Associate Director, Discovery Portfolio Management Strategic Planner, Discovery

AbbVie; Cambridge (MA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Paid time off

Medical/dental/vision insurance

401(k)

Long-term incentive programs

Job summary

AbbVie seeks a strategic Discovery Portfolio Manager to oversee portfolio analytics, governance, and executive-level reporting across external studies. You will partner with multiple functions to align priorities, monitor KPIs, and drive continuous improvement in early drug discovery programs.

This role emphasizes data-driven decision making, concise communication, and proactive problem-solving to support portfolio health and innovation.

Qualifications

• BS/MS/PhD & 5+ years in Drug Discovery, ideally biotech/pharma.
• Strong portfolio analysis, project management, ops background.
• Understanding of early-stage drug discovery to development.
• Ability to translate data into actionable recommendations.
• Experience measuring KPIs like cycle time, throughput, and portfolio performance.
• Excellent written/verbal communication for executive updates.

Responsibilities

• Develop data-driven insights to support Discovery Research operations and leadership decisions.
• Create clear summaries, leadership updates, and executive slides.
• Synthesize complex scientific, technical, analytical, and business issues into concise insights.
• Anticipate challenges and propose proactive strategies for portfolio and operations.
• Balance quality, timing, budget, and strategic considerations for high-impact decisions.
• Analyze portfolio composition and performance to identify trends, gaps, risks, bottlenecks.
• Track and report KPIs including cycle time, success rates, throughput, budget performance.
• Investigate pain points and propose practical solutions, leading implementation as needed.
• Partner across functions and with indirect authority to align stakeholders.

Skills

Portfolio analysis

Project management

Operations

Written communication

Executive-level presentation

Cross-functional collaboration

Data analysis

Influencing without authority

Education

BS/MS/PhD in a scientific or business field

Tools

None specified

Job description

About AbbVie

AbbVie's mission is to discover and deliver innovative medicines and solutions that solve serious health issues today and address the medical challenges of tomorrow. We strive to have a remarkable impact on people's lives across several key therapeutic areas including immunology, oncology and neuroscience - and products and services in our Allergan Aesthetics portfolio. For more information about AbbVie, please visit us at www.abbvie.com. Follow @abbvie on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, X and YouTube.

Company Description

About AbbVie

AbbVie's mission is to discover and deliver innovative medicines and solutions that solve serious health issues today and address the medical challenges of tomorrow. We strive to have a remarkable impact on people's lives across several key therapeutic areas including immunology, oncology, and neuroscience - and products and services in our Allergan Aesthetics portfolio. For more information about AbbVie, please visit us at www.abbvie.com. Follow @abbvie on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, X and YouTube.

Job Description

Purpose

This role supports Discovery Portfolio Management by providing strategic oversight, portfolio analytics, and actionable insights across external studies and related initiatives. The position is responsible for evaluating portfolio composition, monitoring execution performance, and measuring key KPIs such as cycle time, success rates, throughput, and other indicators of portfolio health. The role partners across functions to support prioritization, governance, and continuous improvement through strong analysis, communication, and executive-level presentation skills.

Responsibilities

• Develop data-driven insights and recommendations to support Discovery Research operations and leadership decision-making, including portfolio prioritization, governance, and operational decision-making.
• Serve as a strong communicator and writer, developing clear summaries, leadership updates, and executive-level slides and presentations.
• Synthesize complex scientific, technical, analytical, and business issues into concise, actionable insights.
• Anticipate challenges and recommend proactive strategies to address portfolio, operational, and business needs.
• Balance quality, timing, budget, and strategic considerations to support high-impact decisions across the portfolio.
• Analyze portfolio composition and performance to identify trends, gaps, risks, bottlenecks, and opportunities for improvement.
• Track, interpret, and report key KPIs, including cycle time, success rates, throughput, budget performance, and other relevant portfolio metrics.
• Investigate functional pain points and propose practical solutions, supporting or leading implementation efforts as needed.
• Partner effectively across functions and with indirect authority to align stakeholders and drive execution.
• Leverage external intelligence related to technologies, tools, and competitors to inform portfolio strategy and identify opportunities for innovation.

In addition to Cambridge, MA, this opportunity may also be based out of Lake County, IL or Worcester, MA.

Qualifications

• BS & 10+ years, MS & 7+ years, PHD & 5+ years industry experience in Drug Discovery, ideally within a biotech or pharmaceutical company.
• Strong background in portfolio analysis, project management, operations, or related scientific/business discipline.
• Understanding of operational strategies for early-stage drug discovery programs’ evolution through the drug development lifecycle.
• Demonstrated ability to analyze data, identify trends, and translate findings into actionable recommendations.
• Experience measuring and reporting KPIs, with exposure to cycle time, success rate, and portfolio performance metrics preferred.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to create executive-level presentations and slides.
• Ability to work effectively across functions and influence stakeholders without direct authority.
• Strong organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities and complex initiatives.
• Demonstrated ability to resolve complex scientific, technical, analytical, and business issues.

Additional Information

• The compensation range described below is the range of possible base pay compensation that the Company believes in good faith it will pay for this role at the time of this posting based on the job grade for this position. Individual compensation paid within this range will depend on many factors including geographic location, and we may ultimately pay more or less than the posted range. This range may be modified in the future.
• We offer a comprehensive package of benefits including paid time off (vacation, holidays, sick), medical/dental/vision insurance and 401(k) to eligible employees.
• This job is eligible to participate in our long-term incentive programs.

Note: No amount of pay is considered to be wages or compensation until such amount is earned, vested, and determinable. The amount and availability of any bonus, commission, incentive, benefits, or any other form of compensation and benefits that are allocable to a particular employee remains in the Company's sole and absolute discretion unless and until paid and may be modified at the Company’s sole and absolute discretion, consistent with applicable law.

AbbVie is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to operating with integrity, driving innovation, transforming lives and serving our community. Equal Opportunity Employer/Veterans/Disabled.

US & Puerto Rico only - to learn more, visit https://www.abbvie.com/join-us/equal-employment-opportunity-employer.html

US & Puerto Rico applicants seeking a reasonable accommodation, click here to learn more:

https://www.abbvie.com/join-us/reasonable-accommodations.html