At Roche you can show up as yourself, embraced for the unique qualities you bring. Our culture encourages personal expression, open dialogue, and genuine connections, where you are valued, accepted and respected for who you are, allowing you to thrive both personally and professionally. This is how we aim to prevent, stop and cure diseases and ensure everyone has access to healthcare today and for generations to come. Join Roche, where every voice matters.
The PositionAt Roche, we are committed to delivering life-changing therapies to patients by scaling cutting-edge digital, data, and operational solutions across global operations. As a Data Governance Strategy & Operations Lead (Data Program & Performance Excellence Lead), you will act as a high-impact internal consultant and delivery lead—bridging the gap between digital strategy, advanced analytics, and operational reality.
In this role, you will lead transformation initiatives across Pharma Technical Operations (PT). Using our structured Breakthrough Methodology (Preparation, Diagnose, Design, Implement, and Sustain), you will combine data engineering, AI-driven process optimization, and behavioral change management to replace legacy operational models with scalable, tech-enabled capabilities. You are an empathetic, outcome-obsessed advisor who challenges the status quo and delivers measurable business value.
Your Main Responsibilities
- End-to-End Program Leadership Support: Co-own the scoping, delivery, and value realization of high-impact digital initiatives, ensuring strategic alignment with executive stakeholders, site leaders, and enterprise roadmaps.
- Data Product Delivery: Co-lead the technical scoping and end-to-end deployment of data products, operational AI/ML models, and shop-floor automation into daily manufacturing routines.
- Value Realization & Diagnostics: Utilize hypothesis-driven diagnostics and quantitative metrics (e.g., yield, cycle time, data integrity) to build compelling business cases and track real-world value acceleration.
- Behavioral Change & Adoption: Partner with Organizational Change Management (OCM) leads to design and scale behavioral-based adoption strategies, translating user analytics and behavioral data into product design improvements. Partner with dedicated Principal OCM and Program Leads to ensure technical iterations align with user analytics and overarching governance roadmaps.
- Quality & Regulatory Compliance: Facilitate and strictly adhere all digital and data interventions to GxP, Data Integrity standards, and emerging global regulations (e.g., EU AI Act, Annex 11).
- Scale & Industrialization: Facilitate and help drive digital initiatives out of the "pilot phase" into fully scalable enterprise data products integrated across the global operational network.
- Local Support & Capability Building: Support site process owners and local teams in Agile, Lean, and Design Thinking to build repeatable, long-term internal digital capabilities.
Who You Are
You are an accomplished transformation leader who thrives at the intersection of complex digital and data technology, human behavior, and large-scale operational environments. You combine deep technical literacy with strategic foresight, empathy, and a proven track record of driving change across matrixed organizations. Experience in Change Management and Stakeholder Coaching is as critical as your technical program management expertise. You possess the ability to drive and facilitate execution through cross-functional influence and matrixed leadership, rather than through direct-report management.
Qualifications & Expertise:
- Education: Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Computer Science, Engineering, Information Systems, Life Sciences, or a related field (Master’s or equivalent preferred).
- Professional Experience:Minimum of 6+ years of experience leading digital, data, or operational excellence transformations within complex, matrixed environments.Minimum of 3+ years of experience within pharmaceutical operations, biotechnology, healthcare IT, or highly regulated GxP process industries.
- Consulting Background: Strong consultancy track record, ideally with 5+ years of experience in top-tier firms ("MBB" or "Big 4").
- Technical & Digital Literacy: Solid grasp of enterprise data architecture, AI/ML operational applications, digital adoption platforms (e.g., WalkMe, Pendo), and shop-floor automation.
- Methodology Mastery: Proven expertise combining Lean/Six Sigma principles with Agile, SAFe, Design Thinking, and Organizational Change Management (e.g., Prosci) frameworks.
- Stakeholder Influence & Matrix Leadership: Exceptional communication skills with a proven ability to challenge senior leadership, navigate cross-functional resistance, and translate complex technical concepts into clear business cases.
- Location: Madrid.
What is Here for You
At Roche, more than 100,000 people across 100 countries are pushing back the frontiers of healthcare. Working together, we’ve become one of the world’s leading research-focused healthcare groups. Our success is built on innovation, curiosity, and diversity.
- Impact for Patients: Direct contribution to optimizing the global manufacturing and supply chain operations that bring life-saving therapies to millions of patients.
- High-Visibility Scope: Broad strategic influence across the global Pharma Technical Operations network.
- Growth & Culture: An empowering environment that values psychological safety, flexible hybrid working models, continuous learning, and personal development.
Who we are
A healthier future drives us to innovate. Together, more than 100’000 employees across the globe are dedicated to advance science, ensuring everyone has access to healthcare today and for generations to come. Our efforts result in more than 26 million people treated with our medicines and over 30 billion tests conducted using our Diagnostics products. We empower each other to explore new possibilities, foster creativity, and keep our ambitions high, so we can deliver life-changing healthcare solutions that make a global impact.
Let’s build a healthier future, together.
Roche is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
Skills Required
- Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Computer Science, Engineering, Information Systems, Life Sciences, or a related field
- Master’s degree or equivalent
- 6+ years of experience leading digital, data, or operational excellence transformations in complex, matrixed environments
- 3+ years of experience in pharmaceutical operations, biotechnology, healthcare IT, or highly regulated GxP process industries
- Strong consulting experience, ideally 5+ years at a top-tier MBB or Big 4 firm
- Experience with enterprise data architecture, AI/ML operational applications, digital adoption platforms, and shop-floor automation
- Expertise in Lean/Six Sigma, Agile, SAFe, Design Thinking, and Organizational Change Management frameworks such as Prosci
- Exceptional communication, stakeholder influence, matrix leadership, and ability to translate technical concepts into business cases
- Ability to work in Madrid
Roche Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Roche and has not been reviewed or approved by Roche.
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Retirement Support — U.S. materials describe a 401(k) with both matching and an additional company contribution, supported by formal plan documents and true‑up features. This structure is positioned as a standout element of the total package, particularly at Genentech.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — Time‑off provisions include substantial vacation, a year‑end shutdown, and a paid six‑week sabbatical after six years. These elements indicate a recharge‑oriented approach within the U.S. offering.
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Healthcare Strength — Company materials emphasize comprehensive medical, dental, vision, and mental‑health resources alongside well‑being programs. Benefits pages consistently highlight breadth across core health coverage elements.
Roche Insights
What We Do
Roche is a global pioneer in pharmaceuticals and diagnostics focused on advancing science to improve people’s lives. The combined strengths of pharmaceuticals and diagnostics under one roof have made Roche the leader in personalised healthcare – a strategy that aims to fit the right treatment to each patient in the best way possible. Roche is the world’s largest biotech company, with truly differentiated medicines in oncology, immunology, infectious diseases, ophthalmology and diseases of the central nervous system. Roche is also the world leader in in vitro diagnostics and tissue-based cancer diagnostics, and a frontrunner in diabetes management. Founded in 1896, Roche continues to search for better ways to prevent, diagnose and treat diseases and make a sustainable contribution to society. The company also aims to improve patient access to medical innovations by working with all relevant stakeholders. Thirty medicines developed by Roche are included in the World Health Organization Model Lists of Essential Medicines, among them life-saving antibiotics, antimalarials and cancer medicines. Roche has been recognised as the Group Leader in sustainability within the Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences Industry ten years in a row by the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI).
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