Senior Director, Global Study Start Up

Job Description

The Senior Director, Global Study Start-Up (SSU) is accountable for leading study start-up strategy, talent, and execution across the AbbVie portfolio. This role oversees AbbVie Global Study Startup group and drives consistent, high-quality delivery of global start-up milestones through strong talent leadership, proactive risk management, standardized and continuously improved processes, and scaled adoption of AI-enabled ways of working. The Senior Director serves as a key business partner across Clinical Study Leadership, Regulatory, Clinical Site Management, and other stakeholders to accelerate study activation while maintaining compliance. This role reports into Vice President, Neuroscience Clinical Study Leadership and Global Study Start Up.

Responsibilities:

1. Strategic Leadership & Operating Model

• Define and execute the long-term vision, strategy, and operating model for the Global Study Start-Up organization.
• Establish enterprise standards, governance, and performance expectations across therapeutic areas and geographies.
• Drive organizational design and workforce strategies to meet current and future portfolio demands.
• Lead transformation initiatives that improve scalability, efficiency, quality, and business impact.

2. Portfolio & Business Leadership

• Provide strategic oversight of start-up performance across the global portfolio.
• Advise senior Clinical Development and TA leaders on portfolio feasibility, activation strategy, resource allocation, and execution risk.
• Drive portfolio-level decision making through data-driven insights, predictive analytics, and scenario planning.

3. Innovation & Digital Transformation

• Champion modernization of study start-up through AI, automation, predictive analytics, and digital technologies.
• Evaluate and scale emerging technologies, vendors, and innovative capabilities.

4. Enterprise Leadership & Influence

• Represent Study Start-Up across governance forums and enterprise initiatives.
• Influence enterprise priorities, organizational strategies, and ways of working impacting clinical development performance.

5. Talent & Organizational Capability

• Build and sustain a high-performing leadership team through succession planning, talent development, and organizational effectiveness.
• Develop future leaders and establish enterprise capability-building strategies.

6. External Leadership

• Represent AbbVie in industry forums and strategic partnerships.
• Monitor industry, regulatory, and competitive trends and translate insights into organizational strategy.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required; advanced scientific or business degree preferred.
• Minimum 15 years of pharmaceutical clinical development experience, including significant global leadership responsibility within Study Start-Up, Clinical Operations, or related functions.
• Demonstrated success leading large global organizations and complex matrix environments
• Proven experience developing organizational strategy and delivering transformational change at scale
• Track record influencing executive leadership and driving enterprise-wide initiatives.
• Expertise in global clinical development, study start-up strategy, regulatory environments, and portfolio management.
• Experience leading digital transformation, AI adoption, automation initiatives, and operational excellence programs.
• Strong financial, resource planning, workforce planning, and organizational design capabilities.
• Exceptional executive communication, stakeholder management, and change leadership skills.

Key Stakeholders: R&D Leadership team, Country Affiliate leadership

Additional Information

Applicable only to applicants applying to a position in any location with pay disclosure requirements under state or local law: ​

• The compensation range described below is the range of possible base pay compensation that the Company believes in good faith it will pay for this role at the time of this posting based on the job grade for this position. Individual compensation paid within this range will depend on many factors including geographic location, and we may ultimately pay more or less than the posted range. This range may be modified in the future. ​
• We offer a comprehensive package of benefits including paid time off (vacation, holidays, sick), medical/dental/vision insurance and 401(k) to eligible employees.​
• This job is eligible to participate in our long-term incentive programs.

Note: No amount of pay is considered to be wages or compensation until such amount is earned, vested, and determinable. The amount and availability of any bonus, commission, incentive, benefits, or any other form of compensation and benefits that are allocable to a particular employee remains in the Company's sole and absolute discretion unless and until paid and may be modified at the Company’s sole and absolute discretion, consistent with applicable law.​

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