Excellence & Execution Head

Salary Range: €109,300.00 - €202,900.00 Job Description Summary The Execution Excellence Head leads the enterprise-wide evolution of execution standards across the product lifecycle, from two years pre-launch through loss of exclusivity. This role serves as a strategic partner to the Country President, Finance, and People & Organization leadership, driving business performance, medical and access effectiveness, and future growth ambitions through data-driven decision-making, innovative go-to-market strategies, digital transformation, capability building, and continuous execution excellence improvement. As leader of a neutral, cross-functional enabling organization, the Execution Excellence Head drives harmonized standards, future-ready capabilities, and operational excellence across Commercial, Value & Access, and selected Medical Affairs areas (Data, Analytics & Platforms and Capability Building), while strictly preserving functional independence, compliance, and governance standards. Job Description In this pivotal leadership role, you will shape how Novartis delivers excellence across customer engagement, insight generation, digital transformation, field effectiveness, and organizational capability development. You will anticipate market and ecosystem shifts, translate global strategies into impactful local execution, and continuously elevate execution standards through external benchmarking, innovation, and operational excellence. You will lead a high-performing organization spanning five core capabilities: Field Excellence Integrated Insights Data, Analytics & Platforms (DAP) Capability Building Customer Excellence Together, these teams enable superior execution, optimized resource allocation, enhanced customer experiences, and sustainable business performance across the portfolio. Key Responsibilities Enterprise Execution Excellence Leadership Lead the continuous evolution, harmonization, and elevation of execution excellence standards across the organization. Serve as a strategic advisor to Country Leadership Team members, enabling data-driven strategic decision-making and resource optimization. Translate global execution excellence strategies, frameworks, and capabilities into successful local implementation. Maintain strict governance and independence boundaries across Commercial, Medical Affairs, and Value & Access functions. Drive organizational effectiveness, transformation, and future readiness through innovative operating models and capabilities. Field Excellence Strengthen field force effectiveness through data-driven decision-making and workforce optimization. Guide territory design, alignment, sizing, placement analytics, and field force deployment strategies. Support development and implementation of field incentive frameworks and performance metrics. Recommend optimal organizational structures to support launch readiness and customer engagement strategies. Benchmark field excellence practices and continuously improve performance standards. Integrated Insights Transform complex data into actionable strategic insights that drive business decisions. Lead market research planning, segmentation, patient journey mapping, competitive assessments, and market sizing initiatives. Generate insights supporting launch excellence, brand performance, resource planning, and growth opportunities. Partner closely with Finance and business leaders to develop robust forecasting and business performance analytics. Monitor healthcare ecosystem dynamics, competitive trends, and evolving market opportunities. Data, Analytics & Platforms (DAP) Localize and operationalize global digital and data strategies. Ensure trusted, high-quality business-critical data and reporting capabilities across functions. Drive standardization of tools, processes, and data governance frameworks. Enable adoption of AI-powered solutions and advanced analytics platforms. Manage business readiness and deployment of global execution excellence initiatives and technology platforms. Foster digital, technology, and AI capability development across the organization. Capability Building Build and deploy world-class capabilities across Marketing, Sales, Medical Affairs, and Value & Access. Assess future capability requirements based on strategic priorities and evolving industry trends. Deliver impactful learning journeys, curricula, and development programs. Establish standards for learning governance, effectiveness measurement, and capability outcomes. Partner with global teams and external vendors to deliver innovative learning experiences. Customer Excellence Drive integrated customer engagement excellence across Commercial and Value & Access organizations. Lead omnichannel strategy activation and customer journey optimization. Ensure launch readiness through robust planning, orchestration, execution, and continuous improvement processes. Optimize content deployment, customer engagement strategies, and promotional excellence frameworks. Coordinate congresses, strategic events, and customer engagement initiatives. Drive implementation of global frameworks including ICE, IpEx, and launch excellence programs. Leadership & Culture Lead, inspire, and develop a diverse team of execution excellence professionals. Foster a high-performance culture focused on accountability, collaboration, innovation, and continuous improvement. Build strong succession pipelines and future leadership capabilities. Drive transformation through Novartis Leadership Expectations and a growth mindset culture. Role model the highest standards of ethics, integrity, compliance, and patient focus. Essential Requirements Education University degree in Business Administration, Engineering, Biosciences, or a related field. Advanced degree preferred. Experience Extensive leadership experience (typically 12+ years) within the pharmaceutical industry, consulting, FMCG, or related sectors. Proven track record leading commercial organizations, business transformation, or execution excellence functions. Experience working across multiple execution excellence capabilities such as analytics, field operations, customer excellence, digital transformation, capability building, or market insights. Demonstrated success leading complex change initiatives and influencing senior stakeholders without formal authority. Experience operating in highly matrixed, cross-functional environments. Skills & Expertise Strong business acumen with deep understanding of the pharmaceutical product lifecycle from pre-launch through loss of exclusivity. Advanced strategic thinking, analytical, forecasting, and insight-generation capabilities. Expertise in digital transformation, technology adoption, AI enablement, and data-driven decision-making. Strong understanding of Medical Affairs and Value & Access operating models and customer engagement approaches. Excellent project management, prioritization, and organizational effectiveness skills. Proven ability to develop talent and lead diverse, multidisciplinary teams. Outstanding communication, influencing, and stakehold