Hybrid Director, Emerging Therapeutic Strategies

at Novartis

• Job title: Director, Emerging Therapeutic Strategies
• Job type: Full Time
• Experience level: Lead
• Salary: Not specified
• Degree requirement: Bachelor's Degree
• Location requirements: Hybrid, Basel, Switzerland

About the role

• Director of Emerging Therapeutic Strategies at Novartis guiding enterprise strategy through market analysis and strategic recommendations. Collaborating across departments to maximize opportunities in emerging therapies.

Responsibilities

• Contribute to the development and refinement of strategic agendas across emerging technologies, pathways, and whitespace opportunities.
• Conduct independent research, landscape analysis, and early framing of opportunities where Novartis may expand or refine its position.
• Develop clear, insight-driven recommendations that feed into enterprise-level decision-making.
• Support preparation for governance engagements (e.g., ECN, IMB, DTB, TAR) and participate as appropriate.
• Facilitate cross-functional alignment across BR, Development, Strategy & Growth, and commercial units by driving structured problem-solving, synthesizing diverse inputs.
• Ensure materials are well-structured, objective, and aligned to key strategic questions.
• Evaluate emerging focus areas, assessing scientific maturity, inflection points, risks, and strategic value.
• Identify opportunity gaps and propose internal or external approaches (build, partner, deprioritize) with supporting analyses.
• Partner with senior leaders where required to collaborate and effectively transition ownership of opportunities to relevant TA, platform, or commercial organizations.
• Conduct horizon scanning across priority modalities and pathways, synthesizing competitive, scientific, and market signals into actionable insights.
• Engage internal and external stakeholders selectively to deepen understanding of emerging trends, technologies, and partnership opportunities.
• Maintain awareness of cutting-edge developments to support ETS strategic foresight and leadership decision-making.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree required, advanced degree (PhD, MD, or other advanced University degree) or equivalent experience in life science/healthcare; MBA, consulting, or equivalent experience highly desirable.
• Highly agile, with the capacity to manage coherent strategic evaluation of diverse and ambiguous scientific and technological subject matter.
• Some experience evaluating new product opportunities through M&A, BD&L, and internal research programs.
• At least 5-10 years’ experience of pharma industry and/or medical devices.
• Experience in conducting, commissioning, and analyzing primary research.
• Experience of strategy development and asset shaping early in lifecycle (any functional perspective).
• Experience in global roles or with high exposure to those with global responsibility.
• Ability to comfortably engage with senior leadership as well as mid-career associates to influence and challenge with excellent interpersonal skills.
• Strong financial modeling and valuations skills.
• Experience in strategic and competitive data analysis and insights generation, leveraging digital tools.
• Strong strategic vision and excellent communication, consensus building and influencing skills.
• Enterprise maximization mindset: able to align to broader enterprise strategy for trade-off against shorter-term payoffs to avoid unnecessary investments.
• Desire to propose bold choices.
• Effectively work in matrix balancing cross-functional perspectives and alignment with business priorities.

Benefits

• Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion: Novartis is committed to building an outstanding, inclusive work environment and diverse teams representative of the patients and communities we serve.
• Accessibility and Accommodation: Novartis is committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodation to all individuals.