Director, Product Lead

Pfizer Inc.; Stone Cross; On-site; GBP 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Pfizer Inc. is seeking a Director, Operations and Key Initiatives Lead to run studio operations and own cross-studio work. You will manage onboarding, resourcing, budgets and vendor coordination to keep product and engineering teams focused on delivering breakthroughs.

This role partners with senior leaders, translates requests into actionable studio responses, and shapes the external narrative. It requires strong leadership, strategic thinking, and experience guiding complex, regulated

Qualifications

• Bachelor's or higher degree in Business, Operations, Technology, or related field.
• Experience leading operations and cross-functional initiatives in digital/product environments.
• Judgement when interacting with senior leaders: what to elevate, what to close quietly, what to refuse.
• Excellent written and verbal communication with executives and delivery teams.
• Experience running team operations and coordinating people, vendors, budgets, and timelines.
• Comfort with ambiguity and operating in changing organisations.
• Leadership of a small operations function while doing hands-on initiative work.
• Experience in healthcare/pharma or regulated industries.
• Familiarity with product organisations (roadmaps, pods, dual-track discovery/delivery).
• Management consulting experience in a top firm is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Own studio and team operations: operating rhythm, onboarding and offboarding, resourcing and hiring logistics, FTE and contractor administration, vendor management, tooling, and budget tracking.
• Lead studio-level cross-pilllar initiatives including operating model and enterprise programmes.
• Translate DLT/Digital requests into the smallest viable studio response; shield product and engineering from admin load.
• Own the studio's external narrative with leadership; plans, status, risks, and decision papers.
• Build and run a light operating cadence; keep ceremonies useful and discard those that waste time.
• Line-manage the Sr. Manager, Product & Studio Operations; set the standard for admin and logistics.
• Coordinate dependencies with governance, finance, and HR to prevent delivery stalls.
• Spot portfolio-level conflicts and surface them early with a recommended call.
• Model studio culture in enterprise settings: pace, candour, and respect for craft.

Skills

Cross-functional leadership

Executive communication

Decision making

Stakeholder management

Change management

Ambiguity tolerance

People leadership

Pharma industry knowledge

Management consulting experience

Education

Bachelor's degree

MBA or equivalent

Job description

At Pfizer, our purpose is breakthroughs that change patients' lives and our colleagues make this happen. All over the world, our colleagues work together to touch millions of lives.

The Director, Operations and Key Initiatives Lead runs studio and team operations and owns the cross-studio work that would otherwise land on makers and pillar leads: operating cadence, team operations (onboarding, resourcing logistics, FTE and contractor administration, vendors, tooling and budget tracking), enterprise initiatives, leadership artefacts, and the connective tissue between the studio and the wider Pfizer Digital system. The role supports the whole team - product, engineering, and innovation - so Spark and studio-led products keep moving while the organisation around them changes.

ROLE RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Own studio and team operations: operating rhythm, onboarding and offboarding, resourcing and hiring logistics, FTE and contractor administration, vendor management, tooling, and budget tracking - so makers can stay on the work.
• Lead studio-level initiatives that cut across pillars (operating model, leadership reviews, enterprise programmes, major events, and time-bound campaigns).
• Translate DLT / Digital requests into the smallest viable studio response; shield product and engineering from undifferentiated administrative load.
• Own the studio's external narrative with Scott Gavin: plans, status, risks, and decision papers that are honest and short.
• Build and run a light operating cadence (forums, artefacts, follow-ups) that people actually use; kill ceremonies that do not earn their time.
• Line-manage the Sr. Manager, Product & Studio Operations; set the standard for how FTE administration, vendors, and logistics get done.
• Coordinate dependencies with sibling platforms, governance, finance, and HR so hiring, funding, and risk topics do not stall delivery.
• Spot portfolio-level conflicts (duplicate work, unclear owners, political traps) and surface them early with a recommended call.
• Model studio culture in enterprise settings: pace, candour, and respect for craft.

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Operations, Technology, or related field.
• Strong experience in leading operations and complex, cross-functional initiatives in a digital, product, consulting, or equivalent environment.
• Demonstrated judgement operating next to senior leaders: what to elevate, what to close quietly, what to refuse.
• Excellent structured communication - written and verbal - with executives and with delivery teams.
• Experience running team operations and coordinating people, vendors, budgets, and timelines without becoming a bottleneck.
• Comfort with ambiguity and with organisations in the middle of an operating-model change.
• Ability to lead a small operations function and still do hands-on initiative work., MBA or equivalent.
• Chief-of-staff, studio operations, or digital programme leadership experience.
• Healthcare, pharma, or other regulated-industry experience.
• Familiarity with product organisations (roadmaps, pods, dual-track discovery/delivery).
• Previous management consulting experience in a top firm is a plus.

NON-STANDARD WORK SCHEDULE, TRAVEL OR ENVIRONMENT REQUIREMENTS

Must be able to travel to Pfizer offices, vendor offices and other team meeting locations when required. Initiative work can require off-hours around leadership deadlines.

Breakthroughs that change patients' lives... At Pfizer we are a patient centric company, guided by our four values: courage, joy, equity and excellence. Our breakthrough culture lends itself to our dedication to transforming millions of lives.

Digital Transformation Strategy

One bold way we are achieving our purpose is through our company wide digital transformation strategy. We are leading the way in adopting new data, modelling and automated solutions to further digitize and accelerate drug discovery and development with the aim of enhancing health outcomes and the patient experience.

Flexibility

We aim to create a trusting, flexible workplace culture which encourages employees to achieve work life harmony, attracts talent and enables everyone to be their best working self. Let's start the conversation!

Equal Employment Opportunity

We believe that a diverse and inclusive workforce is crucial to building a successful business. As an employer, Pfizer is committed to celebrating this, in all its forms - allowing for us to be as diverse as the patients and communities we serve. Together, we continue to build a culture that encourages, supports and empowers our employees.

DisAbility Confident

We are proud to be a Disability Confident Employer and we encourage you to put your best self forward with the knowledge and trust that we will make any reasonable adjustments necessary to support your application and future career. Our mission is unleashing the power of our people, especially those with unique superpowers. Your journey with Pfizer starts here!

To learn more about acceptable and prohibited uses of AI during the recruitment process, please review our candidate AI-use guidelines available on Pfizer Careers.