Senior Manager – Legal Strategy

Job Description Summary

About the Role:
Join our newly established Legal Innovation Hub (the "Hub"), a strategic Play a critical role in transforming the delivery and scaling of legal expertise across the organization. Positioned within the Hub, you will drive strategic initiatives, operational excellence, and digital innovation across the S&L function. By combining legal acumen with deep technology and project management skills, you will partner with cross-functional teams to design and implement forward-thinking solutions that enhance efficiency, agility, and impact.

 

Job Description

Major accountabilities:

• Design and execute strategic and operational roadmaps aligned with S&L's global objectives. Oversee a portfolio of strategic projects and programs, ensuring alignment with organizational priorities, effective resource allocation, and timely delivery. Lead annual planning, Objectives and Key Results (OKR), and performance frameworks for the Hub.
• Act as delegate for the Lead – Strategic Projects & Legal Operations in leadership meetings, decision-making forums, and external engagements as required. Legal Operations & Process Excellence .Assess and determine suitable technology, aligning it effectively with proposed solutions.
• Act as a strategic advisor to leadership and cross-functional stakeholders. Develop toolkits, frameworks, and best practices for legal transformation
• Initiating and managing process improvements and automation projects to achieve efficiencies and enhance existing services. Implementing and maintaining quality control, adherence to agreed timelines and technical excellence in service delivery.
• Staying updated on legislative and regulatory developments in the pharmaceutical sector, industry best practices, and areas of focus/hot topics for external audits.
• Identify and resolve operational issues, communicate recommendations/solutions to local or global managers/partners. Deliver regular operational reports, Monthly/Quarterly KPI reports and, as needed, business reports.

Minimum Requirements:

• 12-15 years of overall work experience in legal operations, strategy, or consulting roles with LLB/LLM.
• Extensive experience in project and program management, with preference for PMP, PRINCE2, or Lean/Six Sigma certification.
• Strong understanding of legal processes, corporate legal departments, and regulatory environments. Excellent analytical, problem-solving, and strategic thinking skills, with a focus on innovation and driving change.
• Knowledge of change management principles and methodologies. Experience in developing and delivering training programs.
• Good experience with legal tech platforms, with hands-on implementation/configuration preferred.
• Excellent communication, stakeholder management, vendor management, and influencing skills.
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively within a fast-paced, matrixed environment.
• Strong team player who is dynamic and result oriented.
• Ability to build team dynamics, cross-functional training, and organizational efficiencies.
• Familiarity with process set-up, quality KPIs, operational tools, and operational issue management.
• Strong business focus and customer-centric approach.
• Proven ability to provide legal acumen/judgment to enhance decision making.

Preferred:

• Prior experience with a Big 4 firm or ALSP is desirable.
• Proven track record of providing strategic legal counsel and operational support, ideally with experience in developing and implementing shared services or hub models.
• Familiarity with Gen AI applications in legal and emerging legal tech trends.
• Pharma background or experience in clinical trial contracting and related life sciences contracting processes preferred.

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?  

Benefits and Rewards: Read our handbook to learn about all the ways we'll help you thrive personally and professionally:

Accessibility and accommodation: Novartis is committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodation to individuals with disabilities. If, because of a medical condition or disability, you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the recruitment process, or in order to perform the essential functions of a position, please send an e-mail to and let us know the nature of your request and your contact information. Please include the job requisition number in your message

Skills Desired

Business Networking, Business Partners, Calls Handling, Contract Management, Curiosity, Decision Making Skills, Finance, Law (Legal System), Litigation Law, Microsoft Office, Proactivity, Quality Control

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