Full-Time

Director – Optimization & Strategic Initiatives

AbbVie

AbbVie

10,001+ employees

Global biopharmaceutical company developing medicines

Compensation Overview

$160.5k - $305k/yr

+ Long-term incentive program

Mettawa, IL, USA

Hybrid

Bachelor's, Master's, MBA

Category
Business & Strategy (1)
Required Skills
Data Science
Data Analysis

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Requirements
  • A bachelor's degree is required.
  • At least 10 years of progressive experience in analytics, business strategy, commercial operations, marketing excellence, management consulting, transformation, or related functions is required.
  • Demonstrated success leading complex, cross-functional strategic initiatives is required.
  • Strong business acumen with the ability to connect strategy, operations, analytics, and execution is required.
  • Experience in organizational transformation, change management, and process optimization is required.
  • Exceptional executive communication and stakeholder management skills are required.
  • The ability to influence senior leaders and drive alignment across diverse functions is required.
  • Strong analytical and problem-solving capabilities with experience leveraging data to drive decisions are required.
Responsibilities
  • Lead enterprise and franchise-level strategic initiatives that improve commercial effectiveness, customer engagement, and organizational performance.
  • Translate enterprise strategies into actionable roadmaps, operating models, governance structures, and measurable business outcomes.
  • Serve as a thought partner to senior leaders in evaluating business opportunities, identifying capability gaps, and developing transformation strategies.
  • Build business cases and executive recommendations that support investment decisions and organizational change initiatives.
  • Champion adoption of new ways of working and foster a culture of innovation, accountability, and continuous improvement.
  • Drive implementation and ongoing optimization of LOOP capabilities across brands and therapeutic areas.
  • Partner with Integrated Brand Teams to ensure readiness across strategic planning, content, customer journey orchestration, measurement, and operational execution.
  • Lead assessments of brand readiness, identifying opportunities, risks, dependencies, and required interventions.
  • Establish frameworks that embed LOOP principles into annual planning and business processes.
  • Monitor readiness milestones and support execution of roadmap deliverables across functions.
  • Identify and prioritize opportunities to simplify, standardize, and optimize business processes across Commercial, Medical, and Analytics organizations.
  • Lead cross-functional process redesign initiatives that improve efficiency, scalability, and customer impact.
  • Develop and implement governance models, best practices, and operating procedures that support sustainable execution.
  • Drive integration of strategic initiatives into enterprise planning processes and ways of working, including 1Path and related transformation efforts.
  • Establish closed-loop measurement frameworks that evaluate initiative effectiveness and inform future strategy.
  • Partner with Analytics, Data Science, and Business Intelligence teams to develop actionable performance insights.
  • Define KPIs, success metrics, and executive dashboards that enable proactive decision-making.
  • Leverage customer, field, market, and operational data to identify optimization opportunities and support continuous improvement.
  • Translate insights into strategic recommendations that improve customer experience and business performance.
  • Collaborate with Technology, Data, and Digital teams to advance AI-enabled capabilities and data-driven decision-making.
  • Help prioritize and operationalize new platforms, tools, and technologies that support customer engagement and business optimization.
  • Assess data availability, technology readiness, and critical insight gaps to support strategic initiatives.
  • Drive adoption of emerging capabilities that enhance personalization, omnichannel execution, and measurement.
  • Influence and align senior stakeholders across Marketing, Medical, Commercial Excellence, Analytics, Operations, and Technology organizations.
  • Facilitate executive-level governance forums and strategic planning discussions.
  • Lead cross-functional teams and initiative workstreams, often without direct authority.
  • Develop communications, presentations, and executive updates that effectively articulate progress, risks, and business impact.
Desired Qualifications
  • An advanced degree such as an MBA, MPH, MS, or related discipline is preferred.
  • Pharmaceutical, biotechnology, healthcare, or life sciences experience is preferred.
  • Experience with omnichannel engagement, customer strategy, commercial excellence, or customer experience programs is preferred.
  • Knowledge of AI-enabled business processes and advanced analytics applications is preferred.
  • Experience implementing enterprise operating model transformations and large-scale change initiatives is preferred.

