Associate Director, Succession and Assessment Strategy

Bristol Myers Squibb; Princeton (NJ); On-site; USD 166,010 - 201,159; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health Coverage

401(k) plan

Paid Time Off

Job summary

Bristol Myers Squibb is seeking an Associate Director of Succession & Assessments in Princeton, NJ. This leadership role designs enterprise succession planning, executive assessment, and strategic workforce planning to support leadership continuity and readiness.

You will partner with senior HR leaders and business stakeholders to translate data into actionable development and risk mitigation plans while overseeing coaching partnerships and talent processes.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required; Master’s in HR, Organizational Psychology, or related field preferred.
• 7+ years of experience in succession planning, executive assessment, workforce planning, or related talent disciplines.
• Strong expertise in succession frameworks, critical role identification and leadership readiness evaluation.
• Experience working with executive assessments and coaching providers.
• Familiarity with HR systems (Workday preferred), reporting, and talent analytics.
• Proven ability to partner with senior leaders and facilitate high-stakes talent discussions.
• Strong analytical, strategic thinking, and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent communication, facilitation, and stakeholder management capabilities.

Responsibilities

• Lead the design and evolution of enterprise succession planning and succession pool strategy across executive and enterprise critical roles.
• Define and maintain clear succession frameworks, criteria, and readiness definitions that support consistent and effective succession planning.
• Partner with Executive Talent Partners, HR Business Partners and functional leaders to identify and align critical roles and capabilities essential to business continuity and future growth.
• Identify, design and implement critical pipeline development and engagement experiences.
• Ensure functional succession plans are aligned with enterprise standards while reflecting unique business needs.
• Design and implement succession planning discussion tools and resources to ensure ETM’s ability to translate insights into actionable development and risk mitigation plans.
• Own succession data governance, reporting, and analytics to provide clear visibility into bench strength, readiness, and leadership risk.
• Partner with HR Operations and Technology to configure and optimize Workday succession and talent planning functionality.
• Develop and maintain dashboards and insights that support executive decision‑making and workforce planning conversations.
• Ensure data accuracy, consistency, and usability across succession and talent planning processes.
• Lead the strategy and design of assessment approaches, including discovery, tool selection, and application across leadership populations.
• Ensure assessments are purpose‑driven, evidence‑based, and aligned with leadership expectations and succession needs.
• Translate assessment insights into development priorities and coaching recommendations.
• Own executive coaching vendor management, including selection, contracting, oversight, and quality assurance.
• Partner with Learning, Talent, and HR Business Partners to integrate assessment and coaching insights into development and succession strategies.

Skills

Leadership strategy

Executive assessment

Workforce planning

Data analytics

Stakeholder management

Coaching partnerships

Education

Master’s degree in HR or related field

Bachelor’s degree

Tools

Workday

Job description

Working with Us

Challenging. Meaningful. Life-changing. Those aren’t words that are usually associated with a job. But working at Bristol Myers Squibb is anything but usual. Here, uniquely interesting work happens every day, in every department. From optimizing a production line to the latest breakthroughs in cell therapy, this is work that transforms the lives of patients, and the careers of those who do it. You’ll get the chance to grow and thrive through opportunities uncommon in scale and scope, alongside high‑achieving teams. Take your career farther than you thought possible.

Working with Us

Challenging. Meaningful. Life-changing. Those aren’t words that are usually associated with a job. But working at Bristol Myers Squibb is anything but usual. Here, uniquely interesting work happens every day, in every department. From optimizing a production line to the latest breakthroughs in cell therapy, this is work that transforms the lives of patients, and the careers of those who do it. You’ll get the chance to grow and thrive through opportunities uncommon in scale and scope, alongside high‑achieving teams. Take your career farther than you thought possible.

Bristol Myers Squibb recognizes the importance of balance and flexibility in our work environment. We offer a wide variety of competitive benefits, services and programs that provide our employees with the resources to pursue their goals, both at work and in their personal lives. Read more: careers.bms.com/working-with-us.

What We Are Looking For

The Associate Director, Succession & Assessments serves as a key leader in building frameworks to drive leadership continuity, executive readiness, and long‑term workforce sustainability. This role leads the strategy and design of enterprise succession planning, executive assessment, and strategic workforce planning initiatives.

Who You Will Work With

This position reports to the Senior Director, Enterprise Talent Processes and Enablement.

Partnering closely with senior HR leaders, Talent Partners and business stakeholders, this role ensures the organization has clear visibility into leadership pipelines, critical roles, and future capability needs. The Associate Director integrates data, assessments, and workforce insights to support thoughtful, equitable, and forward‑looking talent decisions.

