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
The Executive Director, R&D Program Finance, serves as the senior finance leader responsible for shaping and driving financial strategy across Gilead’s oncology and inflammation portfolio. This leader acts as the strategic business partner to the R&D organization, ensuring that financial insights, rigorous business case evaluations, and value focused decision frameworks meaningfully influence pipeline investment, portfolio optimization, and long range planning. This role leads and develops a high performing Program Finance organization that partners directly with senior executives and their teams across Development, Commercial, PDM, and Finance.
Office Location: Foster City, CA
As a Executive Director, R&D Program Finance, at Gilead you will ...
Key Responsibilities:
Strategic Leadership & Vision
Establish and deliver on vision to position the Program Finance team as a critical strategic partner enabling high‑quality, value‑based decisions across the development portfolio.
Lead the evolution from study‑level cost support to end‑to‑end business case leadership with a focus on value creation.
Stakeholder Influence & Executive Engagement
Build trusted partnerships with SVP/VP stakeholders across Development, Commercial, PDM, and Finance.
Ensure Finance is recognized as a critical and required voice in PC materials, BD materials, and strategic reviews.
Team Leadership & Capability Building
Build and develop a diverse, high‑impact team capable of influencing senior R&D leaders and challenging assumptions with data‑driven insights.
Set a high bar for People Leader accountabilities—fostering inclusion, proactive coaching, and rigorous talent development for all leaders in the Program Finance LT.
Assess team capabilities regularly and address gaps related to financial modeling, strategic thinking, communication, and cross‑functional influence.
Operational & Process Excellence
Oversee high‑quality financial assessments for PC decisions, BD evaluations, Portfolio Review, and Long Range Planning —ensuring financial insights are material, timely, and influence outcomes.
Embed standardized methodologies (e.g., NPV, risk‑adjusted frameworks, scenario modeling) across all program teams.
Drive continuous simplification and automation of financial processes, enabling faster and more reliable insights (e.g., IPE simplification, rolling forecast enablement).
Ensure robust financial governance, policy adherence, and audit‑ready processes (e.g., SOX, EY compliance).
Basic Qualifications:
Bachelor's Degree and Sixteen Years' Experience
OR
Masters' Degree and Fourteen Years' Experience
OR
PhD and Fourteen Years' Experience
Preferred Qualifications:
15+ years in R&D Finance or related strategic finance roles in biopharma.
Strategic, systems‑level thinker who distills complexity into clear, actionable decisions, enabling teams and senior leaders to navigate ambiguity with confidence.
Builder of high‑performing teams and talent, with a strong track record of coaching, elevating emerging leaders, and cultivating an inclusive environment where people can grow and excel.
Executive presence with exceptional storytelling and influence skills, capable of framing insights in a way that shapes decisions, aligns stakeholders, and accelerates enterprise impact.
Proactive change leader who challenges the status quo constructively, inspires continuous improvement, and leads teams through transformation with optimism, resilience, and clarity.
Collaborative, solutions‑oriented partner grounded in Gilead’s Core Values, fostering trust, accountability, and cross‑functional alignment to deliver outcomes that advance the enterprise.
People Leader Accountabilities:
•Create Inclusion - knowing the business value of diverse teams, modeling inclusion, and embedding the value of diversity in the way they manage their teams.
•Develop Talent - understand the skills, experience, aspirations and potential of their employees and coach them on current performance and future potential. They ensure employees are receiving the feedback and insight needed to grow, develop and realize their purpose.
•Empower Teams - connect the team to the organization by aligning goals, purpose, and organizational objectives, and holding them to account. They provide the support needed to remove barriers and connect their team to the broader ecosystem.
For additional benefits information, visit:
https://www.gilead.com/careers/compensation-benefits-and-wellbeing
* Eligible employees may participate in benefit plans, subject to the terms and conditions of the applicable plans.
For jobs in the United States:
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. In order to ensure reasonable accommodation for individuals protected by Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Vietnam Era Veterans' Readjustment Act of 1974, and Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, applicants who require accommodation in the job application process may contact [email protected] for assistance.
For more information about equal employment opportunity protections, please view the 'Know Your Rights' poster.
NOTICE: EMPLOYEE POLYGRAPH PROTECTION ACT
YOUR RIGHTS UNDER THE FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE ACT
Gilead Sciences will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, (c) consistent with the legal duty to furnish information; or (d) otherwise protected by law.
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.
Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree and 16 years' experience OR Master's degree and 14 years' experience OR PhD and 14 years' experience.
- 15+ years in R&D finance or related strategic finance roles in biopharma.
- Strong financial modeling skills including NPV, risk‑adjusted valuation, and scenario modeling.
- Proven experience influencing senior executives and partnering across Development, Commercial, PDM, and Finance.
- Experience ensuring financial governance and audit‑ready processes (e.g., SOX compliance, external audit interactions such as EY).
- Proven track record building and developing high‑performing teams and coaching emerging leaders.
- Executive presence with exceptional storytelling, communication, and stakeholder influence skills.
- Proactive change leadership with experience simplifying and automating financial processes (rolling forecasts, IPE simplification).
- Strategic, systems‑level thinking with demonstrated ability to drive portfolio investment decisions and value‑focused frameworks.
- People leader capabilities: model inclusion, develop talent, empower teams, and hold leaders accountable.
Gilead Sciences Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Gilead Sciences and has not been reviewed or approved by Gilead Sciences.
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Fair & Transparent Compensation — Pay is considered competitive and fair relative to roles, frequently cited as a standout strength. Feedback suggests compensation compares well within biotech and is a notable reason employees feel valued.
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Equity Value & Accessibility — Stock awards and an employee stock purchase program are consistently described as meaningful parts of total compensation. Equity components are seen as accessible and enhance long‑term wealth building.
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Retirement Support — A strong company 401(k) match with immediate vesting is often singled out as a differentiator. This support is perceived to significantly boost long‑term financial security.
Gilead Sciences Insights
What We Do
The way we see it, the impossible is not impossible. It’s simply what hasn’t been achieved yet. For more than 30 years, we’ve pursued it, chased it down, tackled it for answers and surrounded it for a way in. We have worked tirelessly to bring forward medicines for life-threatening diseases. Creating Possible drives everything we do. It’s evident in our mission and core values. This is how we built a culture of excellence that is fueled by a passion for improving lives of people around the world. For us, nothing is impossible – because of the people we work with, the communities we stand with and the partners we push forward with. Our ~12,000 employees band together through science, grit, compassion and courage to prove the impossible wrong. At Gilead, the tangible results of your contributions are evident. Where every individual matters. Where all employees can enhance their skills through ongoing development. And where we start every day with one question: “What’s next?” Social Media Guidelines: https://gilead.inc/3t1m7d5
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