Associate Director - IT Project Manager Infrastructure (SAP/S4Hana)

About this role

Responsibilities

• End‑to‑End Project & Program Delivery:
• Own full lifecycle delivery of medium‑to‑large DDIT REFS projects, from demand intake to go‑live and operational handover; ensure projects are delivered on time, on scope, and on budget, with clear ownership and accountability; lead multi‑vendor delivery landscapes (system integrators, SaaS providers, security vendors, local implementation partners)
• Governance, Planning & Control:
• Establish and enforce robust project governance aligned with DDIT standards (phase gates, tollgates, approvals, documentation); Own integrated project plans, dependencies, milestones, and critical path management; Actively manage risks, issues, and change requests, ensuring early escalation and mitigation
• Stakeholder & Senior Leadership Management:
• Serve as primary interface between Business stakeholders and DDIT delivery teams; prepare clear, executive‑level status reporting, decision papers, and escalation summaries; drive alignment across global, regional, and local stakeholders with often‑conflicting priorities
• Vendor & Financial Management:
• Manage vendor performance against contractual milestones and deliverables, enforce early delay flagging, impact assessments, mitigation plans, and recovery actions; coordinate closely with Procurement on SOWs, contract extensions, and milestone alignment; control project financials, forecasts, and budget tracking
• Portfolio Contribution & Continuous Improvement:
• Contribute to project portfolio planning, prioritization, and capacity discussions; ensure lessons learned, retrospectives, and standards are consistently applied

Requirements

• 10+ years of experience in IT project / program management, preferably in enterprise or regulated environments
• Strong exposure to Real Estate, Facilities, Infrastructure, or Enterprise SaaS implementations, SAP/S4Hana (e.g. ERP, IWMS, ServiceNow, security systems)
• Proven execution excellence capabilities, with deep expertise in project & program management methodologies (Waterfall, Agile, hybrid), with strong planning, dependency management, and critical‑path thinking skills
• Senior‑level project leadership in complex, matrix organizations, with strong decision‑making under ambiguity and delivery pressure, and ability to enforce standards without damaging stakeholder relationships
• Experience working in a global, multi-country delivery context, with proven experience managing large, interdependent delivery plans
• Demonstrated experience managing external vendors and complex contracts
• Excellent concise, executive‑ready communication skills, with fluency in English, with ability to translate complex technical and delivery topics into business impact
• Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion:
• Novartis is committed to building an outstanding, inclusive work environment and diverse teams representative of the patients and communities we serve.
• Why Novartis:
• Helping people with disease and their families takes more than innovative science. It takes a community of smart, passionate people like you. Collaborating, supporting and inspiring each other. Combining to achieve breakthroughs that change patients’ lives. Ready to create a brighter future together?
• https://www.novartis.com/about/strategy/people-and-culture
• Join our Novartis Network:
• Not the right Novartis role for you? Sign up to our talent community to stay connected and learn about suitable career opportunities as soon as they come up:
• https://talentnetwork.novartis.com/network
• Benefits and Rewards:
• Read our handbook to learn about all the ways we’ll help you thrive personally and professionally:
• https://www.novartis.com/careers/benefits-rewards
• Skills Desired
• Change Management, Communication, Decision Making Skills, Leadership, Negotiation, Operational Excellence Projects, Problem Solving, Project Finance, Project Management, Project Planning, Project Risk Management, Project Team Management, Stakeholder Engagement, Strategy Development