Primary Responsibilities

Succession Strategy & Critical Role Alignment

• Lead the design and evolution of enterprise succession planning and succession pool strategy across executive and enterprise critical roles.
• Define and maintain clear succession frameworks, criteria, and readiness definitions that support consistent and effective succession planning.
• Partner with Executive Talent Partners, HR Business Partners and functional leaders to identify and align critical roles and capabilities essential to business continuity and future growth.
• Identify, design and implement critical pipeline development and engagement experience
• Ensure functional succession plans are aligned with enterprise standards while reflecting unique business needs.
• Design and implement succession planning discussion tools and resources to ensure ETM’s ability to translate insights into actionable development and risk mitigation plans.

Succession Reporting, Systems & Workforce Insights

• Own succession data governance, reporting, and analytics to provide clear visibility into bench strength, readiness, and leadership risk.
• Partner with HR Operations and Technology to configure and optimize Workday succession and talent planning functionality.
• Develop and maintain dashboards and insights that support executive decision‑making and workforce planning conversations.
• Ensure data accuracy, consistency, and usability across succession and talent planning processes.

Assessment & Coaching Strategy

• Lead the strategy and design of assessment approaches, including discovery, tool selection, and application across leadership populations.
• Ensure assessments are purpose‑driven, evidence‑based, and aligned with leadership expectations and succession needs.
• Translate assessment insights into development priorities and coaching recommendations.
• Own executive coaching vendor management, including selection, contracting, oversight, and quality assurance.
• Partner with Learning, Talent, and HR Business Partners to integrate assessment and coaching insights into development and succession strategies.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required; Master’s in HR, Organizational Psychology, or related field preferred.
• 7+ years of experience in succession planning, executive assessment, workforce planning, or related talent disciplines.
• Strong expertise in succession frameworks, critical role identification and leadership readiness evaluation.
• Experience working with executive assessments and coaching providers.
• Familiarity with HR systems (Workday preferred), reporting, and talent analytics.
• Proven ability to partner with senior leaders and facilitate high‑stakes talent discussions.
• Strong analytical, strategic thinking, and problem‑solving skills.
• Excellent communication, facilitation, and stakeholder management capabilities.
• Able to manage multiple, interdependent initiatives with strong execution and attention to detail.
• Comfortable operating in ambiguity while driving clarity and alignment.

If you come across a role that intrigues you but doesn’t perfectly line up with your resume, we encourage you to apply anyway. You could be one step away from work that will transform your life and career.

Compensation Overview

Princeton - NJ - US: $166,010 - $201,159

The starting compensation range(s) for this role are listed above for a full‑time employee (FTE) basis. Additional incentive cash and stock opportunities (based on eligibility) may be available. The starting pay rate takes into account characteristics of the job, such as required skills, where the job is performed, the employee’s work schedule, job‑related knowledge, and experience. Final, individual compensation will be decided based on demonstrated experience.

Eligibility for specific benefits listed on our careers site may vary based on the job and location. For more on benefits, please visit https://careers.bms.com/life-at-bms/.

Benefits

Benefit offerings are subject to the terms and conditions of the applicable plans in effect at the time and may require enrollment. Our benefits include:

• Health Coverage: Medical, pharmacy, dental, and vision care.
• Wellbeing Support: Programs such as BMS Well‑Being Account, BMS Living Life Better, and Employee Assistance Programs (EAP).
• Financial Well‑being and Protection: 401(k) plan, short- and long‑term disability, life insurance, accident insurance, supplemental health insurance, business travel protection, personal liability protection, identity theft benefit, legal support, and survivor support.

Work‑life Benefits Include

Paid Time Off

• US Exempt Employees: flexible time off (unlimited, with manager approval, 11 paid national holidays (not applicable to employees in Phoenix, AZ, Puerto Rico or Rayzebio employees)
• Phoenix, AZ, Puerto Rico and Rayzebio Exempt, Non-Exempt, Hourly Employees: 160 hours annual paid vacation for new hires with manager approval, 11 national holidays, and 3 optional holidays

Based on eligibility*, additional time off for employees may include unlimited paid sick time, up to 2 paid volunteer days per year, summer hours flexibility, leaves of absence for medical, personal, parental, caregiver, bereavement, and military needs and an annual Global Shutdown between Christmas and New Years Day.

All global employees full and part‑time who are actively employed at and paid directly by BMS at the end of the calendar year are eligible to take advantage of the Global Shutdown.

• Eligibility Disclosure: The summer hours program is for United States (U.S.) office‑based employees due to the unique nature of their work. Summer hours are generally not available for field sales and manufacturing operations and may also be limited for the capability centers. Employees in remote‑by‑design or lab‑based roles may be eligible for summer hours, depending on the nature of their work, and should discuss eligibility with their manager. Employees covered under a collective bargaining agreement should consult that document to determine