Associate Director — Clinical Process Excellence

BioSpace; North Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 170,000 - 230,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Paid time off

Medical/dental/vision insurance

401(k)

Long-term incentive programs

Job summary

AbbVie seeks an Associate Director, Clinical Business Process Owner to optimize high-complexity clinical processes and lead cross-functional teams. You will oversee governance, KPI monitoring, and change management to ensure compliant, efficient processes across the organization.

You will collaborate with process excellence roles, engage senior leadership, and drive end-to-end improvements in a regulated environment with potential for direct reports.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required; advanced degree strongly preferred (life sciences, engineering, or related).
• 8+ years in Pharmaceutical, Healthcare, or a regulated industry; 6+ with Master's; 4+ with PhD.
• 5+ years of process management and continuous improvement experience.
• Strong understanding of clinical development operations and regulatory context.
• Proven ability to lead cross-functional alignment and stakeholder management.
• Experience defining process performance measures, KPIs, and improving processes.
• Familiarity with BPMN, Lean/Six Sigma, and process documentation standards.
• Experience partnering with technology owners on process-to-system alignment.

Responsibilities

• Own high-complexity clinical business processes across their lifecycle with independence.
• Establish end-to-end process governance for global execution and alignment.
• Monitor KPIs, conduct reviews, identify risks, and drive continuous improvement.
• Translate regulatory needs into clear process requirements with SMEs.
• Act as authoritative contact for domain questions; maintain knowledge content.
• Lead cross-functional teams to align priorities and adoption plans.
• Coordinate SME network and embed AI enablement where appropriate.
• Partner with system owners for process-to-system changes and readiness.

Skills

Process management

Cross-functional leadership

Change management

Lean Six Sigma

Regulatory compliance

Project governance

Stakeholder management

Data-driven decision making

BPMN / process mapping

Communication skills

Education

Bachelor's degree

Advanced degree preferred

Tools

BPMN

Lean Six Sigma

Job description

AbbVie seeks an Associate Director, Clinical Business Process Owner to optimize high-complexity clinical processes and lead cross-functional teams. You will oversee governance, KPI monitoring, and change management to ensure compliant, efficient processes across the organization.

You will collaborate with process excellence roles, engage senior leadership, and drive end-to-end improvements in a regulated environment with potential for direct reports.