[Hiring] Senior Director, Head of R&D Governance and Portfolio Management @Jazz Pharmaceuticals

Role Description

The Senior Director, Head of R&D Governance and Portfolio Management serves as the organizational architect and strategic operational lead for Jazz Pharmaceuticals’ R&D decision-making bodies and portfolio prioritization mechanisms. Operating across both Discovery/Research and Late-Stage Clinical Development, this leader ensures the frictionless progression of therapeutic assets through all stage gates to commercialization.

This high-visibility leadership role is responsible for ensuring governance forums operate with strategic clarity, uncompromising decision discipline, and operational speed. By partnering with Project Management, Resource Management, Finance, Commercial, Technical Operations, and R&D Executive Leadership, the Senior Director translates corporate strategy into transparent portfolio choices, robust risk management, and accelerated cycle times.

Essential Functions

• R&D Governance Architecture & Committee Operations
  • Architect, lead, and optimize R&D governance committees spanning Early Discovery/Research through Late-Stage Development and Registration.
  • Proactively oversee end-to-end meeting mechanics, including scheduling cadences, topic intake, curated agendas, timely pre-read distribution, minutes publication, and action-item tracking.
  • Partner with corporate strategy to ensure clear alignment between corporate decision making on programs and funding and R&D strategic decision making.
  • Manage rapid, offline endorsement processes for urgent or straightforward milestone decisions.
  • In partnership with the R&D Chief of Staff, prepare materials for Science Committees, Quarterly Portfolio Review meetings, and other forums.
• Strategic Portfolio Management & Prioritization
  • Lead the integrated R&D portfolio prioritization process to evaluate strategic trade-offs, pipeline value, and return on investment.
  • Partner with Project Management and Resource Management leads to link study-level FTE/capacity and financial allocations to prioritized portfolio milestones.
  • Drive the annual pipeline corporate goal-setting process in collaboration with Corporate Strategy and Global Project Management leads.
  • Synthesize portfolio-level risks across R&D, orchestrating proactive mitigation discussions at executive review forums.
• Executive Influencing & Team Coaching
  • Partner directly with Committee Chairs and executive attendees to maintain meeting focus and secure definitive, strategic decisions.
  • Coach Global Project Teams and early/late development lead prior to governance appearances.
  • Maintain the single source of truth for all historical governance decisions, rationales, and contingency triggers across the enterprise.
• Governance Optimization & Cycle-Time Acceleration
  • Create/design governance tools and regularly audit governance operational models, pre-read templates, and decision templates.
  • Benchmark internal stage-gate progression and approval timelines against industry metrics.
  • Design and publish regular dashboards measuring governance performance.

Qualifications

• Extensive experience in pharmaceutical or biotechnology industry, with experience dedicated to R&D governance, program management, portfolio management, or R&D strategy operations.
• Thorough, end-to-end knowledge of global drug discovery, preclinical development, clinical phases, and global health authority interactions.
• Demonstrated success creating, chartering, and running senior-level R&D decision-making committees.
• Proven track record of influencing senior Vice Presidents and C-suite leaders.
• Ability to quickly digest complex scientific, clinical, regulatory, and commercial data.
• Hands-on familiarity with Enterprise Project & Portfolio Management systems and risk-adjusted valuation frameworks.
• Exceptional written and oral communication skills, with meticulous attention to detail.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Life Sciences, Engineering, Business, or related field required.
• Advanced degree (PhD, PharmD, MS, or MBA) strongly preferred.

Benefits

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance.
• 401k retirement savings plan.
• Flexible paid vacation.
• Discretionary annual cash bonus or incentive compensation.
• Discretionary equity grants.