Project Manager, IT Procurement

Novartis India; Hyderabad; On-site; INR 2,500,000 - 5,200,000; Full time

Job summary

Novartis India is seeking an experienced Associate Director, Project Management to lead end-to-end technology projects for Procurement, coordinating across business, Data, Digital & IT teams and external partners in Hyderabad. The role focuses on governance, predictable execution and delivering measurable business value through Source-to-Contract solutions and ERP programs.

You will drive adoption, manage budgets and vendors, and align technology decisions with procurement objectives and

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in IT project or program management within complex enterprise environments.
• Proven experience delivering large-scale, global technology projects with multiple vendors and stakeholders.
• Experience delivering Procurement, ERP, SaaS, or enterprise platform implementations.
• Strong understanding of Procurement and Source-to-Pay processes and value realization.
• Deep knowledge of project and program management methodologies, governance and planning.
• Experience managing project budgets, forecasts, resources, risks, issues and vendor performance.
• Strong stakeholder management, negotiation, facilitation and conflict-resolution in a complex matrix.
• Excellent communication, including executive updates and steering committee materials.

Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end delivery of multiple complex Procurement technology projects across demand intake to deployment and adoption.
• Ensure projects meet scope, timelines and budgets with clear ownership and alignment with objectives and standards.
• Interface between Procurement stakeholders and technology delivery teams translating requirements into scalable solutions.
• Identify opportunities to automate and accelerate adoption of AI-enabled procurement capabilities.
• Establish and maintain project governance including plans, milestones, dependencies and approvals.
• Manage risks, issues, dependencies, decisions and change requests with timely escalation and mitigations.
• Oversee external delivery partners against contracts, milestones and deliverables.
• Support vendor sourcing and contracting activities including RFPs and contract preparation.
• Manage project budgets, forecasts and financial reporting with variances and savings opportunities.
• Contribute to procurement technology portfolio planning and continuous improvement.

Skills

Vendor management

Stakeholder management

Negotiation

Facilitation

Communication

Project governance

IT project management

Budget management

Job description

Summary

Location: Hyderabad, India.

Internal job title: Associate Director, Project Management.

About The Role

Are you an experienced technology project leader who can turn complex business priorities into successful, scalable solutions?

As Project Manager, IT Procurement, you will lead the end-to-end delivery of complex, cross-regional technology initiatives supporting Procurement. Working across business, Data, Digital & IT, Procurement and external partners, you will establish strong governance, drive predictable execution and ensure technology investments deliver measurable business value.

You will play a key role in Procurement transformation initiatives, including Source-to-Contract solutions, SAP programs, AI-enabled capabilities and emerging procurement technologies.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the end-to-end delivery of multiple complex Procurement technology projects, from demand intake and planning through deployment, adoption and operational transition.
• Ensure projects are delivered within agreed scope, timelines and budgets, with clear ownership, accountability and alignment with business objectives, technology roadmaps and architecture standards.
• Act as the primary interface between Procurement stakeholders and technology delivery teams, translating business requirements into scalable and sustainable solutions.
• Identify opportunities to simplify processes, increase automation and accelerate the adoption of digital and AI-enabled Procurement capabilities.
• Establish and maintain effective project governance, including project plans, milestones, dependencies, critical paths, resource requirements, approvals and quality documentation.
• Proactively manage risks, issues, dependencies, decisions and change requests, ensuring timely escalation and effective mitigation.
• Manage external delivery partners, including consulting firms, software providers, system integrators and implementation vendors, against contractual commitments, milestones and deliverables.
• Support vendor sourcing and contracting activities, including requests for information, requests for proposals and contract preparation.
• Manage project budgets, forecasts and financial reporting, monitoring actual expenditure against plans and identifying potential risks, variances and savings opportunities.
• Contribute to Procurement technology portfolio planning, prioritization, investment decisions and continuous improvement.

Essential Requirements

• 10+ years of experience in IT project or program management within complex enterprise environments.
• Proven experience delivering large-scale, global technology projects involving multiple vendors, functions and business stakeholders.
• Experience delivering Procurement, ERP, SaaS, or enterprise platform implementations.
• Strong understanding of Procurement and Source-to-Pay processes, with the ability to connect technology decisions to business outcomes and value realization.
• Deep knowledge of project and program management methodologies, governance, planning, dependency management and execution.
• Demonstrated experience managing project budgets, forecasts, resources, risks, issues and vendor management and vendor performance.
• Strong stakeholder management, negotiation, facilitation and conflict-resolution skills within a complex matrix organization.
• Excellent communication skills, including experience preparing executive-level updates, steering committee materials and decision summaries.

Desirable Requirements

• Experience working in a regulated business environment.
• Exposure to AI-enabled business solutions, process automation, digital Procurement transformation or emerging Procurement technologies

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.

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

Join our Novartis Network

If this role is not suitable to your experience or career goals but you wish to stay connected to learn more about Novartis and our career opportunities, join the Novartis Network here: https://talentnetwork.novartis.com/network

Accessibility And Accommodation

Novartis is committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodation to all individuals. If, because of a medical condition or disability, you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the recruitment process, or in order to receive more detailed information about the essential functions of a position, please send an e-mail to and let us know the nature of your request and your contact information. Please include the job requisition number in your message.

Why Novartis

Helping people with disease and their families takes 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

Benefits and Rewards

Learn about all the ways we’ll help you thrive personally and professionally.

Read our handbook (PDF 30 MB)