AbbVie is a global biopharmaceutical company that develops and sells medicines to treat serious health conditions. Its portfolio spans immunology, oncology, virology, neuroscience, and aesthetics, with products designed to modulate the immune system, target disease pathways, or support medical aesthetics. AbbVie compounds its products through a heavy emphasis on research and development, investing billions to build a steady pipeline of new therapies. Its medicines are brought to market by selling to healthcare providers, hospitals, and clinics, and in some cases directly to patients via prescriptions. The company differentiates itself through a wide, globally distributed product line, substantial R&D investment, and a commitment to sustainability and patient care, including science-based targets. AbbVie’s goal is to improve patient outcomes by delivering effective treatments for unmet medical needs while pursuing long-term, responsible growth across healthcare markets.

Company Size

10,001+

Company Stage

IPO

Headquarters

North Chicago, Illinois

Founded

1888

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Simplify Jobs

Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

  • AbbVie raised 2026 revenue guidance to $67.6 billion after Q2 2026.
  • FDA review of SKYRIZI Crohn's subcutaneous induction targets a late-2026 approval.
  • WCLC 2026 data showed ABBV-1480 90% response in squamous NSCLC.

What critics are saying

  • HUMIRA revenue fell 36.1% in Q2 2026 as biosimilars keep taking share.
  • The Apogee deal cuts 2026 EPS by $0.14 and adds debt financing.
  • Epcoritamab missed the July 23, 2026 DLBCL endpoint, threatening future B-cell franchise growth.

What makes AbbVie unique

  • SKYRIZI and RINVOQ drove $8.8 billion of Q2 2026 immunology revenue.
  • Botox Cosmetic and Juvederm generated $973 million in Q2 2026 aesthetics sales.
  • Apogee purchase adds late-stage IL-13 and TSLP programs for eczema and asthma.

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Benefits

Remote Work Options

Flexible Work Hours

Professional Development Budget

Growth & Insights and Company News

Headcount

6 month growth

3%

1 year growth

3%

2 year growth

3%
Yahoo Finance
Aug 21st, 2026
AbbVie stock moves independently from market with 0.22 correlation driven by immunology drugs

AbbVie stock shows a correlation of just 0.22 to the S&P 500 over five years, meaning most of its movements stem from company-specific factors rather than broader market trends. The pharmaceutical firm's immunology segment generated nearly $8.8 billion of its $17 billion in second-quarter 2026 revenue, led by SKYRIZI at $5.5 billion and RINVOQ at over $2.5 billion. These treatments for chronic diseases have prices negotiated with payers, not consumers. AbbVie has delivered an annualised return of 21.5% with 23.5% volatility over five years, compared to the S&P 500's 12.9% return at 17.2% volatility. The company converts 28.3% of revenue into free cash flow, nearly double the S&P 500 median of 14.5%.

Grafa
Aug 21st, 2026
AbbVie reports 90% response in lung cancer study.

AbbVie reports 90% response in lung cancer study. * AbbVie reported a 90% objective response rate for ABBV-1480 plus platinum chemotherapy in squamous advanced NSCLC at the selected 10 mg/kg dose. * The same dose produced a 75.9% response rate in non-squamous disease and was selected as the recommended Phase 3 dose. * AbbVie will also present data for Temab-A and ABBV-706 across NSCLC and small cell lung cancer at the 2026 World Conference on Lung Cancer. AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) reported Phase 1b lung cancer data showing objective response rates of 90% in squamous and 75.9% in non-squamous advanced NSCLC with ABBV-1480 plus platinum chemotherapy. At the 10 mg/kg dose, 27 of 30 patients with squamous disease and 22 of 29 with non-squamous disease achieved objective responses, according to the company. AbbVie said the findings support further evaluation of ABBV-1480 in advanced NSCLC and selected the 10 mg/kg regimen as the recommended Phase 3 dose. The company will present additional clinical results for telisotuzumab adizutecan, or Temab-A, in first-line non-squamous and EGFR-mutated NSCLC at the 2026 World Conference on Lung Cancer. AbbVie will also report ABBV-706 data in relapsed or refractory small cell lung cancer, including new safety analyses covering 240 patients. The company's conference presentations include real-world evidence evaluating SEZ6 as a potential therapeutic target in small cell lung cancer. The updates form part of AbbVie's clinical development program across non-small cell and small cell lung cancers, with several investigational therapies being evaluated across different treatment settings. Frequently asked questions. ABBV signals

