Head of Operational Excellence Clinical Development- Vaccines

Role Summary

Head of Operational Excellence Clinical Development- Vaccines. Location: Swiftwater, PA; Waltham, MA. Lead deployment of the Operational Excellence strategy within the Vaccines R&D function, drive continuous improvement initiatives, and build capability and governance to harmonize processes with global standards. Partner with Function OE leaders and the Global OE team to coach, enable, and sustain improvements across day-to-day operations.

Responsibilities

• Drive the deployment of the function’s Operational Excellence roadmap within the function.
• Coordinate diagnostics and/or gap analyses (business case) with Function OE Leaders and operational teams to identify improvement opportunities (from shop floor to function management).
• Ensure the alignment of the function’s Operational Excellence roadmap with Vaccines R&D (function & global) strategic priorities and business needs.
• Ensure that the training is consistent with the provided OE structure.
• Actively contributes to initiative prioritization and arbitration in collaboration with the Function Head.
• Assess and validate that each on-going and closed improvement initiative within the function complies with the core principles of Operational Excellence.
• Pro-actively support function performance and measure the impact of the initiative
• Consolidate and monitor the function’s Operational Excellence roadmap progress and report to both local and central stakeholders.
• Build required methodologies, tools and standards according to the VRD OE Methodology development plan.
• Support the Function Head in reaching performance targets and propose countermeasures when needed.
• Build, maintain, and continuously improve governance structures, routines, and performance management.
• Drive risk mitigation by escalating critical risks and gaps and enabling decisive action.
• Define adoption strategy and secure execution of change management.

Qualifications

• Required: Master’s degree in science, engineering, or business discipline.
• Required: 10+ years of experience in Operational Excellence, including deployment and methodology design.
• Required: Strong understanding of R&D, Clinical Operations or Clinical Development.
• Required: Experience managing OE programs in complex, matrixed environments.
• Required: Background in training, coaching, and people development.
• Preferred: Completion of an OE Instructor program.

Skills

• Strategic & Tactical thinking – Plan and translate long-term goals into action plan.
• Decision-making & prioritization – Acts with clarity and focus under pressure.
• Leadership & influence – Mobilizes teams, drives alignment, and inspires action.
• Communication skills – Establish & deliver impactful communication.
• Coaching & training – Develops others through structured support and feedback.
• Conflict resolution – Navigates tensions constructively to reach shared outcomes.
• Continuous learning – Embraces growth, curiosity, and adaptability.
• Collaboration – Builds trust and works seamlessly across teams and functions.
• Action-oriented – Solves problems pragmatically and drives execution.
• Cross-Function agility – Operates effectively in matrix environments.
• Adaptability – Adjusts style and approach to fit shifting contexts and needs.
• Performance-oriented – Ability to understand and identify function key performance drivers.

Education

• Master’s degree in science, engineering, or business discipline.

Experience

• 10+ years experience in Operational Excellence, including deployment and methodology design.
• Strong understanding of R&D, Clinical Operations or Clinical Development.
• Experience managing OE programs in complex, matrixed environments.
• Background in training, coaching, and people development.
• Completion of an OE Instructor program is a plus.

Technical Skills

• OE principles and deployment models (Lean, Six Sigma, e.g.)
• OE methodology development, standardization, and implementation.
• Subject matter expertise in OE principles, tools, and systems.
• Tactical roadmap definition and initiative portfolio alignment.
• Portfolio & project planning, execution, and follow-up (finance management, resource management, business case…)
• Change management and behavioral adoption techniques.
• Data analysis, problem-solving, and decision-making.
• Training design and capability-building strategies.
• Ability to bridge digital innovation with Operational Excellence.