Senior Director, Development Sciences: Ops & Strategy

AbbVie Inc.; Chicago (IL); Hybrid; USD 190,000 - 270,000; Full time

Job summary

AbbVie seeks a senior strategic and operations leader to partner with the VP of Development Sciences, translating strategy into disciplined execution and governance for a global function.

The role leads business operations, chief-of-staff activities, and cross-functional collaboration across R&D, Finance, Procurement, Quality, Legal, HR, and Communications, including Ludwigshafen site operations.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in a scientific, business, operational, or related discipline.
• 15+ years of progressively responsible experience in business operations, chief-of-staff, strategic planning, finance/resource management, or organizational leadership within pharmaceutical, biotechnology, or R&D environments.
• Strong strategic thinking, operational execution, financial acumen, governance discipline, and ability to synthesize complex information into clear recommendations.
• Proven experience in change management, process improvement, and building productive, inclusive leadership-team and organizational cultures.
• Excellent written, verbal, facilitation, and executive communication skills, with sound judgment and high discretion.
• Demonstrated commitment to ethical conduct, quality, compliance, and respectful collaboration.

Responsibilities

• Advise the VP and Leadership Team on priorities, trade-offs, decisions, and follow-through; convert strategic objectives into operating plans, milestones, risks, and performance indicators.
• Shape clear, timely communications for leadership forums, organization-wide updates, executive materials, and key external interactions; ensure consistent strategic narrative.
• Design and facilitate leadership-team rhythms, agendas, decision forums, and off-sites; strengthen accountability and collaboration.
• Lead internal and external financial planning, rolling forecasts, investment tracking, vendor/resource oversight, and scenario analysis.
• Establish governance, controls, policies, decision records, and inspection-ready processes; partner with functions to identify, escalate…
• Lead continuous-improvement initiatives to simplify processes and strengthen organizational capability across Development Sciences.
• Build trusted cross-functional partnerships to remove barriers and align dependencies.
• Provide core business-operations leadership for Ludwigshafen site and local engagement.

Skills

Strategic thinking

Operational execution

Financial acumen

Governance discipline

Executive communication

Change management

Leadership

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Advanced degree

Job description

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 atwww.abbvie.com. Follow @abbvie onLinkedIn,Facebook,Instagram,XandYouTube.

Job Description

ROLE PURPOSE
Serve as the senior strategic and operational partner to the VP of Development Sciences, enabling the Development Sciences Leadership Team to translate strategy into disciplined execution, effective governance, sound resource stewardship, and a high-performing, inclusive organization. The role leads business operations and chief-of-staff activities across the global function.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
1. Strategic partnership and execution: Advise the VP and Leadership Team on priorities, trade-offs, decisions, and follow-through; convert strategic objectives into integrated operating plans, milestones, risks, and performance indicators.
2. Strategic communications: Shape clear, timely, audience-appropriate communications for leadership forums, organization-wide updates, executive materials, and key external interactions; ensure consistent strategic narrative and message discipline.
3. Leadership-team effectiveness and culture: Design and facilitate effective leadership-team rhythms, agendas, decision forums, and off-sites; strengthen accountability, inclusion, collaboration, and an environment in which teams can perform at their best.
4. Financial planning, forecasting, and resource management: Lead internal and external financial planning, rolling forecasts, investment tracking, vendor/resource oversight, and scenario analysis; provide transparent insights that support responsible resource allocation and delivery.
5. Compliance and governance: Establish and maintain fit-for-purpose governance, controls, policies, decision records, and inspection-ready business processes; partner with relevant functions to identify, escalate, and mitigate operational and compliance risks.
6. Business excellence and organizational improvement: Lead continuous-improvement initiatives that simplify processes, improve operating discipline, enhance data quality, and strengthen organizational capability across Development Sciences.
7. Cross-functional collaboration: Build trusted partnerships across R&D, Finance, Procurement, Quality, Legal, HR, Communications, and other global functions to remove barriers, align dependencies, and advance shared outcomes.
8. Ludwigshafen site operations: Provide core business-operations leadership for the Ludwigshafen site, including site planning, operating rhythms, issue resolution, and local engagement, in close partnership with local site leadership and global partners.
9. Organizational insight and reporting: Maintain a concise view of organizational performance, capacity, risks, decisions, and commitments; deliver actionable reporting and recommendations to the VP and Leadership Team.

KEY STAKEHOLDERS
• VP of Development Sciences and Development Sciences Leadership Team
• Development Sciences colleagues and functional leaders
• Ludwigshafen site leadership, site services, and local employee representatives, as applicable
• Global R&D, Development, Finance, Procurement, Quality, Legal, HR, Communications, and external partners

Qualifications

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
• Bachelor’s degree in a scientific, business, operational, or related discipline.
• 15+ years of progressively responsible experience in business operations, chief-of-staff, strategic planning, finance/resource management, or organizational leadership roles within pharmaceutical, biotechnology, or R&D environments.
• Strong strategic thinking, operational execution, financial acumen, governance discipline, and ability to synthesize complex information into clear recommendations.
• Proven experience in change management, process improvement, and building productive, inclusive leadership-team and organizational cultures.
• Excellent written, verbal, facilitation, and executive communication skills, with sound judgment and high discretion.
• Demonstrated commitment to ethical conduct, quality, compliance, and respectful collaboration.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS
• Advanced degree in a relevant scientific, business, or management discipline.
• Experience supporting a senior R&D, Development Sciences, or pharmaceutical functional executive as a chief of staff or business operations leader.
• Working knowledge of drug development, regulated environments, portfolio governance, and external partner management.

LEADERSHIP BEHAVIORS/CAPABILITIES
• Sets direction with enterprise perspective; balances long-term strategy with practical, timely execution.
• Builds trust through integrity, transparency, discretion, and reliable follow-through.
• Leads through influence, creates alignment across differing priorities, and makes thoughtful decisions amid ambiguity.
• Develops inclusive, accountable teams and actively seeks diverse perspectives to improve outcomes.
• Challenges constructively, learns continuously, and drives simplification and sustainable improvement.

SCOPE AND ACCOUNTABILITY
• Accountable for the effectiveness of the Development Sciences business operating model, leadership cadence, strategic communications and execution tracking.
• Owns coordination of functional financial planning, and resource-management processes.
• Operates across a global matrix, influencing outcomes beyond formal authority and ensuring risks, dependencies, and decisions are visible and managed.

Additional Information

Applicable only to applicants applying to a position in any location with pay disclosure requirements under state orlocal law:

• The compensation range described below is the range of possible base pay compensation that the Companybelieves ingood faith it will pay for this role at the timeof this posting based on the job grade for this position.Individualcompensation paid within this range will depend on many factors including geographic location, andwemayultimatelypaymore or less than the posted range. This range may bemodifiedin thefuture.
• We offer a comprehensive package of benefits including paid time off (vacation, holidays, sick),medical/dental/visioninsurance and 401(k) to eligibleemployees.
• This job is eligible toparticipatein our long-term incentiveprograms.

Note: No amount of payis considered to bewages or compensation until such amount is earned, vested, anddeterminable.The amount and availability of any bonus,commission, incentive, benefits, or any other form ofcompensation and benefitsthat are allocable to a particular employeeremainsin the Company's sole andabsolutediscretion unless and until paid andmay bemodifiedat the Company’s sole and absolute discretion, consistent withapplicable 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, visithttps://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