Associate Director, Implementation Lead

**Summary**:Novartis is a global company that combines medical science and digital technology to provide life-changing medicines to millions of people. We offer numerous opportunities for growth and development, including global and local cross-functional careers and a wide range of learning programs. Our strong pipeline of medicines ensures continued business growth and enables us to bring innovative treatments to patients quickly.Novartis Patient Support (NPS) plays a crucial role in helping eligible patients access and continue their prescribed medications. We work directly with patients, caregivers, and prescribing customers to pro-vide education and support on access, affordability, acquisition, and adherence programs. Our team has supported millions of patients in the US, assisting over 500,000 patients annually.The Novartis Patient Support Center (PSC) is the central operational function within our organization. We handle all patient, caregiver, and customer transactions related to supporting patient access, including intake, case management, benefits verification, prior authorization and appeals support, specialty pharmacy triage, and adherence support. We are committed to delivering exceptional customer service, which is measured through service level agreements (SLAs), key performance indicators (KPIs), and net promoter scores.The Associate Director (AD), Implementation Lead role will report to the Executive Director, PSC Business Operations, and will work with internal and external stakeholders to plan, lead and execute the implementation of operational changes and line extensions associated with established programs at the Patient Support Center. This role will be an expert in project management best practices and implementation process improvements. The position requires a dynamic, flexible, and outcomes-oriented individual with excellent communication, administrative, prioritization, influencing, and organization skills.**About the Role**:**Key Responsibilities**:- Responsible for the oversight and implementation of projects involving established programs within the Patient Support Center (PSC) with a focus on line extensions and operational changes, including planning, coordinating, executing, and monitoring project activities.- Communicate with internal PSC and NPS stakeholders to ensure clarity of accountabilities and responsibilities related to implementation projects, facilitating effective collaboration and coordination between teams.- Create and manage PSC implementation project documents, requirements, and deliverables, ensuring that project documentation is comprehensive, up-to-date, and accessible to all relevant stakeholders.- Collaborate with Program Management, Product, and Operational Excellence teams throughout the project lifecycle to ensure project decisions and details align with the overall project roadmap, either defined by the PSC or Launch Excellence depending on the project scope.- Develop timelines and scope for overall projects, considering key milestones, resource allocation, and dependencies to ensure successful project completion within the given constraints.- Serve as the primary contact person for the PSC on project teams, providing necessary details, background information, and timelines to ensure all team members are well-informed and aligned.- Define success and failure metrics for projects and programs, regularly communicating and presenting across the PSC regarding the achievements and opportunities associated with implemented programs.- Display proficiency in managing effective meetings, demonstrating skills in keeping participants on track, on schedule, and focused, while actively encouraging their participation and engagement.- Responsible for identifying and reporting adverse events via the established Novartis systems as per applicable processes**Required Experience**:- 5+ years pharmaceutical, biotech, consulting, specialty hub operations or related experience- 2+ Years project management experience- Strong leadership, teaching, planning and organization, data and analytics, decision making and problem-solving skills- Experience working in a Patient Services contact center, pharmaceutical industry, healthcare or heavily regulated industry- Strong interpersonal, communication, influencing and analytical skills- Demonstrated ability to synthesize information to develop recommendations, and ability to persuade / influence organization pursuit of recommended path- Ability to manage multiple projects and consistently meet deadlines- Excels at interacting with a diverse group of people, all levels of management, including senior leadership**Preferred Qualifications**:- Strong compliance mindset, high level of integrity and ethical judgment, demonstrated experience in fostering compliance with company policies and procedures- Understanding of privacy laws and regulations including HIPAA and similar state laws- Strong abilit