Operations and Key Initiatives Lead
- United Kingdom - Walton Oaks
- United Kingdom - Sandwich
At Pfizer, our purpose is breakthroughs that change patients’ lives and our colleagues make this happen. All over the world, our colleagues work together to touch millions of lives.
The Director, Operations and Key Initiatives Lead runs studio and team operations and owns the cross-studio work that would otherwise land on makers and pillar leads: operating cadence, team operations (onboarding, resourcing logistics, FTE and contractor administration, vendors, tooling and budget tracking), enterprise initiatives, leadership artefacts, and the connective tissue between the studio and the wider Pfizer Digital system. The role supports the whole team — product, engineering, and innovation — so Spark and studio-led products keep moving while the organisation around them changes.
ROLE RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Own studio and team operations: operating rhythm, onboarding and offboarding, resourcing and hiring logistics, FTE and contractor administration, vendor management, tooling, and budget tracking — so makers can stay on the work.
- Lead studio-level initiatives that cut across pillars (operating model, leadership reviews, enterprise programmes, major events, and time-bound campaigns).
- Translate DLT / Digital requests into the smallest viable studio response; shield product and engineering from undifferentiated administrative load.
- Own the studio’s external narrative with Scott Gavin: plans, status, risks, and decision papers that are honest and short.
- Build and run a light operating cadence (forums, artefacts, follow-ups) that people actually use; kill ceremonies that do not earn their time.
- Line-manage the Sr. Manager, Product & Studio Operations; set the standard for how FTE administration, vendors, and logistics get done.
- Coordinate dependencies with sibling platforms, governance, finance, and HR so hiring, funding, and risk topics do not stall delivery.
- Spot portfolio-level conflicts (duplicate work, unclear owners, political traps) and surface them early with a recommended call.
- Model studio culture in enterprise settings: pace, candour, and respect for craft.
QUALIFICATIONS:
BASIC QUALIFICATIONS
- Bachelor’s degree in Business, Operations, Technology, or related field.
- Strong experience in leading operations and complex, cross-functional initiatives in a digital, product, consulting, or equivalent environment.
- Demonstrated judgement operating next to senior leaders: what to escalate, what to close quietly, what to refuse.
- Excellent structured communication — written and verbal — with executives and with delivery teams.
- Experience running team operations and coordinating people, vendors, budgets, and timelines without becoming a bottleneck.
- Comfort with ambiguity and with organisations in the middle of an operating-model change.
- Ability to lead a small operations function and still do hands-on initiative work.
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS
- MBA or equivalent.
- Chief-of-staff, studio operations, or digital programme leadership experience.
- Healthcare, pharma, or other regulated-industry experience.
- Familiarity with product organisations (roadmaps, pods, dual-track discovery/delivery).
- Previous management consulting experience in a top firm is a plus.
NON-STANDARD WORK SCHEDULE, TRAVEL OR ENVIRONMENT REQUIREMENTS
- Must be able to travel to Pfizer offices, vendor offices and other team meeting locations when required. Initiative work can require off-hours around leadership deadlines.
Work Location Assignment: Hybrid
Purpose
Breakthroughs that change patients' lives... At Pfizer we are a patient centric company, guided by our four values: courage, joy, equity and excellence. Our breakthrough culture lends itself to our dedication to transforming millions of lives.
Digital Transformation Strategy
One bold way we are achieving our purpose is through our company wide digital transformation strategy. We are leading the way in adopting new data, modelling and automated solutions to further digitize and accelerate drug discovery and development with the aim of enhancing health outcomes and the patient experience.
Flexibility
We aim to create a trusting, flexible workplace culture which encourages employees to achieve work life harmony, attracts talent and enables everyone to be their best working self. Let’s start the conversation!
Equal Employment Opportunity
We believe that a diverse and inclusive workforce is crucial to building a successful business. As an employer, Pfizer is committed to celebrating this, in all its forms – allowing for us to be as diverse as the patients and communities we serve. Together, we continue to build a culture that encourages, supports and empowers our employees.
DisAbility Confident
We are proud to be a Disability Confident Employer and we encourage you to put your best self forward with the knowledge and trust that we will make any reasonable adjustments necessary to support your application and future career. Our mission is unleashing the power of our people, especially those with unique superpowers. Your journey with Pfizer starts here!
To learn more about acceptable and prohibited uses of AI during the recruitment process, please review our candidate AI-use guidelines available on Pfizer Careers.
Information & Business Tech
Breakthroughs that change patients’ lives
Research confirms what intuition tells us: that purpose-driven companies perform better, are more innovative, attract and retain the best people, and know how to unleash the power of those people. Pfizer’s purpose—Breakthroughs that change patients' lives—fuels everything we do and reflects our passion for building on our legacy as one of the greatest contributors of good to the world.
Each word in our purpose has meaning and reflects the value we strive to bring to patients and society:
“Breakthroughs” - These are the innovations, scientific and commercial, that we seek to deliver every day. All colleagues, regardless of role, level or location, strive for breakthroughs every day.
“Change” - We want to do more than simply improve patients’ medical conditions; we want to dramatically change their lives for the better.
“Patients’ lives” - We consider not only patients, but everyone they touch—including their families, caregivers, and friends—and everything they love to do. It’s an intentionally holistic view.
Our purpose ensures that patients remain at the center of all we do. We live our purpose by sourcing the best science in the world; partnering with others in the healthcare system to improve access to our medicines; using digital technologies to enhance our drug discovery and development, as well as patient outcomes; and leading the conversation to advocate for pro-innovation/pro-patient policies.
Every decision we make and every action we take is done with the patient in mind—and to nurture an environment where breakthroughs can thrive.
Pfizer Digital
Pfizer Digital takes immense pride in being at the forefront of innovation, harnessing cutting-edge smart technology that profoundly impacts the lives of our patients.
With the transformative potential of digital solutions, we revolutionize how we discover, develop, and deliver medicines, enabling us to achieve breakthroughs faster and more efficiently.
By streamlining and automating transactional processes, we create valuable time and resources, empowering our talented team to focus on meaningful work that truly makes a difference in healthcare and beyond.
Benefits at Pfizer
Pfizer offers competitive compensation and benefits programs designed to meet the diverse needs of our colleagues. Our Pay for Performance Philosophy and Practices reward colleagues based on the contributions they make to our business.
Our Competitive Benefits Programs help our colleagues by:
- Promoting Health and Wellness to help colleagues maintain and improve their physical and mental wellbeing. Pfizer offerings include health and disability insurance, preventative health programs, medical screenings, free or reduced-cost vaccinations, discounts on Pfizer products, mental health support, nutrition and fitness counseling and more.
- Strengthening Colleagues’ Financial Security by providing company contributions to retirement plans, life insurance and financial planning education to help colleagues achieve their financial goals.
- Providing Benefits and Time off for the Moments that Matter to ensure Pfizer colleagues have the time away from the office to recharge, recover and return to work as the best version of themselves. Vacation, Holiday time and Sick time are just the beginning, with a 12 week parental leave policy for both parents of a new born, 10 day of caregiver leave for those times when your family needs you whether it’s a child, spouse or parent, bereavement leave, and additional country-specific programs.
- And so much more, depending on your country and site, Pfizer offers childcare facilities or discount programs, on-site health and/or fitness centers, movement and mindfulness solutions, “Log in for your Day” work flexibility and so much more.
For U.S. based jobs, view an overview of Pfizer’s U.S. benefits program (opens in a new window)