Novartis Hiring for Director, Innovation Lab – AI Innovation Lead job in East Hanover Full Time

About the role
This position will be located at East Hanover, NJ and will not have the ability to be located remotely. This position will require 10% travel as defined by the business (domestic and/ or international).” “Please note that this role would not provide relocation and only local candidates will be considered.

The Director, Innovation Lab – AI Innovation Lead sits within the US Innovation Lab (iLab), a part of the Marketing Technology Product Management team. In this role, you will join a highly innovative and entrepreneurial group with a focus on accelerating AI Use Cases in the US. With a deep expertise in AI, large language models (LLM), and natural language processing (NLP) you will help shape our AI Innovation Strategy and lead the experimentation of innovative AI-driven products and services aligned to Novartis US objectives. We think differently here; we are constantly thinking about tomorrow, and we are designing the future- today.

Your primary focus will be on responsible AI product/program management. You will manage the execution of proof of concepts, lead cross-functional teams, and foster a culture learning and collaboration. This includes managing program and project delivery, overseeing use case workstream pilots, and identifying, analyzing, and mitigating risks and dependencies to achieve defined objectives for marketing, sales, and other functions. You will engage with leaders at all levels of the global organization to align plans, product roadmap and approaches.

The ideal candidate will bring strong expertise with real-world application of AI, and a thorough understanding of partnering with commercial business partners. You will demonstrate your knowledge and comfort with AI’s accelerating products and emerging solutions, such as Gen AI / ChatGPT, and the players that are enabling these new technologies. Ideally, you will have led work in big tech and/or a leading company building AI solutions. You will excel at engaging, collaborating with, and influencing critical internal stakeholders and partners across all areas of the organization to bring new innovations to life.

You will serve as the Innovation Lab resident expert for AI and possess excellent presentation creation and communication skills, both written and oral, to educate and nurture AI competency upskilling across Novartis US. You will thrive in ambiguity with a passion for innovation, problem-solving and the discipline of innovation to deliver business impact. You will provide matrix and situational leadership to a multi-disciplinary team of functional experts, including IT, Data, Analytics and Insights and other groups across the organization in achieving objectives.

Key Responsibilities
Planning & Coordination
•Own Product/Program Management of iLab AI / GenAI pursuits, employing the Evidence-based, Data-driven Innovation Model and Innovation Framework to inform use case decision-making, prioritize efforts, and execute the product roadmap via Agile methodology, including resource planning, funding, and use case prioritization
•Manage the execution of AI / generative AI POCs/MVPs utilizing your knowledge of LLM and NLP, identifying, analyzing, and mitigating risks and dependencies and collaborating with leaders across the enterprise to establish plans, product roadmaps, and approaches aligned to IMUS strategy and objectives to deliver results
•Oversee the lifecycle of AI POCs/MVPs, from discovery, to development, to launch, to scale, validating or invalidating hypotheses and iterating to achieve business objectives
•Build a culture of continuous learning and improvement, fostering an environment that encourages experimentation, innovation, while minimizing risks
•Define and monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure the impact of AI initiatives.

Monitoring & Reporting:

•Maintain program/ project program governance (Steering Committees, monthly business updates, monthly financial reporting, etc.)
•Ensure project / program insights, policies, playbooks, user handbooks are published and shared to contribute to continuous improvement and establishment of Innovation Lab templates that will accelerate experimentation and enable brand partners and other collaborators to incorporate appropriate key learnings into brand strategy and tactics

The pay range for this position at commencement of employment is expected to be between $192,000 and $288,000/year; however, while salary ranges are effective from 1/1/23 through 12/31/23, fluctuations in the job market may necessitate adjustments to pay ranges during this period. Further, final pay determinations will depend on various factors, including, but not limited to geographical location, experience level, knowledge, skills and abilities. The total compensation package for this position may also include other elements, including a sign-on bonus, restricted stock units, and discretionary awards in addition to a full range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits (including 401(k) eligibility and various paid time off benefits, such as vacation, sick time, and parental leave), dependent on the position offered. Details of participation in these benefit plans will be provided if an employee receives an offer of employment. If hired, employee will be in an “at-will position” and the Company reserves the right to modify base salary (as well as any other discretionary payment or compensation program) at any time, including for reasons related to individual performance, Company or individual department/team performance, and market factors.

Commitment to Diversity & Inclusion:
We are Equal Opportunity Employers and take pride in maintaining a diverse environment. We do not discriminate in recruitment, hiring, training, promotion or other employment practices for reasons of race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital or veteran status, disability, or any other legally protected status. We are committed to building diverse teams, representative of the patients and communities we serve, and we strive to create an inclusive workplace that cultivates bold innovation through collaboration and empowers our people to unleash their full potential.

Accessibility and Reasonable Accommodations: Individuals in need of a reasonable accommodation due to a medical condition or disability for any part of the application process, or to perform the essential functions of a position, please let us know the nature of your request, your contact information and the job requisition number in your message:

• Novartis: e-mail [email protected] or call +1 (877)395-2339
• Sandoz: e-mail [email protected] or call: +1-609-422-4098

Role Requirements
Essential Requirements
•Bachelor’s degree in computer science, Information Technology, Data Science, or an MBA Master’s in a related field
•Experience working with commercial teams creating solutions with AI
•10+ years of AI and Innovation Management, including with Big Tech, with a focus on AI and machine learning applications, LLM, NLP, and generative AI.
•8+ years of Product Management, Strategy, Innovation, or consulting role
•Understanding of pharma industry and pharma marketing principles a plus
•Deep demonstrated passion for innovation with entrepreneurial behaviors such as strategic thinking and problem-solving to inspire organizational change management necessary for enabling AI solutions
•Successful track record in driving innovative thinking, leading ideation, and meeting business objectives
•Significant experience in Machine Learning, and latest AI technologies
•Experience leading multiple product development cycles from concept to scale in AI
•Experience defining product requirements and using data and metrics to determine improvements
•Excellent communication, collaboration, and interpersonal skills (verbal, written, presentation) for bridging between scientific and business participants with the ability to explain complex technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders and for driving a program to effective implementation
•Strong relationship-building, influencing and negotiating skills
•Demonstrated experience engaging and influencing senior executives
•Demonstrated ability to work in a fast-paced, multidisciplinary environment, with a comfort in the ambiguous, adapting quickly to changing priorities.

Why Novartis: Our purpose is to reimagine medicine to improve and extend people’s lives and our vision is to become the most valued and trusted medicines company in the world. How can we achieve this? With our people. It is our associates that drive us each day to reach our ambitions. Be a part of this mission and join us! Learn more here: https://www.novartis.com/about/strategy/people-and-culture

You’ll Receive: You can find everything you need to know about our benefits and rewards in the Novartis Life Handbook. https://www.novartis.com/careers/benefits-rewards

Commitment to Diversity & Inclusion: Novartis is committed to building an outstanding, inclusive work environment and diverse teams representative of the patients and communities we serve.

Join our Novartis Network: If this role is not suitable to your experience or career goals but you wish to stay connected to hear more about Novartis and our career opportunities, join the Novartis Network here: https://talentnetwork.novartis.com/network.