Senior Director - Indianapolis - Eli Lilly and Company

Description

At Lilly, we unite caring with discovery to make life better for people around the world. We are a global healthcare leader headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. Our employees around the world work to discover and bring life-changing medicines to those who need them, improve the understanding and management of disease, and give back to our communities through philanthropy and volunteerism. We give our best effort to our work, and we put people first. We're looking for people who are determined to make life better for people around the world.

Senior Director, Innovative Capabilities – Patient Engagement

Purpose:

The Senior Director, Innovative Capabilities – Patient Engagement is responsible for identifying, evaluating, and advancing breakthrough capabilities that transform patient recruitment, retention, and engagement in clinical trials—accelerating the development of medicines. This role empowers Lilly to reach and support patients burdened by disease in novel and meaningful ways, driving faster enrollment, deeper engagement, and sustained participation through cutting-edge approaches that meet the evolving demands of the portfolio.

Working in close collaboration with functional and portfolio leaders, the Senior Director proactively uncovers unmet needs and rapidly assesses potential solutions. They lead proof-of-concept initiatives with clear success metrics and decision frameworks to scale high-impact capabilities or sunset those that do not meet performance, feasibility, or strategic alignment criteria. In addition, the Senior Director partners with Business Development and LRL External Innovation to identify and evaluate emerging technologies and capabilities at their earliest stages—shaping strategic investments that align with Lilly's innovation priorities and long-term vision.

In partnership with the Patient Engagement Services Management Team, the Senior Director ensures seamless transition and onboarding of selected vendors and capabilities, with appropriate oversight and governance. They also synchronize capability development timelines with portfolio priorities to enable smooth handoff to clinical capabilities leaders for broader implementation.

Success in this role demands strategic foresight, strong cross-functional collaboration, and the ability to drive both internal and external innovation that delivers measurable impact.

Primary Responsibilities: This job description is intended to provide a general overview of the job requirements at the time it was prepared. The job requirements of any position may change over time and may include additional responsibilities not specifically described in the job description. Consult with your supervision regarding your actual job responsibilities and any related duties that may be required for the position.

Strategic, Innovative Leadership & Delivery

• Accountable for understanding the global patient demands across the portfolio, the capabilities currently in place, our strengths and gaps and scouting/assessing emerging technologies and services that support the engagement of clinical trial participants.
• Accountable for leading rapid PoC efforts to validate impact, operational fit, and strategic alignment.
• Anticipate long- and short-term customer, competitive, and environmental trends to inform capability development.
• Collaborate across Clinical Capabilities, CDDA, Quality, Procurement, , etc. to ensure capabilities meet global regulatory and operational standards.
• Partners with Business Development and LRL External Innovation to identify and assess emerging capabilities and technologies at inception, shaping strategic investments that align with Lilly's innovation priorities.
• Support the integration of successful capabilities into functional workflows.
• Lead projects or programs with significant risk, financial/resource requirements, and complexity to achieve critical business objectives.
• Make complex technical and business decisions within general functional, company, and industry guidelines.
• Influence senior management, regulators, and external partners on key decisions related to capability adoption and investment.
• Stay abreast of new regulatory and policy developments and play a direct role in influencing regulations or strategies.

Enterprise Leadership

• Collaborate with the Patient Engagement Services Management team through capability evaluation, contracting and implementation.
• Serve as a key resource and influencer across multiple business areas and geographic regions.
• As assigned, manage resources and budgets for large projects or operations.
• Institutionalize learnings from proof of concepts and drive continuous improvement in assessing and implementing capabilities.
• Monitor external trends and leverage partnerships to refine or develop new capabilities.
• Identify opportunities for improving technologies, processes, products, and services through internal and external collaboration.
• Build capability depth in community-based trial delivery and patient-centric approaches.
• Anticipate, identify, and solve complex technical problems affecting the functional or business area.

Minimum Qualification Requirements:

Basic Requirements

• Bachelor's Degree in a Life Sciences related field, higher degree preferred
• Minimum of 10 years Drug Development Experience and/or relevant work experience in pharmacy leadership/ pharmacy research/ pharmaceutical industry
• Qualified candidates must be legally authorized to be employed in the United States. Lilly does not anticipate providing sponsorship for employment visa status (e.g., H-1B, or TN status) for this employment position

Other Information/Additional Preferences:

Additional Preferences:

• Advanced degree.
• Proven ability to identify and lead assessment of innovative external capabilities.
• Demonstrated success in leading cross-functional initiatives and influencing without direct authority.
• Prior project management experience and/or experience leading multi-disciplinary teams
• Strong analytical, strategic thinking, and communication skills.
• Experience with applicable regulatory standards and quality systems.
• Demonstrated ability to identify and prioritize complex problems and develop and implement solutions.

Additional Information:

• Location: Indianapolis, IN
• Travel: Approximately 25%

Job Description Version History:

Version Number

Description of Change

1.0

This is the initial release.

Lilly is dedicated to helping individuals with disabilities to actively engage in the workforce, ensuring equal opportunities when vying for positions. If you require accommodation to submit a resume for a position at Lilly, please complete the accommodation request form ) for further assistance. Please note this is for individuals to request an accommodation as part of the application process and any other correspondence will not receive a response.

Lilly is proud to be an EEO Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, religion, gender identity, sex, gender expression, sexual orientation, genetic information, ancestry, national origin, protected veteran status, disability, or any other legally protected status.

Our employee resource groups (ERGs) offer strong support networks for their members and are open to all employees. Our current groups include: Africa, Middle East, Central Asia Network, Black Employees at Lilly, Chinese Culture Network, Japanese International Leadership Network (JILN), Lilly India Network, Organization of Latinx at Lilly (OLA), PRIDE (LGBTQ+ Allies), Veterans Leadership Network (VLN), Women's Initiative for Leading at Lilly (WILL), enAble (for people with disabilities). Learn more about all of our groups.

Actual compensation will depend on a candidate's education, experience, skills, and geographic location.  The anticipated wage for this position is

Full-time equivalent employees also will be eligible for a company bonus (depending, in part, on company and individual performance). In addition, Lilly offers a comprehensive benefit program to eligible employees, including eligibility to participate in a company-sponsored 401(k); pension; vacation benefits; eligibility for medical, dental, vision and prescription drug benefits; flexible benefits (e.g., healthcare and/or dependent day care flexible spending accounts); life insurance and death benefits; certain time off and leave of absence benefits; and well-being benefits (e.g., employee assistance program, fitness benefits, and employee clubs and activities).Lilly reserves the right to amend, modify, or terminate its compensation and benefit programs in its sole discretion and Lilly's compensation practices and guidelines will apply regarding the details of any promotion or transfer of Lilly employees.

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