Global Project Leader, Drug Development

About the role

Our Research & Development organization brings together the best minds in life science innovation. Teams located in Lexington, Watertown, Cambridge, and Plainsboro reflect the full R&D continuum, from early research through late-stage clinical development. We are building a distinct R&D community based on collaboration, partnerships, and cutting-edge research across multiple modalities and therapeutic areas, merging biotech speed and agility with large pharmaceutical company quality, resources, and stability to develop new medicines for patients.

The Global Project Leader (GPL) is responsible for enterprise leadership of highly complex product project(s) with significant business impact for Novo Nordisk. The project may consist of a single late-stage project or multiple early-stage projects. The GPL owns the full product development lifecycle, including long-term decisions and their implications, and requires a broad T-profile across the Novo Nordisk value chain: sufficient specialist depth to understand scientific, regulatory, commercial, manufacturing, and operational realities, combined with breadth to connect functions, shape options, and set direction across the enterprise. This includes setting a high level of ambition for outcomes, value creation, and overall project impact; defining project strategies and plans; leading through the matrix rather than formal authority; and interacting independently with executive and senior leadership while taking leadership for one or more Global Project Teams (GPTs).

Relationships

Reports to: Portfolio Vice President.

Internal Key Stakeholders

• R&D Leadership Team
• Senior Leadership Teams across EVP areas
• Executive Management
• Global Project Leaders and GPT members
• Project Governance Committees and TAPGs
• Key functions including P&PS and GMS
• International and US Operations
• Finance, Legal, and Global Solutions

External Key Stakeholders

• Health authorities (e.g., EMA, FDA, CHMP, PMDA)
• Advisory boards, ethics committees, key opinion leaders, investigators
• CROs, vendors, and other partners

Responsibilities

Leading Product Projects

• Define, organise, and lead research and/or development deliverables to achieve approval of important global product projects with significant business and portfolio impact for Novo Nordisk
• Understand project reality and make clear, well-reasoned prioritizations and trade-offs, shaping options for senior decision makers to maximize value, quality, and long-term impact across markets and customer groups
• Secure endorsement from senior management and governance boards by creating clarity on decision choices, implications, and accountability
• Display enterprise and portfolio mindset by identifying synergies/dependencies across functions and projects to ensure alignment and optimized resource utilization
• Assess project relevance and risks against future market and regulatory needs
• Display innovative mindset to challenge conventions and continuously explore new, better, and faster paths towards launch
• Define goals and objectives for the project; align with LoB leaders on performance feedback and key areas of growth for GPT members
• Offer coaching, mentoring, and feedback to GPT members in line with performance expectations to drive high-performing teams, build collective competences, and develop talent for future projects
• Foster a culture of continuous, transparent stakeholder engagement and collaboration across teams, creating direction, alignment, and accountability in the matrix

Internal & External Stakeholder Management

• Identify, build, and maintain relationships with key stakeholders and opinion leaders to anticipate obstacles/opportunities, understand reality across functions, and drive the most effective product development
• Communicate and negotiate globally with internal and external stakeholders, including regulatory authorities
• Build and maintain strong connections between global and local teams, supporting affiliates in both strategic and tactical execution
• Role model a culture of continuous, transparent stakeholder engagement

Communication

• Actively contribute to commercial, scientific, production planning, and launch preparation discussions
• Demonstrate the ability to simplify and clearly communicate project reality, progress, options, trade-offs, and key dilemmas independently to governance bodies and executive/senior leadership
• Leadership communication in terms of setting & driving the GPT direction and communicating effectively

Strategy & Tactics Understanding

• Shape project strategy and recommend development options to relevant governance boards by translating project reality into clear choices and consequences
• Apply broad T-profile expertise in portfolio management, launch management, lifecycle management, and cross-functional value-chain interfaces
• Translate insights effectively into both strategic and tactical decision-making, with a focus on decision clarity, optionality, and industry-leading solutions
• Apply Novo Nordisk best practices for strategy, tactics, and lifecycle material development to maximize brand and project performance
• Share insights back within the project leadership organisation, codify learnings, and mentor others to strengthen collective project leadership capabilities across the enterprise

Chair of Global Project Teams (GPTs)

The Global Project Team (GPT) Chair leads end-to-end product development, covering all product elements (e.g., drug, device, digital, data, and diagnostics). The role is accountable to governance bodies for one or more product projects and works with the GPT to achieve approved milestones and objectives. As GPT chair, the Global Project Leader is expected to:

• Lead the Global Project Team by creating direction, alignment, and accountability across functions without relying on formal authority
• Lead product projects in accordance with the NN Global Project Framework and respecting the Novo Way
• Apply a portfolio, enterprise-, and ecosystem-wide approach across all product elements and Lines of Business (LoBs), connecting specialist depth with enterprise breadth
• Be accountable to the Portfolio VP and governance boards for progress, deliverables, milestones, and resource use
• Manage interdependencies across LoBs, ensuring alignment with corporate and R&D strategy, sustainability commitments, and cross-functional accountability
• Oversee project budgets and financial targets and provide structured, transparent reporting
• Foster team engagement, motivation, and development through clear communication, continuous feedback, shared learning, and mentoring

Scope of Authority

• Independence: Requires a very high degree of independence; decisions can have a