Director, Research & Development Support

Role Summary

The Research & Development (R&D) Support and Services Lead for Clinical and Research is a member of the R&D Support & Services organization. In R&D Support and Services, our mission is to create business value for the R&D functions of Pfizer through the delivery of impactful and sustainable technology solutions, as well as by providing the talent for project execution excellence and application support—bringing medicines to patients. The Lead owns the applications portfolio for Clinical and Research, providing oversight for all service management functions, including availability, performance, and business continuity, ensuring SLAs are met by Application Support & Maintenance providers, interfacing with infrastructure shared service teams, and working with Digital and business lines to maintain a stable portfolio vital for advancing drug candidates to regulatory submission.

Responsibilities

• Lead the support for clinical and research portfolios.
• People Management: Build, mentor, and empower a high-performing team, cultivating a culture of innovation, accountability, and continuous learning.
• In partnership with the Business, Digital Creation Center, Shared Service teams, and vendor partners, define and manage the SLAs and OLAs for the R&D applications in a manner compliant with Digital Service Management methodologies. The key outcome is improved effectiveness of service delivery, measured through periodic reporting to stakeholders at the appropriate level of detail and content.
• Apply innovative thinking to identify, design, and implement automation opportunities. Focus on implementing automation, self-service, and GenAI capabilities.
• Change Management: Responsible for understanding the impact and value of proposed and executed application and systems changes, the approval process, and the outcomes. Ensure that maintenance requests are managed within contracted maintenance volume through effective governance.
• Perform Life Cycle Management (upgrade planning, understanding technology roadmaps to create a path forward that is consistent with the application’s use, importance, value, and performance requirements). Output is a Life Cycle Three-Year Plan.
• Performance Analysis: Review application performance and monitor data to understand how the system is performed and proactively direct necessary corrective actions to meet SLAs and customer requirements.
• Manage the software licenses associated with the set of applications in partnership with Procurement. This includes financial planning and optimizing the value of software licenses.
• Responsible for Incident Management and Problem Management activities when necessary.
• Define and evolve the support model/plan for new applications.
• Support audits and inspections as required, addressing questions regarding areas such as computer operations, access controls, and change management.
• Support shared service initiatives while representing the needs of the R&D portfolio.
• Ensure disaster recovery compliance through the facilitation of DR designs, ownership of DR testing, and maintenance of supporting documentation.

Qualifications

• Required: Graduate degree in Information Management, Computer Science, Engineering, Technology Management, Financial Management, or Business Management.
• Required: 7+ years of experience as an information technology professional in roles such as Operations Director, systems engineer, support specialist, technology team lead, or technology manager.
• Required: Experience and competencies working with teams in a matrixed organization, building and nurturing relationships, and effective engagement resulting in successful outcomes.
• Required: Demonstrated capabilities collaborating and working effectively in team settings, frequently in virtual teams, with business partner and customer engagement responsibilities.
• Preferred: Prior experience managing application support and services in research and/or clinical settings.

Education

• Graduate degree in Information Management, Computer Science, Engineering, Technology Management, Financial Management, or Business Management.

Additional Requirements

• Should be able to travel up to 20% of the time.
• Some weekend and off-hours work is expected due to business continuity and operational responsibilities.