Director for Technical Support, CMC API Pilots DK

Novo Nordisk A/S; Gladsaxe Kommune; On-site; DKK 941,000 - 1,449,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Short-term incentives

Long-term incentives

Employee benefits

Job summary

Novo Nordisk A/S in Bagsværd, Denmark, seeks a Director for Technical Support to lead the CMC API Pilots DK function. You will own the Technical Support Department, ensuring optimal operations across four pilot plants and cross-functional collaboration with R&D, Regulatory, and Global Manufacturing.

You will set strategy, develop leaders, and drive world-class support, balancing speed, quality, and risk in a complex development environment, with a focus on delivering clinical trial materials.

Qualifications

• Master's degree or higher in a relevant scientific/technical field.
• Minimum 3 years of experience leading leaders, preferably in CMC/pharma.
• Strong business understanding of R&D processes and quality standards.
• Proven ability to set direction, inspire teams, and manage stakeholders.
• Excellent communication and integrity in a regulated environment.
• Fluent in English, written and spoken.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop a high-performing organisation with clear expectations and feedback culture.
• Ensure timely delivery of high-quality drug product to clinical trials and development programmes.
• Define direction and lead through change with sound decisions under uncertainty.
• Build a scalable leadership team with clarity and engagement.
• Drive simplification and cross-functional alignment across CMC Pilots.

Skills

Leadership experience

English fluency

Strategic thinking

Education

Master's degree in science/engineering

Job description

Director for Technical Support, CMC API Pilots DK

Category: Manufacturing

Location: Bagsværd, Capital Region of Denmark, DK

Director Technical Support, CMC API Pilots DK

CMC Development
CMC API Pilots DK

Leadership that delivers - from people to patients.

Step into a defining leadership role where science, strategy, and people development converge. As Director in CMC API Pilot Plant DK, you will take full leadership ownership of the Technical Support Department, with the responsibility of ensuring the best possible facility operation for our 6 critical pilot plants in Bagsværd and Gentofte. Technical Support is a cross functional unit covering clean utility and monitoring, SAP calibration and maintenance, HVAC and facility support.

You will set clear strategic direction, lead and develop a strong leadership team, and drive world‑class support in ensuring robust and optimal operations in the pilot plants. This role is for a leader who thrives in complexity, leads with conviction, and is driven by delivering excellent support to our core functions so we together deliver high‑quality clinical trial materials that shape Novo’s future portfolio.

If you are a visionary leader with the drive to take ownership and deliver results through others, we invite you to apply.

What you’ll do

As Director of the Technical Support, you will lead a highly skilled organisation responsible for ensuring excellent support and us to produce drug substance enabling the delivery of drug product for clinical trials and supporting development activities across Novo’s drug substance portfolio. You will operate with clear mandate to set priorities, make leadership decisions, and balance speed, quality, and risk in a complex development environment.

In this role, you will define direction, lead and inspire leaders and specialists, and ensure world‑class pilot operations with a strong focus on efficiency. You will play a pivotal role in advancing Novo Nordisk’s strategic ambitions within drug substance delivery, an evolving and complex area that requires courageous decision‑making, close collaboration, and a continuous‑improvement mindset.

Your key responsibilities:

• Lead and develop a high‑performing organisation with clear expectations, strong feedback culture, and modern leadership.
• Take full accountability for timely delivery of high‑quality drug product to clinical trials and development programmes.
• Set direction and lead through change, making sound decisions under uncertainty and navigating complex trade‑offs.
• Build and strengthen a scalable leadership team, creating clarity, engagement, and leadership capacity across the organisation.
• Drive simplification, cLEAN® thinking, and strong cross‑functional alignment across CMC Pilots.
• Act as a key collaborator across CMC API Development, Regulatory Affairs, Global Manufacturing & Supply, Quality, and other critical stakeholders.

Reporting to the Assoc VP of CMC API Pilots DK, you will be part of the API Pilots DK leadership team and have full leadership responsibility for approximately 81 employees across four teams.

What you’ll bring

To succeed in this role, you bring the following qualifications and leadership capabilities:

• A relevant scientific or technical Master’s degree (or higher).
• Solid leadership experience (minimum 3 years of leading leaders), preferably within CMC, pharmaceutical production, or development.
• Strong business understanding of R&D processes and pharmaceutical quality standards.
• Proven ability to set direction, inspire teams, and navigate complex stakeholder landscapes.
• Strong communication skills and high personal integrity.
• Fluency in English, written and spoken.

As a leader, you are a strategic thinker with the ability to move confidently between operational detail and high‑level direction. You thrive in change, bring strong analytical and organisational skills, and lead in an inclusive and visible manner. You can mobilise your organisation and leadership team toward ambitious goals in a complex scientific environment.

Who you’ll work with

Chemistry, Manufacturing and Control (CMC)Development's role in Novo's value chain is to turn molecules into approved products in close cooperation with our colleagues in R&D and Global Manufacturing & Supply.

CMC develop formulations and manufacturingprocesses based on state‑of‑the‑art technologies. In addition, the organisation creates the labelling for finished drug products and ships them to our clinical sites across the globe.

In CMC API Pilots DK we are responsible for delivering API for further Drug Product processing to be used for clinical trials and other activities within development. This includes production in our internal pilot facilities and through collaboration with external production sites.

What you can expect here

At Novo, you can expect a role where your scientific judgement matters, your ideas are listened to, and your work helps move complex development projects forward. You will have opportunities to deepen your expertise, build cross‑functional influence and grow in a collaborative environment where initiative is encouraged. You will be supported to perform at your best and trusted to take ownership, while contributing to work that helps create progress for people living with serious chronic diseases.

Salary: For this role, the Annual Base Salary ranges from DKK 940,800 to DKK 1,448,700, corresponding to the level of the position.

The placement within the salary range will be assessed during the recruitment process based on the candidate’s skills, competencies, knowledge, and relevant experience.

Incentives and Benefits: The salary package may include short‑term and/or long‑term incentives as well as other employee benefits based on position level, location, functional area and relevant market benchmarks. Learn more about our Reward Philosophy here.

For further information, please contact Mette Hughes on +45/3075 3403.

We commit to an inclusive recruitment process and equality of opportunity for all our job applicants.