Senior Director - Business Strategy and Operations

At Gilead, we’re creating a healthier world for all people. For more than 35 years, we’ve tackled diseases such as HIV, viral hepatitis, COVID-19 and cancer – working relentlessly to develop therapies that help improve lives and to ensure access to these therapies across the globe. We continue to fight against the world’s biggest health challenges, and our mission requires collaboration, determination and a relentless drive to make a difference.
 

Every member of Gilead’s team plays a critical role in the discovery and development of life-changing scientific innovations. Our employees are our greatest asset as we work to achieve our bold ambitions, and we’re looking for the next wave of passionate and ambitious people ready to make a direct impact.
 

We believe every employee deserves a great leader. People Leaders are the cornerstone to the employee experience at Gilead and Kite. As a people leader now or in the future, you are the key driver in evolving our culture and creating an environment where every employee feels included, developed and empowered to fulfil their aspirations. Join Gilead and help create possible, together.

Job Description
 

JOB RESPONSIBILITIES

• Serves as a key strategic partner to the Vice President of Operations and the Site Leadership Team (SLT), enabling the Gilead Alberta site to achieve its short- and long-term business objectives through strong strategy deployment, operational discipline, organizational change management, communication, digital enablement, and operational excellence.
• Accountable for translating site, Pharmaceutical Development and Manufacturing (PDM), and enterprise priorities into actionable plans, governance routines, performance management systems, and cross-functional execution mechanisms.
• Provides leadership across multiple strategic and operational workstreams and ensures alignment between business priorities, resources, organizational capability, and site performance.
• Responsible for multi-function strategic planning
• Institutes key processes necessary to achieve long and short-term strategic goals.
• Anticipates shifts in industry trends and regulatory environment that will impact Gilead’s business needs and positions the function to respond accordingly.
• Works with the SLT to establish and publish Key Performance Indicators.

Strategy Development and Implementation

• Acts as key strategic advisor, leading the development and execution of short- and long-range strategic plans in alignment with PDM and PDM Manufacturing strategy and ambition, company goals, market trends and in partnership with the SLT.
• Provides insight in developing, prioritization and communicating site-wide priorities and initiatives. Creates buy-in for the business plans and vision for the future to ensure goals are aligned and achieved.
• Develops plans to translate strategic objectives into tactical implementation of new technologies and processes to enhance production efficiency.
• Monitors key performance indicators (KPIs) to track progress and identify areas for further optimization.
• Builds strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders to facilitate collaboration and alignment on strategic and operational priorities.
• Supports the development of a culture that aligns with the company values, encouraging growth and learning mindset while ensuring accountability and retaining key talent in a positive environment.

Organization Change Management & Communication

• Leads the organizational change management strategy for major site initiatives, ensuring business changes are effectively planned, communicated, adopted, and sustained.
• Communicates manufacturing site strategy and progress to the SLT, including regular updates on performance metrics.
• Partners with the VP of Operations, SLT, HR and functional leaders to ensure messaging is aligned, timely, transparent, and connected to site values and strategic pillars.
• Develops communication plans and ensures effective communication strategies are in place within the organization, including two-way communication channels.
• Accountable for the success of formal organizational change management impacting all business units.
• Strengthens site-wide change readiness by building leader capability in communication, stakeholder engagement, and change adoption.
• Supports leaders in translating complex business changes into practical, audience-specific messages that promote understanding, engagement, and ownership.

Operational Excellence

• Develops and leads the Alberta operational excellence strategy in alignment with site priorities, business needs, and enterprise goals.
• Champions continuous improvement methodologies and establishes sustainable processes that improve productivity and effectiveness.
• Manages multiple cross-functional projects.
• Conducts process analysis, identifies bottlenecks and inefficiencies, and designs and implements process improvement solutions using methodologies like Lean Six Sigma, or other continuous improvement frameworks.
• Utilizes data analytics to measure performance, identify trends, and track progress on improvement initiatives.
• Supports a high-performing cross-functional team of operational excellence professionals, providing coaching and development opportunities.
• Works closely with cross-functional teams across departments to identify and implement operational improvements.
• Fosters a culture of continuous improvement, encouraging employee engagement and feedback on process improvement opportunities.
• Ensures operational excellence initiatives are supported by appropriate change management, communication, training, adoption, and sustainment plans.

Experience requirements:

• BS Degree and 14 years of experience

OR

• Master's Degree and 12 years of experience

OR

• PhD and 12 years of experience

People Leader Accountabilities:

• Create Inclusion - knowing the business value of diverse teams, modeling inclusion, and embedding the value of diversity in the way they manage their teams.

• Develop Talent - understand the skills, experience, aspirations and potential of their employees and coach them on current performance and future potential. They ensure employees are receiving the feedback and insight needed to grow, develop and realize their purpose.

• Empower Teams - connect the team to the organization by aligning goals, purpose, and organizational objectives, and holding them to account. They provide the support needed to remove barriers and connect their team to the broader ecosystem.

For Current Gilead Employees and Contractors:

Please apply via the Internal Career Opportunities portal in Workday.