Associate Director, Portfolio Management

Novartis; East Hanover (NJ); Hybrid; USD 77,000 - 121,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health, dental, vision

401k plan

Job summary

Novartis is seeking an Associate Director, Portfolio Management to support portfolio planning, demand management, assessment, prioritization, and governance across a diverse technology and data portfolio.

This temporary/external opportunity is offered through Magnit Global; you will provide services to Novartis as a contractor, with a 12-month term and pay rate of $56-$88/hour (W-2).

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required.
• 5+ years in portfolio management, program management, PMO, business operations, strategy, product operations, or similar disciplines.
• Experience supporting planning, prioritization, governance, or investment management processes.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Experience developing executive-level reports, presentations, and decision-support materials.
• Ability to synthesize complex information into clear recommendations.
• Strong stakeholder management and communication capabilities.

Responsibilities

• Support demand intake and assessment activities across business and technology initiatives.
• Partner with stakeholders to gather information needed to evaluate incoming requests.
• Contribute to demand reviews by analyzing strategic alignment, business value, resource considerations, dependencies, and potential impacts.
• Help ensure requests are documented, categorized, and routed through portfolio processes.
• Support the preparation of materials used during intake, assessment, and prioritization discussions.
• Assist in portfolio planning and prioritization activities.
• Analyze portfolio demand, capacity information, dependencies, and competing priorities.
• Develop insights and recommendations to support portfolio decision-making.
• Maintain visibility into proposed, approved, in-flight, and deferred initiatives.
• Support portfolio scenario planning and investment discussions.
• Support portfolio governance forums, reviews, and decision-making processes.
• Prepare portfolio dashboards, reports, leadership presentations, and status updates.
• Track portfolio decisions, actions, risks, and follow-up activities.
• Help maintain portfolio management tools, reporting structures, and planning artifacts.
• Ensure portfolio information is accurate, current, and readily available to stakeholders.
• Analyze portfolio data to identify trends, risks, capacity constraints, and opportunities.
• Support development of executive-level portfolio summaries and recommendations.
• Help provide visibility into portfolio health, delivery commitments, demand trends, and investment allocation.
• Contribute to continuous improvement of portfolio metrics and reporting capabilities.
• Build collaborative relationships across business, product, technology, and data teams.
• Help stakeholders navigate portfolio management processes and requirements.
• Promote adoption of portfolio management standards and ways of working.
• Contribute to process improvement initiatives that enhance portfolio transparency, governance, and decision-making.

Skills

Analytical thinking

Stakeholder management

Communication skills

Executive reporting

Education

Bachelor's degree

Job description

Ready to work with/through Magnit at Novartis? Please read on...

:::This role is offered through [MSP/supplier/third party provider], who, if selected, will be your employer. If your services are retained, you will be assigned to provide services to Novartis as the end client. This is not an offer of employment with Novartis. If you are selected for this Temporary/External opportunity, you will not be an employee of Novartis and will not be eligible for any Novartis employee benefits or incentives. :::

Novartis touches the lives of a tenth of the world’s population. Every role here, regardless of contract type, makes an impact on human life!

Novartis US partners with external managed service provider Magnit Global to offer engaging temporary contractor opportunities like this, to those who are looking for flexibility in their career while looking to gain new skills and experiences providing services to an inclusive global medicines company.

Portfolio Manager

Novartis is seeking an Associate Director, Portfolio Management to support portfolio planning, demand management, assessment, prioritization, and governance activities across a diverse portfolio of technology, data, digital, and business initiatives.

Working closely with portfolio leaders, product teams, business stakeholders, and technology organizations, this role will help facilitate intake and assessment processes, support portfolio planning activities, develop insights for leadership decision-making, and contribute to governance and reporting processes that drive transparency across the portfolio.

The successful candidate will play an important role in helping ensure demand is evaluated consistently, portfolio information remains current and actionable, and leadership has visibility into priorities, capacity considerations, dependencies, risks, and investment decisions.

Key Responsibilities

Demand Management & Portfolio Assessment

• Support demand intake and assessment activities across business and technology initiatives.


• Partner with stakeholders to gather information needed to evaluate incoming requests.


• Contribute to demand reviews by analyzing strategic alignment, business value, resource considerations, dependencies, and potential impacts.


• Help ensure requests are documented, categorized, and routed appropriately through portfolio processes.


• Support the preparation of materials used during intake, assessment, and prioritization discussions.

Portfolio Planning & Prioritization Support

• Assist in portfolio planning and prioritization activities.


• Analyze portfolio demand, capacity information, dependencies, and competing priorities.


• Develop insights and recommendations to support portfolio decision-making.


• Maintain visibility into proposed, approved, in-flight, and deferred initiatives.


• Support portfolio scenario planning and investment discussions.

Governance & Reporting

• Support portfolio governance forums, reviews, and decision-making processes.


• Prepare portfolio dashboards, reports, leadership presentations, and status updates.


• Track portfolio decisions, actions, risks, and follow-up activities.


• Help maintain portfolio management tools, reporting structures, and planning artifacts.


• Ensure portfolio information is accurate, current, and readily available to stakeholders.

Portfolio Insights & Analytics

• Analyze portfolio data to identify trends, risks, capacity constraints, and opportunities.


• Support development of executive-level portfolio summaries and recommendations.


• Help provide visibility into portfolio health, delivery commitments, demand trends, and investment allocation.


• Contribute to continuous improvement of portfolio metrics and reporting capabilities.

Stakeholder & Process Support

• Build collaborative relationships across business, product, technology, and data teams.


• Help stakeholders navigate portfolio management processes and requirements.


• Promote adoption of portfolio management standards and ways of working.


• Contribute to process improvement initiatives that enhance portfolio transparency, governance, and decision-making.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required.


• 5+ years of experience in portfolio management, program management, PMO, business operations, strategy, product operations, or similar disciplines.


• Experience supporting planning, prioritization, governance, or investment management processes.


• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.


• Experience developing executive-level reports, presentations, and decision-support materials.


• Ability to synthesize complex information into clear recommendations.


• Strong stakeholder management and communication capabilities.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience supporting technology, digital, CRM, data, or commercial portfolios.


• Familiarity with portfolio management, demand management, capacity planning, and governance frameworks.


• Experience working within Agile, Product Operating Model, or matrixed organizational environments.


• Experience in pharmaceutical, life sciences, healthcare, or other regulated industries.

What Success Looks Like

• Demand assessments are supported with timely, accurate, and actionable information.


• Portfolio leaders have enhanced visibility into demand, priorities, capacity, and risks.


• Governance forums are supported with high-quality analysis and decision-support materials.


• Portfolio data and reporting remain accurate, transparent, and useful for leadership decision-making.


• Stakeholders experience a consistent and efficient intake, assessment, and prioritization process.


• The Portfolio Management function is viewed as a trusted partner in enabling value-based investment decisions.

Location

East Hanover, NJ (3 Days onsite and 2 days remote)

Pay Rate

$56 - $88/hour W-2 Only (based on Education/Experience)

Contract

12-month

Benefits

Health, dental, vision, 401k (provided minimum eligibility hours are met)

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?

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.

Accommodation

If you require reasonable accommodation in completing this application, interviewing, completing any pre-employment testing, or otherwise participating in the employee selection process, please direct your inquiries to Magnit at [e-mail].