Business Partner – R&D Business Excellence (RBE)

Role Summary

The DD&T Business Partner for R&D Business Excellence (RBE) is a strategic role responsible for ensuring that digital, data, and technology capabilities fully support the priorities of the RBE organization. The Business Partner provides thought leadership, connects business strategy with technology execution, and ensures that digital and data solutions evolve to meet RBE’s needs, with a focus on driving operational excellence, financial planning and analytics, portfolio governance, and external innovation. They bridge business insight and technical fluency across DD&T’s planning and delivery cycles to enable scalable growth.

Responsibilities

• Partnering: Serve as the primary DD&T advisor to RBE leadership, translating business processes and challenges into actionable digital and data priorities; act as the bridge between business teams and DD&T delivery.
• Strategy & Roadmap Development: Shape the digital, data, and technology roadmap for RBE, identifying opportunities to improve data quality, analytics, and workflow efficiency; align roadmaps with RBE, R&D, and enterprise strategies.
• Process Enablement & Optimization (In Partnership with Business Owners): Identify where digital or data enhancements can improve operational effectiveness; translate opportunities into DD&T requirements and guide implementation to ensure desired outcomes.
• Stakeholder Management: Build and sustain trust-based relationships across RBE, DD&T, and adjacent functions; manage expectations and navigate competing priorities.
• Portfolio & Delivery Oversight: Oversee the digital and data initiative portfolio, manage intake/prioritization, timelines, dependencies, and value realization; support investment proposals and ensure high-quality, fit-for-purpose solutions.
• Adoption, Enablement & Continuous Improvement: Lead change management, training, and communication; monitor performance post-implementation and drive ongoing improvements.

Qualifications

• Required: Bachelor’s degree in business, information systems, data/analytics, life sciences, or a related field.
• Preferred: Advanced degree (MBA, MS, PhD, or equivalent).
• Required: 10+ years of experience in digital, data, technology, consulting, or business partnering roles within complex, matrixed, or global organizations.
• Behavioral Competencies & Skills (Required): Strong relationship-building and stakeholder-management capabilities; ability to translate complex business needs into clear digital and data requirements; excellent communication, analytical and critical-thinking abilities; ability to influence across diverse stakeholder groups; comfort managing ambiguity and shifting priorities; ability to drive alignment across business and technology teams; high accountability, ownership, and follow-through; strong organizational skills to manage multiple initiatives.
• Desired: In-depth Pharmaceutical industry and drug development experience; professional certification in project management, business analysis, or related areas; knowledge of computer validations; experience supporting strategy and operations, financial planning, portfolio governance, or external innovation; experience contributing to or shaping technology and data roadmaps; experience supporting adoption of new digital or data capabilities; understanding of data governance, information management, and analytics concepts; experience collaborating across global or cross-functional environments.

Education

• Bachelor’s degree in business, information systems, data/analytics, life sciences, or a related field required
• Advanced degree (MBA, MS, PhD, or equivalent) preferred

Skills

• Strong relationship-building and stakeholder-management capabilities
• Ability to translate complex business needs into clear digital and data requirements
• Excellent communication skills, including the ability to convey complex ideas clearly and confidently
• Strong analytical and critical-thinking abilities
• Ability to influence without authority across diverse stakeholder groups
• Comfort navigating ambiguity and managing shifting priorities
• Demonstrated ability to drive alignment across business and technology teams
• High accountability, ownership, and follow-through
• Strong organizational skills and ability to manage multiple initiatives concurrently

Additional Requirements

• Travel may be required (5-10%).
• Access to transportation to attend meetings near Takeda offices.
• Location: Boston, MA