Associate Director, Field Launch & Change Surge

Novartis; United States; Remote; USD 146,000 - 270,000; Full time

Job summary

Novartis is seeking an Associate Director, Field Launch & Change Surge to provide focused, time-bound execution capacity across the field organization. The role coordinates readiness actions and rapid issue resolution to keep field leaders focused on customers and core performance.

Collaborating with Field Execution Leads, enablement partners, and cross-functional teams, you will strengthen launch readiness, manage cutovers, and drive rapid stabilization after go-live, while surfacing lessons

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required from 4-year college or university.
• 6+ years' of experience in field operations, launch execution, program delivery, or execution-focused roles within complex, matrixed organizations.
• Demonstrated ability to operate effectively in high-intensity environments with competing priorities and tight timelines.
• Strong execution discipline, coordination skills, and ability to translate plans into clear actions and closures.
• Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills, including ability to drive alignment without direct authority.

Responsibilities

• Provide surge execution support for launches, major tool/process releases, and high-impact organizational changes, ensuring clear sequencing, ownership, and follow-through.
• Translate launch/change plans into practical field actions (readiness tasks, cutover steps, stabilization activities), ensuring clarity on who does what by when.
• Identify cross-team dependencies and readiness risks early (training gaps, workflow breaks, operational constraints) and drive mitigation actions with owners.
• Support cutover planning and go-live readiness, including readiness checklists, field-facing timing clarity, and escalation pathways for high-severity issues.
• Coordinate hypercare mechanics during launch/change windows to ensure rapid triage, clear ownership, and timely resolution of field-impacting issues.
• Drive rapid stabilization by tracking issues through to closure and ensuring recurring problems are addressed with root-cause fixes, not repeated workarounds.
• Partner across teams to align execution details (timelines, readiness expectations, support model) and reduce last-minute churn during launch windows.
• Maintain an integrated view of launch/change readiness signals and surface actionable watch-outs to execution leadership.
• Capture lessons learned and convert them into improved readiness playbooks, templates, and standard operating patterns.

Education

Bachelor's degree

Job description

Job Description Summary

#LI-Remote

This position can be based remotely anywhere in the U.S. (there may be some restrictions based on legal entity). The expectation of working hours and travel (domestic and/or international) will be defined by the hiring manager. This position will require 10% travel.

Novartis is unable to offer relocation support for this role: please only apply if this location is accessible to you.

Company will not sponsor visas for this position.

The Associate Director, Field Launch & Change Surge provides focused, time-bound execution capacity to support major launches and high-priority change events across the field organization. This role helps stabilize performance during peak change periods by coordinating execution mechanics, readiness actions, and rapid issue resolution-so field leaders can stay focused on customers and core performance. Working in close partnership with Field Execution Leads, enablement partners, operations teams, and cross-functional stakeholders, this role strengthens launch readiness, protects field capacity, and accelerates time-to-stability after go-live.

Job Description

Key Responsibilities

• Provide surge execution support for launches, major tool/process releases, and high-impact organizational changes, ensuring clear sequencing, ownership, and follow-through.
• Translate launch/change plans into practical field actions (readiness tasks, cutover steps, stabilization activities), ensuring clarity on who does what by when.
• Identify cross-team dependencies and readiness risks early (training gaps, workflow breaks, operational constraints) and drive mitigation actions with owners.
• Support cutover planning and go-live readiness, including readiness checklists, field-facing timing clarity, and escalation pathways for high-severity issues.
• Coordinate hypercare mechanics during launch/change windows to ensure rapid triage, clear ownership, and timely resolution of field-impacting issues.
• Drive rapid stabilization by tracking issues through to closure and ensuring recurring problems are addressed with root-cause fixes, not repeated workarounds.
• Partner across teams to align execution details (timelines, readiness expectations, support model) and reduce last-minute churn during launch windows.
• Maintain an integrated view of launch/change readiness signals and surface actionable watch-outs to execution leadership.
• Capture lessons learned and convert them into improved readiness playbooks, templates, and standard operating patterns.

Essential Requirements

• Bachelor's degree required from 4-year college or university.
• 6+ years' of experience in field operations, launch execution, program delivery, or execution-focused roles within complex, matrixed organizations.
• Demonstrated ability to operate effectively in high-intensity environments with competing priorities and tight timelines.
• Strong execution discipline, coordination skills, and ability to translate plans into clear actions and closures.
• Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills, including ability to drive alignment without direct authority.

Desirable Requirements

• Familiarity with readiness frameworks, cutover/hypercare practices, and structured issue management.
• Comfort operating as surge capacity across multiple portfolios and workstreams, adapting quickly as priorities evolve.

Novartis Compensation Summary

The salary for this position is expected to range between $145,600 and $270,400 per year.

The final salary offered is determined based on factors like, but not limited to, relevant skills and experience, and upon joining Novartis will be reviewed periodically. Novartis may change the published salary range based on company and market factors.

Your compensation will include a performance-based cash incentive and, depending on the level of the role, eligibility to be considered for annual equity awards.

US-based eligible employees will receive a comprehensive benefits package that includes health, life and disability benefits, a 401(k) with company contribution and match, and a variety of other benefits. In addition, employees are eligible for a generous time off package including vacation, personal days, holidays and other leaves.

EEO Statement

The Novartis Group of Companies are Equal Opportunity Employers. We do not discriminate in recruitment, hiring, training, promotion or other employment practices for reasons of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital or veteran status, disability, or any other legally protected status.

Accessibility and reasonable accommodations

The Novartis Group of Companies are committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodation to individuals with disabilities. If, because of a medical condition or disability, you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application process, or to perform the essential functions of a position, please send an e-mail to us.re