Assoc Director Innovation Lab, Program Design & Delivery - AI

~~~Please note: This is a temporary contractor opportunity at Novartis ~~~
Novartis touches the lives of a tenth of the world’s population. Every role here, regardless of contract type, makes an impact on human life!

Novartis US partners with external managed service provider Magnit Global to offer engaging temporary contractor opportunities like this, to those who are looking for flexibility in their career while looking to gain new skills and experiences providing services to an inclusive global medicines company.

Ready to work with/through Magnit at Novartis? Please read on...
Associate Director Innovation Lab, Program Design & Delivery - AI
Join our highly intrapreneurial team and help us shape the future!

About the Role:
The Associate Director, Innovation Lab – AI Innovation sits within the US Innovation Lab (iLab), a part of the Marketing Technology Product Management team. The position reports to the Director of AI Innovation. In this role, you will join a highly innovative and entrepreneurial group with a focus on accelerating AI Use Cases in the US. With a deep expertise in AI, large language models (LLM), and natural language processing (NLP) you will help execute on our AI Innovation Strategy and lead the experimentation of innovative AI-driven products and services aligned to Novartis US objectives.

Your primary focus will be on responsible AI product/program management. You will manage the execution overseeing use case workstream experiments and MVPs and collaborate with cross-functional stakeholders to lead the planning and execution. This includes managing AI program and project delivery of product features and enhancements by identifying, analyzing, and mitigating risks and dependencies to achieve defined objectives for marketing, sales, and other functions. You will engage with leaders at all levels of the global organization to align plans, product roadmap and approaches.

The ideal candidate will bring strong expertise with real-world application of AI/Gen AI and should have experience in developing LLM solutions with the players that are enabling these new technologies. Ideally, you will have led work in tech and/or a leading company building AI solutions. You will excel at engaging, collaborating with, and influencing critical internal collaborators and partners across all areas of the organization to bring new innovations to life. You will thrive in ambiguity with a passion for innovation, problem-solving and the discipline of innovation to deliver business impact. This role sits in a heavily matrixed organization where you will work with a multi-disciplinary team of functional experts, including IT, UX, Data, Analytics and Insights and other groups across the organization in achieving objectives.

Responsibilities:

1. Drive the development and delivery of AI/GenAI projects, and other AI-driven innovations.
2. Blend strategic vision, technical expertise, and leadership skills to bring transformative AI products from concept to market.
3. Manage the execution of AI / generative AI POCs/MVPs using your knowledge of LLM and NLP, identifying, analyzing, and mitigating risks and dependencies and collaborating with leaders across the enterprise to establish plans, product roadmaps, and approaches aligned to IMUS strategy and objectives to deliver results.
4. Define key performance indicators (KPIs) and metrics to measure success, track performance against targets, and identify areas for improvement.
5. Identify potential risks and challenges in product development and implementation, and proactively mitigate them to ensure project success.
6. Drive process improvements and best practices within the program management function, optimizing workflows and enhancing efficiency and effectiveness.
7. Provide guidance, mentorship, and support to a team of project managers, business analysts, fostering a culture of collaboration, innovation, and continuous improvement.
8. Stay abreast of industry trends, competitive landscape, and emerging technologies to inform product decisions and identify areas for innovation and differentiation.
9. Meet with all levels from executives to users, prospects, partners, and industry analysts to communicate AI vision of the market, product roadmap, and competitive differentiation.

Qualifications:

1. Bachelor's degree in computer science, Information Technology, Data Science, or an MBA Master’s in a related field.
2. 7+ years of AI and Innovation Management, including with Big Tech, with a focus on AI and machine learning applications, LLM, NLP, and generative AI.
3. 6+ years of Product Management, Strategy, Innovation, or consulting role.
4. Understanding of pharma industry and pharma marketing principles a plus.
5. Deep demonstrated passion for innovation with entrepreneurial behaviors such as strategic thinking and problem-solving to inspire organizational change management necessary for enabling AI solutions.
6. Successful track record in driving innovative thinking, leading ideation, and meeting business objectives.
7. Significant experience in Machine Learning, AI and Gen AI technologies.
8. Experience leading multiple product development cycles from concept to scale in AI. Experience defining product requirements and using data and metrics to determine improvements.
9. Excellent communication, collaboration, and interpersonal skills (verbal, written, presentation) for bridging between scientific and business participants with the ability to explain complex technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders and for driving a program to effective implementation.
10. Strong relationship-building, influencing and negotiating skills. Demonstrated experience engaging and influencing senior executives.
11. Demonstrated ability to work in a fast-paced, multidisciplinary environment, with comfort in the ambiguous, adapting quickly to changing priorities.

Location: East Hanover, NJ (Onsite)
Pay Rate: $39.25-$50.05/hour based on qualifications and experience (W-2/only)
Contract: 12 months
Health, dental, vision, 401k

Why Novartis?
766 million lives were touched by Novartis medicines in 2021, and while we’re proud of this, we know there is so much more we could do to help improve and extend people’s lives.
We believe new insights, perspectives and ground-breaking solutions can be found at the intersection of medical science and digital innovation. That a diverse, equitable and inclusive environment inspires new ways of working.
We believe we can reinvent what's possible when we collaborate with courage to ambitiously tackle the world’s toughest medical challenges. Because the greatest risk in life, is the risk of never trying!
Imagine the impact you could make here at Novartis!

Commitment to Diversity & Inclusion:
Novartis is committed to building an outstanding, inclusive work environment with diverse teams representative of the patients and communities we serve.

To do our best work we need different viewpoints, which is why here at Magnit, we celebrate diversity and embrace inclusion. As an equal opportunity employer, Magnit is dedicated to building a team that represents a variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and skills. We strive to ensure that we maintain a positive and enriching work environment for all.

Accommodation:
If you require reasonable accommodation in completing this application, interviewing, completing any pre-employment testing, or otherwise participating in the employee selection process, please direct your inquiries to Magnit at