Senior Program Governance & Operations Advisor

Eli Lilly and Company; Richmond (VA); On-site; USD 131,000 - 211,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

401(k) plan

Medical, dental, vision insurance

Vacation benefits

Well-being programs

Employee clubs

Job summary

Lilly seeks a senior program operations leader to drive strategic advisory, leadership rhythm, and executive communications for a large, complex program. You will coordinate with senior leaders and external partners to ensure timely, clear decision-making and governance alignment.

The role emphasizes cross-functional collaboration, risk mitigation, and seamless program office operations across global teams, with travel as needed. Strong governance and communication skills are essential.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Engineering, Construction Management, Communications, or a related field.
• 10+ years of experience in program operations, business operations or senior program management roles within a large, complex organization.
• Authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis; Lilly does not sponsor work authorization or visas.

Responsibilities

• Act as a trusted thought partner to the program's senior leader, supporting prioritization, escalation, and decision readiness.
• Translate leadership direction into clear operating norms, execution plans, and communication artifacts.
• Proactively identify risks, misalignments, and execution gaps, and surface recommendations with options and implications.
• Ensure information from across the program and the wider organization reaches leadership in time to inform decisions.
• Own the program's leadership meeting cadence, including agendas, pre-reads, action tracking, documentation, and follow-through across leadership forums.
• Prepare leadership for stage-gate reviews, funding decisions, and governance forums in partnership with the Program PMO Lead.
• Serve as steward of meeting and artifact quality, ensuring alignment with Lilly and GFD expectations.
• Partner with Project Integrators to author and deliver executive-level communications on behalf of program leadership.

Skills

Strategic thinking

Stakeholder management

Executive communication

Risk identification

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Business/Engineering/Construction/Communications or related field

Tools

Smartsheet

Power BI

SharePoint

Microsoft Teams

Oracle Unifier/Primavera P6

Job description

Lilly seeks a senior program operations leader to drive strategic advisory, leadership rhythm, and executive communications for a large, complex program. You will coordinate with senior leaders and external partners to ensure timely, clear decision-making and governance alignment.

The role emphasizes cross-functional collaboration, risk mitigation, and seamless program office operations across global teams, with travel as needed. Strong governance and communication skills are essential.