Business Operations Lead Pharma R&D at Roche

At Roche you can show up as yourself, embraced for the unique qualities you bring. Our culture encourages personal expression, open dialogue, and genuine connections,  where you are valued, accepted and respected for who you are, allowing you to thrive both personally and professionally. This is how we aim to prevent, stop and cure diseases and ensure everyone has access to healthcare today and for generations to come. Join Roche, where every voice matters.

The Position

About RDT

Roche Digital Technology (RDT) is where innovation meets purpose. As a global team at the heart of Roche, we are a community of business-minded technologists committed to help shape tomorrow’s digital future of healthcare. Our mission is to power Roche through cutting-edge digital technologies, harnessing the potential of artificial intelligence, data, and scalable tech innovations. Driven by purpose and passion, we’re building a future where digital is a core strength across all of Roche, enabling smarter ways of working, unlocking human potential, and driving breakthroughs that truly matter for millions of patients around the world. 

Role Summary

The Business Operations Lead, Pharma R&D assumes a critical executive leadership role, serving as the strategic partner to the Head of RDT, Pharma R&D. This position is accountable for the performance and financial results of this large digital division, providing leadership and direction through senior team members to ensure the rigorous execution of organizational plans.

Applying broad industry knowledge and commercial awareness, your mandate is to influence and contribute to the development of the division's long-term strategy. You will oversee the comprehensive business operations, maximizing efficiency through resource optimization, process governance, and directing strategic initiatives. This role is pivotal in guaranteeing the seamless execution of the RDT strategy for Pharma R&D, ensuring outputs consistently align with functional priorities and drive financial performance.

Key Accountabilities 

This leader provides direction through senior leaders, executing organizational plans and applying commercial awareness to drive performance:

• Strategic Planning & Governance: Develop and drive the RDT Pharma R&D operations strategy, roadmap, and budget in close partnership with the Head of RDT. Contribute substantively to the development of the division's strategy by reflecting internal and external standards, as well as the changing business and regulatory environment.

• Operational & Financial Stewardship: Direct and evaluate the resolution of the most complex operational problems by applying conceptual and innovative thinking. Oversee the day-to-day governance, ensuring all decisions are guided by functional strategy. Apply commercial awareness to drive the financial performance of the department.

• Executive Resource Management: In close cooperation with the assigned Financial Enterprise Partner, manage the division's global budget, financial forecasting, and resource allocation. Rigorously control expenditure and track planned versus actual costs, ensuring effective management of external contracts and vendors to support departmental goals.

• Cross-Organizational Influence: Collaborate and negotiate with senior management across the organization (including the Operational Excellence team and the RDT Strategy group) to influence decisions and ensure outputs are effectively integrated into the division's workstreams.

• Data-Driven Decision Making: Gather, interpret, and synthesize large amounts of complex information to provide concise, accurate, and relevant analysis that guides strategic decision-making within the Pharma R&D leadership team.

• Leadership and Execution: Provide coordination on executive presentations and cross-functional projects (e.g., organizational updates for the RDT Leadership Team). Structure and manage initiatives sponsored by the Division Head, ensuring strategic alignment and execution fidelity.

Key Leadership Competencies and skills

Success in this role requires broad industry knowledge, operational mastery, and the influential capacity to lead strategic execution.

• Strategic & Business Acumen: Proven ability to define and articulate a long-term operations strategy that aligns with overarching business goals, built on a broad industry knowledge and the ability to manage the division as an efficient business unit.

• Operational Excellence & Execution: Strong track record of successfully managing complex digital technology operations, driving efficiency, and overseeing a portfolio of cross-functional projects to establish high-performing teams.

• Influential Leadership & Change Management: Demonstrates strong influential leadership. Proven ability to lead through senior leaders to guide teams through organizational change, driving the adoption of new processes and fostering a culture of continuous improvement.

• Stakeholder Management & Communication: Exceptional ability to negotiate and influence senior management across all levels, demonstrating executive presence and the capacity to translate operational data into clear business insights.

• Analytical Problem-Solving: Applies strong, pragmatic, and conceptual analytical skills to define and resolve the most complex operational and organizational problems in a fast-paced environment.

• Resource Management: Extensive experience overseeing resource allocation, including budgetary forecasting and expenditure control for a large department or division.

• Professional Experience: A background in a similar operational leadership role within the digital technology function of a multinational company is highly advantageous.

Who we are

A healthier future drives us to innovate. Together, more than 100’000 employees across the globe are dedicated to advance science, ensuring everyone has access to healthcare today and for generations to come. Our efforts result in more than 26 million people treated with our medicines and over 30 billion tests conducted using our Diagnostics products. We empower each other to explore new possibilities, foster creativity, and keep our ambitions high, so we can deliver life-changing healthcare solutions that make a global impact.

Let’s build a healthier future, together.