Global Strategic Program Manager GDPP

Job Description Summary

The Global Strategic Program Manager, GDPP is responsible for shaping and executing Sandoz Global Development, Pipeline & Portfolio’s most critical strategic initiatives. The role translates enterprise and GDPP strategy into actionable, high‑impact programs across Global Development and the Chief Commercial Office, ensuring measurable business value, strong governance, and sustainable transition into Business‑as‑Usual operations. Acting as a trusted execution partner to senior leadership, the role leads high‑visibility, cross‑functional initiatives spanning technology, process, and operating model transformation, while enabling effective prioritization, decision‑making, and enterprise alignment. The position plays a key role in orchestrating transformation at scale, driving adoption of new capabilities, and embedding data‑driven, compliant, and outcome‑oriented ways of working across the organization.

Job Description

Global Strategic Program Manager GDPP

Sandoz continues to go through an exciting and transformative period as a global leader and pioneering provider of sustainable Biosimilar and Generic medicines. As we continue down this new and ambitious path, unique opportunities will present themselves, both professionally and personally. Join us, the future is ours to shape!

Job Summary

The Global Strategic Program Manager, GDPP is responsible for shaping and executing Sandoz Global Development, Pipeline & Portfolio’s most critical strategic initiatives. The role translates enterprise and GDPP strategy into actionable, high‑impact programs across Global Development and the Chief Commercial Office, ensuring measurable business value, strong governance, and sustainable transition into Business‑as‑Usual operations. Acting as a trusted execution partner to senior leadership, the role leads high‑visibility, cross‑functional initiatives spanning technology, process, and operating model transformation, while enabling effective prioritization, decision‑making, and enterprise alignment. The position plays a key role in orchestrating transformation at scale, driving adoption of new capabilities, and embedding data‑driven, compliant, and outcome‑oriented ways of working across the organization.

Job Purpose:

To shape, drive, and execute GDPP’s most critical strategic initiatives, ensuring that enterprise strategy is translated into actionable programs with measurable business impact across Sandoz Global Development (SGD) and the Chief Commercial Office (CCO). The role acts as a strategic execution partner to senior leadership, leading high‑visibility, cross‑functional initiatives that span technology, process, and operating model dimensions, while enabling effective prioritization, decision‑making, and alignment. In close partnership with GDPP leadership, Technology, and cross‑functional teams, the role orchestrates transformation at scale, ensures successful adoption of new capabilities, and drives sustainable transition of strategic initiatives into Business‑as‑Usual operations with high standards of quality, compliance, and accountability .

Your Key Responsibilities

Your responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Drive GDPP strategic initiatives end‑to‑end, from problem framing and strategic design through execution, benefits tracking, and leadership reporting, with a strong focus on initiatives that cut across SGD and CCO.
• Act as a trusted advisor to GDPP, SGD, and CCO leadership, supporting strategy development, scenario analysis, prioritization, and decision-making for complex, ambiguous topics.
• Translate strategy into executable roadmaps, defining clear objectives, milestones, success metrics, and dependencies across technology, process, and business dimensions.
• Lead cross‑functional alignment across Pipeline & Portfolio, Technical Development, Regulatory Affairs, Clinical Development, Patient Safety, and Commercial interfaces to ensure strategic coherence and enterprise value creation.
• Shape and govern executive‑level programs and initiatives, including preparation of materials for GDPP LT, SGD LT and CCO LT (incl. potential Board‑level discussions), ensuring clarity, transparency, and strategic narrative.
• Identify and proactively manage strategic risks, trade‑offs, and interdependencies, escalating with clear options and recommendations rather than issues alone.
• Partner closely with STEP and “beyond STEP” initiatives to ensure strategic continuity from transformation programs into BAU, maximizing long‑term value and adoption.
• Continuously drive ways-of-working, governance, and decision effectiveness within GDPP strategic programs, embedding a culture of accountability, outcome orientation, and smart execution.
• Champion robust data governance, interoperability, and FAIR principles. Co-Drive business adoption of platforms that enable real-time insights, predictive modelling, and automation
• Co-Drive data-driven decision-making and continuous improvement across Technology, SGD and CCO.
• Collaborates with internal (e.g., Technology, SGD, CCO, STO) and external partners when / where applicable (academia, regulators).

• Follow industry trends and emerging practices to drive agility, speed, efficiency, and effectiveness.

Minimum Requirements

What you’ll bring to the role:

• 12+ years of experience in strategic program management, transformation, strategy execution, or delivery of complex cross‑functional initiatives within a global or matrixed organization.
• Proven track record leading high‑visibility, multi‑stakeholder initiatives, with regular exposure to senior and executive‑level stakeholders.
• Experience operating at the intersection of business and technology, including translating strategic objectives into executable programs and measurable outcomes.
• Strong ability to navigate ambiguity, competing priorities, and evolving scope, balancing strategic thinking with disciplined execution.
• Background in regulated, complex, or large‑scale environments (e.g. life sciences, healthcare, technology, industrials) is an advantage but not required.
• Excellent leadership, communication, and collaboration skills, with demonstrated success influencing across global, matrixed environments.
• Strong stakeholder management and communication capability, including the ability to explain complex technical concepts to non‑technical audiences.

• Highly developed analytical and problem‑solving skills, with the ability to translate business needs into structured insights, data, and system requirements.

Preferred Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Information Technology, Engineering, Life Sciences, or a related discipline.
• Master’s degree (e.g. MBA, MSc in Management, Technology Management, or Life Sciences) is strongly preferred, particularly for strategic or transformation‑focused roles.
• Formal education that combines business and technology perspectives is highly valued, reflecting the role’s cross‑functional and enterprise scope.

• Additional certifications in strategy, transformation, or program management (e.g. Agile, PMI, Prince2) are a plus but not mandatory

Why Sandoz?

Generic and Biosimilar medicines are the backbone of the global medicines industry. Sandoz, a leader in this sector, provided more than 900 million patient treatments across 100+ countries in 2024 and while we are proud of this achievement, we have an ambition to do more!

With investments in new development capabilities, production sites, new acquisitions, and partnerships, we have the opportunity to shape the future of Sandoz and help more patients gain access to low-cost, high-quality medicines, sustainably.

Our momentum is powered by an open, collaborative culture driven by our talented and ambitious colleagues, who, in return for applying their skills experience an agile and collegiate environment with impactful, flexible-hybrid careers, where diversity is welcomed and where personal growth is supported!

Join us!

#Sandoz

Skills Desired

Analytical Thinking, Business Relationship Management, Change Management, Financial Modeling, IT Program Management, Managing Resources, Performance Management, Project Planning