Senior Director, Head of Patient Safety Sciences

Working with Us
Challenging. Meaningful. Life-changing. Those aren’t words that are usually associated with a job. But working at Bristol Myers Squibb is anything but usual. Here, uniquely interesting work happens every day, in every department. From optimizing a production line to the latest breakthroughs in cell therapy, this is work that transforms the lives of patients, and the careers of those who do it. You’ll get the chance to grow and thrive through opportunities uncommon in scale and scope, alongside high-achieving teams rich in diversity. Take your career farther than you thought possible.

Bristol Myers Squibb recognizes the importance of balance and flexibility in our work environment. We offer a wide variety of competitive benefits, services and programs that provide our employees with the resources to pursue their goals, both at work and in their personal lives. Read more: careers.bms.com/working-with-us.

Position Summary

The Head of Patient Safety Sciences will be responsible for leading and managing a team of scientists and associates across therapeutic areas within the Worldwide Patient Safety organization. This critical role involves ensuring the safety of our medicines through effective pharmacovigilance, pharmaco-epidemiology, and risk management strategies. The role will oversee both pre-marketing and post-marketing product support, ensuring compliance with global regulatory requirements, and driving strategic initiatives to enhance safety science processes.

Duties/Responsibilities

General Product Scientific Support

• Partner with Safety Evidence and Sciences Head to plan, lead, and advance programs and talent.

• Oversee a team of safety scientists, risk management experts, and pharmacovigilance associates globally

• Oversee resources to ensure adequate support to Safety Management Teams (SMTs) for monitoring and managing the emerging safety profile, risk identification, and risk planning of products.

• Ensure the availability of analytic support resources for MSA in evaluating the safety profiles of BMS assets.

• Mentor individuals and teams in aspects of project management, SMT requirements, core signal detection, and safety data/Health authority queries.

• Provide strategic guidance regarding the development and implementation of Global/EU/Local Market Risk Management Plans (RMPs), additional risk minimization measures (aRMM), and additional pharmacovigilance activities (aPVA).

• Oversee the development, maintenance, and availability of signal detection and analytic tools and resources.

• Provide expertise and guidance to teams authoring safety sections/safety deliverables to ensure consistency and compliance with current requirements.

Cross-Functional Activities

• Provide strategy for process improvement and cross-functional initiatives for Safety Science, including SOPs and Procedural Documents.

• Drive interactions with key line functions in support of safety activities between Safety Science and Stakeholders.

• Establish, cultivate, and maintain external relationships with thought leaders and companies.

• Represent BMS safety science interests in external groups (regulatory bodies and pharmaceutical industry trade associations).

Leadership and Team Development

• Facilitate skill development by coaching others and sharing expertise.

• Provide team members with regular and constructive performance feedback.

• Build a collaborative, supportive learning environment and ensure high-quality delivery of pharmacovigilance activities.

• Ensure timely information is provided to drive accurate decision-making.

Qualifications

• Health science related degree required. Advanced scientific degree (e.g., PharmD, PhD, MD) preferred.

• Minimum of 12 years of relevant pharmaceutical industry experience, with significant experience in global pharmaceutical safety risk management.

• Line management experience is required.

• Thorough understanding of global pharmacovigilance regulations, particularly with respect to DSUR, PBRER, and Risk Management Planning.

Specific Knowledge, Skills, Abilities

• Exemplary leadership skills with proven ability to foster partnerships within a functional area, across organizational boundaries and companies.

• Effective leadership capability in building high-perfo