Associate Director - CFIB Deal Enablement & Operations

At Lilly, the work is demanding because patients are waiting. We unite caring with discovery to help make life better for people around the world, knowing that every decision, every detail, and every day matters. Headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, our over 50,000 employees around the globe take on complex challenges to discover and deliver life-changing medicines, strengthen how health is understood and managed, and support the communities we serve. This is hard, urgent, selfless work—but it’s work worth doing. If you’re driven by purpose and ready to bring your best to work that truly matters for patients, we invite you to join us. 

Overview:

Lilly is one of the most active dealmakers in biopharma, and Corporate Finance & Investment Banking sits at the center of that activity. This role offers a rare combination: direct exposure to live transactions and a mandate to redesign how a large-cap pharma deal team works using artificial intelligence (AI). The Associate Director – Deal Enablement & AI Transformation will accelerate and drive transformation across Corporate Finance & Investment Banking (CFIB), the team that partners with Lilly's business development organization on the financial evaluation and execution of transactions, building the deal-agnostic engine that scales the team as Lilly expands its business development capacity. This Indianapolis based role defines the processes, standards, tools, and ways of working that power the end-to-end dealmaking process; leads strategy, innovation, and transformation projects; drives the continuous-improvement cadence that sharpens each successive deal; and delivers cross-cutting analyses that turn insights into decisive action for senior leadership. As a high-performing individual contributor, the role operates with significant independence and an owner mindset, stays close to live transactions and provides hands-on execution support, and brings best-in-class practices into CFIB. The role requires project management discipline, financial valuation acumen, hands-on AI and data fluency, and strong business partnering skills to influence stakeholders across CFIB, other finance functions, and the broader business development ecosystem.

Responsibilities:

• Build and Scale the Operating Model: Define, implement, and continuously refine the processes, standards, templates, playbooks, and ways of working that power CFIB, including taking ownership of workstreams end to end.

• Partner Across CFIB, Finance, Corporate Business Development, and External Advisors: Build relationships with CFIB dealmakers, finance partners (Finance Transformation, Treasury, Accounting, R&D Finance, Tax, etc.), the broader business development ecosystem (Corporate Business Development, Legal, Alliance Management, etc.), and external advisors to surface opportunities, align on priorities, and provide ad hoc deal execution support.

• Accelerate and Drive Transformation and Innovation: Lead an evolving portfolio of strategy, innovation, and transformation projects across CFIB from scoping through implementation, including initiatives with executive visibility. Track emerging technology trends and best-in-class practices, engaging internal and external thought partners, and incorporate them into CFIB through automation and AI-enabled deal workflows.

• Build and Deploy AI-Enabled Deal Tools: Design, prototype, and deploy AI and automation solutions that measurably accelerate the deal process (e.g., AI-assisted diligence review, comparable-transaction screening, model and materials quality control, and first drafts of deal memos and leadership materials) using enterprise tools such as Claude, Microsoft Copilot, Cortex, and Power Platform, in partnership with Tech@Lilly; drive adoption across CFIB and track the value delivered.

• Drive Operational Excellence and Continuous Improvement: Facilitate learning forums such as post-deal insights sessions; translate insights into updated playbooks and decisive action; and simplify how CFIB supports deals.

• Deliver Cross-Cutting Analyses and Reporting: Produce deal-agnostic analyses that inform senior leadership, including enterprise strategic planning, Board-level materials, and other priorities as they emerge. Design deal reporting, KPIs, and scorecards that give leadership a clear, consistent view of CFIB activity and outcomes.

• Support Live Deals and Deal Operations: Provide hands-on execution support on live transactions (valuation, structuring analysis, and materials) as capacity requires, and serve as backup for key deal operations, processes, and controls.

Basic Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree with 6 + years of experience in investment banking, corporate or business development, private equity or venture capital, transaction advisory, or a comparable deal-execution role
• OR an advanced degree (e.g., MBA, JD, or master’s in finance) with 4 + years of experience in investment banking, corporate or business development, private equity or venture capital, transaction advisory, or a comparable deal-execution role

Preferences:

• Investment banking experience, ideally in healthcare or life sciences coverage or M&A

• Demonstrated track record of building and deploying AI or automation tools that are in active use (e.g., LLM-based workflows, agentic tools, prompt engineering, Python, or Power Platform), with the judgment to know where AI does and does not belong in a deal process

• Advanced degree (e.g., MBA)

• Experience in life sciences or biopharma business development or corporate development

• Strong financial modeling and valuation skills (e.g., DCF, risk-adjusted NPV) and working knowledge of deal structures (e.g., upfront payments, milestones, royalties, equity)

• Familiarity with enterprise financial data and systems, and with deal or pipeline management tools (e.g., CRM and deal-tracking platforms)

• Proven ability to work independently in a new or ambiguous environment

• Clear written and verbal communication, with experience preparing and presenting materials for senior leadership, including Board and executive committee materials

• Cross-functional project leadership with experience in transformation and change management

• Strong learning agility and commitment to continuous improvement and knowledge sharing

Additional Information:

Lilly may provide support for or sponsor work authorization or visas for this role for internal applicants only.

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 (https://careers.lilly.com/us/en/workplace-accommodation) 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 (AMECA), Black Employees at Lilly (BE@Lilly), Chinese Culture Network (CCN), EnAble, Evolve, Lilly Indian Network (LIN), Organization of Latinx at Lilly (OLA), Pride (LGBTQ+ Allies), Veterans Leadership Network (VLN) and Women’s Initiative for Leading at Lilly (WILL).

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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