14 weeks paid parental leave.
In addition to your base salary, you may be eligible for a performance‑based bonus depending on certain performance parameters. Long‑term equity awards granted at group level may also be part of your package. Further details will be provided during the application process.
Pay equity is a fundamental principle of our employment policy and reflects our commitment to create a diverse, equitable and inclusive environment that treats all employees with dignity and respect, as outlined in our Code of Ethics.
Read our brochure to learn more about our global total rewards offering:
https://www.novartis.com/sites/novartis_com/files/novartis-life-handbook.pdf
Note: Benefits and compensation may vary by country and are subject to local legal requirements, including provisions of collective bargaining agreements where applicable. A full overview of your compensation package, including any relevant collective bargaining agreement details applicable to your role based on your employment location and Novartis employer entity, will be communicated separately to you during the application process.
Novartis is committed to building an outstanding, inclusive work environment and diverse teams’ representative of the patients and communities we serve.
Helping people with disease and their families take more than innovative science. It takes a community of smart, passionate people like you. Collaborating, supporting and inspiring each other. Combining to achieve breakthroughs that change patients’ lives. Ready to create a brighter future together? https://www.novartis.com/about/strategy/people-and-culture
Read our handbook to learn about all the ways we’ll help you thrive personally and professionally: https://www.novartis.com/careers/benefits-rewards
Helping people with disease and their families take more than innovative science. It takes a community of smart, passionate people like you. Collaborating, supporting and inspiring each other. Combining to achieve breakthroughs that change patients’ lives. Ready to create a brighter future together? https://www.novartis.com/about/strategy/people-and-culture
Learn about all the ways we’ll help you thrive personally and professionally.
Read our handbook (PDF 30 MB)
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