Associate Director - Operations Lead

At Gilead, we’re creating a healthier world for all people. For more than 35 years, we’ve tackled diseases such as HIV, viral hepatitis, COVID-19 and cancer – working relentlessly to develop therapies that help improve lives and to ensure access to these therapies across the globe. We continue to fight against the world’s biggest health challenges, and our mission requires collaboration, determination and a relentless drive to make a difference.

Every member of Gilead’s team plays a critical role in the discovery and development of life-changing scientific innovations. Our employees are our greatest asset as we work to achieve our bold ambitions, and we’re looking for the next wave of passionate and ambitious people ready to make a direct impact.

We believe every employee deserves a great leader. People Leaders are the cornerstone to the employee experience at Gilead and Kite. As a people leader now or in the future, you are the key driver in evolving our culture and creating an environment where every employee feels included, developed and empowered to fulfil their aspirations. Join Gilead and help create possible, together.

Job Description

GCC IT Operations lead works very closely with IT Leader for Gilead GCC to drive performance, compliance, service & operational excellence. This role coordinates with the global PMO teams ensuring adherence, adoption and maturity of governance, financials, workforce and compliance tracking. Pivotal in bringing continuous improvements to the site level operational activities.

Key Responsibilities:

• Establish and continuously evolve governance framework, processes, and systems of record to drive standardization, efficiency, and operational excellence.

• Act as SPOC for IT leadership in GCC providing visibility, governance, prioritization, execution tracking, and executive reporting across programs, projects, and initiatives. Maintain visibility into the portfolio of IT work across functions, programmes, and projects.

• Own operational financial governance, including budgeting, forecasting, spend tracking, variance management, purchase orders, and financial reporting in partnership with Finance/FP&A teams as needed. Manage and track travel, training, and operational spend.

• Drive workforce planning, demand/capacity management, hiring plans, and onboarding readiness in partnership with HR and Talent Acquisition. Own new hire onboarding process in partnership with the Employee Experience team

• Partner with workplace, HR, and other enterprise teams to ensure seamless site operations, employee/contractor onboarding, workplace readiness, leadership engagements, and GCC-wide initiatives.

• Establish meaningful KPIs, dashboards, scorecards, and operating reviews that provide leadership with actionable insights into portfolio, financial, workforce, service, and operational performance.

• Establish operational controls and governance mechanisms to ensure adherence to enterprise policies, mandatory processes, and audit commitments.

• Identify and lead initiatives that simplify processes, improve productivity, strengthen controls, enable automation, and scale operations in line with GCC growth and maturity.

• Build and lead a high-performing operations organization, developing PMO, VMO and operational capabilities while fostering accountability, collaboration, continuous improvement, and a culture of operational excellence.

• Partner with Employee Experience and workplace teams to support asset planning, seating strategy, and workplace readiness.

• Support site level operations for the GCC where required, collaborate to define and monitor operational health parameters for GCC

Skills & Experience:

• 14+ years of progressive experience across IT Operations, PMO, Portfolio Management, Operational Excellence, or GCC/Shared Services environments, including leadership of enterprise-scale operations.

• Proven experience designing and implementing scalable operating models, governance frameworks, processes, controls, and management systems within complex organizations.

• Strong expertise in governance, prioritization, resource management, delivery tracking, and portfolio management practices.

• Demonstrated experience managing IT budgets, forecasting, financial controls, variance analysis, procurement processes, and spend optimization in partnership with Finance/FP&A.

• Strong ability to influence senior leaders, communicate complex operational topics clearly, and drive alignment across business, technology, corporate functions, and global stakeholders.

• Strong analytical capability with experience developing KPIs, dashboards, scorecards, operational metrics, and executive insights to enable data-driven decision-making.

• Strong understanding of governance, audit readiness, compliance frameworks, policy adherence, and controls within enterprise or regulated environments.

• Proven track record of leading cross-functional transformation, process optimization, automation, standardization, and operational maturity initiatives;

Preferred Skills:

• Lean Six Sigma, ITIL, PMP/PgMP or equivalent certification is desirable.

• Experience operating within GCC, Global Business Services, or Shared Services models; pharmaceutical, biotechnology, healthcare, or other regulated-industry experience is highly desirable.

Gilead Sciences Inc. is committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment, and is dedicated to fostering an inclusive work environment comprised of diverse perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences. Employment decisions regarding recruitment and selection will be made without discrimination based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, genetic information or characteristic, gender identity and expression, veteran status, or other non-job related characteristics or other prohibited grounds specified in applicable federal, state and local laws.

Our environment respects individual differences and recognizes each employee as an integral member of our company. Our workforce reflects these values and celebrates the individuals who make up our growing team.

Gilead provides a work environment free of harassment and prohibited conduct. We promote and support individual differences and diversity of thoughts and opinion.

For Current Gilead Employees and Contractors:

Please apply via the Internal Career Opportunities portal in Workday.

About Us

Gilead Sciences, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company that has pursued and achieved breakthroughs in medicine for more than three decades, with the goal of creating a healthier world for all people. The company is committed to advancing innovative medicines to prevent and treat life-threatening diseases, including HIV, viral hepatitis and cancer. Gilead operates in more than 35 countries worldwide, with headquarters in Foster City, California.