Job Description
Summary
Serving as the connective tissue across functional leaders, product teams, DDIT, Fi-nance, Procurement, Analytics and external partners, the role will create an integrated view of priorities, dependencies, resources, risks, budgets and outcomes. The Associ-ate Director will lead hands-on analysis and planning forums, synthesize complex in-puts, facilitate trade-off decisions, document commitments, and ensure teams remain aligned and accountable.
The successful candidate will combine strategic thinking with strong operational execution. This person must be a self-starter who is comfortable building structure where it does not yet exist, navigating ambiguity and competing priorities, and influencing stakeholders without relying on formal authority. Governance should be right-sized and outcome-oriented, improving clarity, speed and scalability rather than adding unnecessary process.
About the Role
Associate Director, Operations and Governance Lead
Location – Hyderabad #LI Hybrid
Major accountabilities:
- Design, implement, and continuously improve a scalable operating model for web and digital optimization across Medical, NPS, and other functional areas.
- Establish SOPs, governance frameworks, RACI models, intake and prioritization processes, stage gates, handoffs, and escalation paths.
- Partner with leadership to translate enterprise and functional objectives into annual plans, quarterly priorities, and multi-year roadmaps.
- Lead cross-functional portfolio, roadmap, and operating reviews by facilitating trade-offs, synthesizing data, documenting decisions, and tracking ownership and timelines.
- Maintain a current portfolio view covering outcomes, milestones, capacity, dependencies, risks, decisions, resources, and financial status.
- Drive alignment across product, platform, analytics, content, design, technology, and functional roadmaps to identify gaps, duplication, sequencing conflicts, and reuse opportunities.
- Support governance cadences, executive reporting, KPI tracking, budget planning, forecasting, vendor spend, and financial management in partnership with Finance and Procurement.
- Lead onboarding, change management, stakeholder coordination, retrospectives, and continuous improvement initiatives to resolve risks, simplify processes, and strengthen cross-functional ways of working.
Educational Requirement:
• Bachelor’s degree in business, Technology, Engineering, Analytics, or a related field required or MBA or Master’s degree preferred
Minimum Experience:
•Minimum years of 8-10 years of experience.
Operating Model Adoption & Scalability - Measure use of the agreed operating model across in-scope functions, onboarding speed and quality, and completeness of required governance artifacts.
• Portfolio & Roadmap Coherence - Assess the percentage of initiatives with clear outcomes, owners, milestones and dependencies, and reductions in duplicated, conflicting or unsequenced work.
• Decision Velocity & Accountability - Track time from issue identification to decision, action and escalation closure rates, and the quality of documented decisions.
• Portfolio Transparency & Delivery Predictability - Evaluate reporting accuracy and timeliness, confidence in milestones and forecasts, dependency resolution, and the age of unresolved risks.
• Financial Stewardship & Stakeholder Experience - Measure budget and forecast accuracy, timely purchase-order and vendor management, stakeholder confidence in governance, and reductions in operating friction.
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? https://www.novartis.com/about/strategy/people-and-culture
Benefits and Rewards: Learn about all the ways we’ll help you thrive personally and professionally.
Read our handbook (PDF 30 MB)