Yahoo Finance
Aug 19th, 2026
AbbVie stock eyes breakout as Skyrizi dosing decision could unlock $24.5B revenue growth

AbbVie stock has returned 24.5% over the past three months, trading near its 52-week high. The pharmaceutical company's growth hinges on a pending regulatory decision for SKYRIZI, an immunology treatment that generates nearly a third of guided revenue. SKYRIZI sold $5.5 billion in Q2 2026, up 24% operationally. AbbVie guides the drug to $21.7 billion for 2026 against total company revenue of approximately $67.6 billion. The company has raised its 2026 guidance twice by $600 million combined. A subcutaneous induction option for Crohn's disease awaits regulatory approval this fall. Management expects the new dosing method to meaningfully accelerate SKYRIZI sales, though the commercial impact won't materialise until early 2027 due to contract timelines. Clinical trial results showed endoscopic response and remission rates 25 points above placebo.

BBC
Aug 19th, 2026
UK's Smith+Nephew CFO John Rogers to step down for external role.

UK's Smith+Nephew CFO John Rogers to step down for external role. August 19, 2026 The departure follows Smith+Nephew's decision weeks ago to cut its annual revenue growth forecast after second-quarter sales missed expectations due to weak U.S. knee and hip implant demand and pressure on skin substitute pricing International News via Reuters: Smith+Nephew said on Wednesday its finance chief John Rogers would step down at the end of September to take up an external position in the United States, ending his roughly two-and-a-half-year tenure with the medical products company. Here are some more details: - The departure follows Smith+Nephew's decision weeks ago to cut its annual revenue growth forecast after second-quarter sales missed expectations due to weak U.S. knee and hip implant demand and pressure on skin substitute pricing. - Smith+Nephew said it had appointed Senior Vice President Finance and Group Controller Pierre Palassian as interim chief financial officer until a permanent replacement was appointed. - Palassian, who joined Smith+Nephew in 2017, previously held senior roles at AbbVie and Abbott Laboratories. - Rogers, who took up the CFO role in early 2024, had relocated to the United States in 2025 for operational efficiencies. - Shares in the FTSE 100 company have gained nearly 14% during Rogers' tenure as CFO. - Smith+Nephew said Rogers would receive no severance payment, and that his outstanding incentive and share awards would lapse on September 30 under leaver rules. Reporting by Neeshita Beura in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu - Advertisement - August 19, 2026 - Advertisement -

Yahoo Finance
Aug 15th, 2026
AbbVie shows strong cash flow margin of 34.8% but faces tepid revenue growth

AbbVie, the biopharmaceutical company spun off from Abbott Laboratories in 2013, has risen 9.7% to $249.64 per share over the past six months. The company generates $64.39 billion in revenue over the past 12 months, benefiting from significant economies of scale in its operations. AbbVie's free cash flow margin averaged 34.8% over the last five years, amongst the best in the healthcare sector. This strong cash generation enables reinvestment and capital returns to investors. However, the company's five-year annualised revenue growth of 3.7% remains tepid compared to sector peers. Despite this weakness, AbbVie's shares trade at 16.3 times forward price-to-earnings ratio. The company develops and markets medications for autoimmune diseases, cancer, neurological disorders, and other complex health conditions.