Director, Medical Governance

Director, Medical Governance & Risk Management
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Summary

Join Novartis as Director, Medical Governance & Risk Management and play a critical role in establishing and leading a unified governance framework for medical and patient-focused programmes. You will ensure timely decision‑making, proactive risk management, and a quality‑driven mindset across Medical Affairs. Your responsibilities include leading the Medical Excellence Governance Board, managing self‑assessments and audits, guiding associates in risk and quality management, and fostering a culture of compliance and continuous improvement.

Location: Dublin, Ireland / London, UK / Barcelona, Spain. Novartis is unable to offer relocation support for this role: please apply only if this location is accessible for you.

Responsibilities

Implement a unified governance framework for medical and patient-focused programmes, ensuring consistency and compliance.

Lead the centralised Medical Excellence Governance Board (MEGB) to streamline consultation and escalation pathways for Medical Affairs.

Build and maintain a governance network across Global, Regional, and Country Medical Affairs, enabling knowledge sharing and joint problem-solving.

Onboard, support, train, coach, and mentor country Medical Governance Leads (MGLs), ensuring a strong and knowledgeable team.

Develop and execute comprehensive self‑assessment strategies and controls, analysing trends and providing insights for continuous improvement.

Guide and mentor associates in managing risks and issues, leading investigations and overseeing CAPA for end-to-end resolution.

Proactively identify compliance gaps and lead cross‑functional projects to address and mitigate risks, ensuring proper documentation and remediation.

Coordinate audits and manage corrective and preventive actions (CAPA) according to the annual quality audit plan.

Lead and monitor implementation of quality objectives in alignment with global strategy and quality plans.

Represent the organisation at cross-divisional committees, forums, and boards, ensuring alignment and compliance in global projects.

Essential Requirements

Master’s degree in a relevant field (e.g., Medical Sciences, Life Sciences, Medicine or related fields).

Extensive relevant work experience (15+ years) across multiple medical programme or study areas, or diverse expertise in clinical, public health, or pharmaceutical industry (including medical affairs, clinical development, compliance, quality assurance, risk management, regulatory). Experience in more than one of these areas is required.

Deep understanding of health authority requirements, ICH guidelines, GxP processes, and medical guidelines.

Proven experience in leading self‑assessments, audits, and CAPA management.

Experience working with global teams, cross‑functional and cross‑divisional collaboration, including country and/or regional roles.

Proven ability to drive change, build capabilities, and sustain a culture of high ethical standards and compliance.

Excellent leadership, interpersonal, problem‑solving, negotiation, and conflict resolution skills.

Excellent English language skills, both written and spoken.

Desirable Requirements

Externally focused to ensure awareness of trends and proactively address needs based on external demands.

Strong strategic, analytical, organisational, and planning skills, with business strategy acumen to align governance and risk management with organisational goals.

Commitment to Diversity & 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?

Read more about our people and culture: https://www.novartis.com/about/strategy/people-and-culture

Join our Novartis Network
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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

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