Director, Optimization & Strategic Initiatives

AbbVie's mission is to discover and deliver innovative medicines and solutions that solve serious health issues today and address the medical challenges of tomorrow. We strive to have a remarkable impact on people's lives across several key therapeutic areas including immunology, oncology and neuroscience—and products and services in our Allergan Aesthetics portfolio.

About the role

The Director, Optimization & Strategic Initiatives is responsible for leading enterprise-wide optimization efforts and strategic transformation initiatives that advance AbbVie's customer engagement, analytics, and operating model evolution. This role serves as a key partner across Marketing, Analytics & Performance Excellence (APEX), Brand Excellence, Customer Engagement Strategy & Innovation, Medical, Commercial Operations, and Technology teams to drive execution of AI-enabled, data-driven business capabilities.

Responsibilities

• Strategic Transformation Leadership
  • Lead enterprise and franchise-level strategic initiatives that improve commercial effectiveness, customer engagement, and organizational performance.
  • Translate enterprise strategies into actionable roadmaps, operating models, governance structures, and measurable business outcomes.
  • Serve as a thought partner to senior leaders in evaluating business opportunities, identifying capability gaps, and developing transformation strategies.
  • Build business cases and executive recommendations that support investment decisions and organizational change initiatives.
  • Champion adoption of new ways of working and foster a culture of innovation, accountability, and continuous improvement.
• LOOP Optimization & Readiness
  • Drive implementation and ongoing optimization of LOOP capabilities across brands and therapeutic areas.
  • Partner with Integrated Brand Teams (IBTs) to ensure readiness across strategic planning, content, customer journey orchestration, measurement, and operational execution.
  • Lead assessments of brand readiness, identifying opportunities, risks, dependencies, and required interventions.
  • Establish frameworks that embed LOOP principles into annual planning and business processes.
  • Monitor readiness milestones and support execution of roadmap deliverables across functions.
• Business Process Excellence
  • Identify and prioritize opportunities to simplify, standardize, and optimize business processes across Commercial, Medical, and Analytics organizations.
  • Lead cross-functional process redesign initiatives that improve efficiency, scalability, and customer impact.
  • Develop and implement governance models, best practices, and operating procedures that support sustainable execution.
  • Drive integration of strategic initiatives into enterprise planning processes and ways of working, including 1Path and related transformation efforts.
• Analytics, Measurement & Continuous Improvement
  • Establish closed-loop measurement frameworks that evaluate initiative effectiveness and inform future strategy.
  • Partner with Analytics, Data Science, and Business Intelligence teams to develop actionable performance insights.
  • Define KPIs, success metrics, and executive dashboards that enable proactive decision-making.
  • Leverage customer, field, market, and operational data to identify optimization opportunities and support continuous improvement.
  • Translate insights into strategic recommendations that improve customer experience and business performance.
• Data, Technology & AI Enablement
  • Collaborate with Technology, Data, and Digital teams to advance AI-enabled capabilities and data-driven decision making.
  • Help prioritize and operationalize new platforms, tools, and technologies that support customer engagement and business optimization.
  • Assess data availability, technology readiness, and critical insight gaps to support strategic initiatives.
  • Drive adoption of emerging capabilities that enhance personalization, omnichannel execution, and measurement.
• Stakeholder Leadership
  • Influence and align senior stakeholders across Marketing, Medical, Commercial Excellence, Analytics, Operations, and Technology organizations.
  • Facilitate executive-level governance forums and strategic planning discussions.
  • Lead cross-functional teams and initiative workstreams, often without direct authority.
  • Develop communications, presentations, and executive updates that effectively articulate progress, risks, and business impact.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree required; advanced degree (MBA, MPH, MS, or related discipline) preferred.
• 10+ years of progressive experience in analytics, business strategy, commercial operations, marketing excellence, management consulting, transformation, or related functions.
• Demonstrated success leading complex, cross-functional strategic initiatives.
• Strong business acumen with ability to connect strategy, operations, analytics, and execution.
• Experience in organizational transformation, change management, and process optimization.
• Exceptional executive communication and stakeholder management skills.
• Proven ability to influence senior leaders and drive alignment across diverse functions.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving capabilities with experience leveraging data to drive decisions.

Preferred Qualifications

• Pharmaceutical, biotechnology, healthcare, or life sciences experience.
• Experience with omnichannel engagement, customer strategy, commercial excellence, or customer experience programs.
• Knowledge of AI-enabled business processes and advanced analytics applications.
• Experience implementing enterprise operating model transformations and large-scale change initiatives.

Skills

• Strategic Thinking
• Enterprise Leadership
• Cross-Functional Influence
• Change Leadership
• Process Excellence
• Customer-Centric Mindset
• Data-Driven Decision Making
• Innovation and Continuous Improvement
• Team Development and Coaching
• Executive Presence

Benefits

• Paid time off (vacation, holidays, sick)
• Medical, dental, and vision insurance
• 401(k) retirement plan
• Eligibility to participate in long-term incentive programs