Executive Director, CRM Product Operations & Portfolio Management

Band

Level 7

 

Job Description Summary

This position will be located at the East Hanover, NJ site and will not have the ability to be located remotely.

Reporting into the VP, Head of CRM Product Management and Strategy, the Executive Director, CRM Product Operations & Portfolio Management is a pivotal leader within the US CRM organization. This role drives operational excellence, governance, strategic alignment, and portfolio management across the CRM transformation journey. The ED ensures CRM product teams and portfolio initiatives operate efficiently, decision rights and escalation frameworks are clear, and performance and risk management are embedded in daily operations. The ED partners closely with business units, product leadership, and delivery teams to operationalize the CRM vision, streamline processes, enable cross-functional collaboration, and oversee resource allocation and investment decisions for the CRM portfolio. The Executive Director will be responsible for building and scaling a high-performing team to support CRM Product Operations and Portfolio Management. This includes recruiting, developing, and retaining top talent across product operations, portfolio management, and related functions.

 

Job Description

Key Responsibilities:

 

• Lead CRM Product Operations: Shape and execute operational strategies to maximize efficiency, scalability, and impact of CRM product teams, ensuring alignment with Novartis’ transformation vision and business objectives.  

• Resource Allocation & Investment Oversight: Ensuring balanced investments between innovation, transformation, and business-as-usual initiatives. Maintaining visibility into portfolio health, tradeoffs, dependencies, and risks. 

• Build and lead a team of product operations and portfolio management professionals, ensuring the right mix of skills and experience to deliver on strategic objectives. 

• Long-Term Planning & Reporting: Partnering with product strategy on long-term planning, providing portfolio-level reporting, and supporting governance. 

• Governance & Decision Rights: Establish and maintain governance structures, clarify decision rights, and manage escalation frameworks for risks and critical decisions impacting CRM programs.  

• Performance & Risk Management: Develop and monitor key performance indicators, risk management protocols, and reporting systems to drive accountability and continuous improvement.  

• Change Enablement & Adoption: Collaborate with change management and enablement teams to drive adoption of CRM solutions, embed best practices, and foster a culture of innovation and accountability.  

• Communicate the status of CRM Product Operations and Portfolio Management initiatives, both in written reports and verbal presentations, to stakeholders at all levels of the organization, ensuring timely, transparent, and effective updates that support decision-making, alignment, and accountability across the business. 

• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner with product managers, engineering, design, and customer-facing teams to streamline workflows, facilitate communication, and ensure delivery of core CRM capabilities.  

• Data & Tools Management: Oversee the management of product data, tools, and infrastructure to support decision-making and operational efficiency.  

Essential Requirements:

Education (minimum/desirable): 

Bachelor's degree in related field is required; Master of Science and/or MBA preferred 

 

Experience:  

Novartis seeks an accomplished product strategy leader with experience and demonstrated success transforming CRM within commercial operations. Strong management, partnership, and intellectual maturity are needed. A comprehensive understanding of best practices in CRM and AI applications for pharmaceutical sales and marketing, and the dynamics of the global healthcare environment is crucial. 

 

Additional qualifications are as follows: