Director, Oncology Strategic Initiatives

Role Summary

The Director, Strategic Initiatives Lead (Oncology) drives a portfolio of high-impact, cross-functional programs that enable and accelerate Pfizer’s Oncology goals across R&D. The role partners closely with leaders in Research, Development, Regulatory, Commercial, Medical, Finance, and Digital – among others - to translate strategy into executable roadmaps, remove delivery barriers, and achieve tangible outcomes and deliverables. This leader operates confidently amid ambiguity and change, shaping direction through structured problem solving, data-backed insights, and pragmatic decision frameworks. Success requires influencing without direct authority, building coalitions across functions and alliances, and fostering crisp execution and accountability while maintaining an enterprise view of project priorities across Oncology.

Responsibilities

• Owns a portfolio of Oncology strategic initiatives to accelerate delivery of the Oncology portfolio, with responsibility to define objectives, success metrics, interdependencies, and milestones.
• Leads cross-functional workstreams with clear charters and operating cadence.
• Drives decision quality by structuring complex problems, developing scenarios, and facilitating executive decision-making.
• Establishes governance and business rhythm (e.g., steering committees, decision reviews, initiative KPIs) to ensure transparency and timely escalations.
• Creates execution roadmaps, removes blockers, and coordinates with functional owners and/or external partners to deliver outcomes.
• Champions change management and communications, building buy-in and adoption across diverse teams.
• Influences without authority by cultivating trusted relationships and aligning teams to shared outcomes.
• Synthesizes cross-program data, surfaces patterns, and recommends course corrections to accelerate Oncology goals.
• Codifies and scales best practices, continuously improving initiative management methods and tools.
• Upholds compliance and quality standards across all initiative activities.

Qualifications

• Required: Bachelor’s degree in life sciences, engineering, business, or related field; advanced degree (e.g., MBA, MS, PharmD, PhD) is a plus.
• Required: 10+ years of progressive experience in strategy execution, program/portfolio management, or operations within biopharma, healthcare, or related industries.
• Required: Demonstrated ability to influence without direct authority across senior stakeholders and cross-functional teams.
• Required: Proven track record operating effectively under ambiguity, setting direction, and delivering measurable outcomes.
• Required: Strong structured problem-solving, financial/analytical skills, and executive-ready communication.
• Required: Experience leading complex, multi-stakeholder initiatives from discovery through execution.
• Preferred: Previous experience at a top-tier management consulting firm (e.g., MBB or equivalent) with a focus on biopharma/oncology strategy and/or large-scale transformation.
• Preferred: Direct experience in Oncology across one or more functions (e.g., Clinical Development, Medical, Commercial, Regulatory).
• Preferred: Experience assessing and/or leading AI initiatives in life sciences.
• Preferred: Knowledgeable about the Chinese biotech ecosystem.
• Preferred: Demonstrated ability to scale pilot projects into broader solutions for a team / function / organization.

Additional Requirements

• Business travel may be required up to 20% of the time.