Principal Strategy & Operations Specialist

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 Position

A healthier future. It’s what drives us to innovate. To continuously advance science and ensure everyone has access to the healthcare they need today and for generations to come. Creating a world where we all have more time with the people we love. That’s what makes us Roche.

This role is based in Business Strategy & Operations (BSO) which serves as the strategic backbone and operational enabler for Product Development Data Sciences (PDD). The function ensures organizational excellence through robust quality frameworks, optimized resourcing, and aligned strategic execution. BSO brings together cross-functional capabilities across quality and compliance, workforce planning, and strategic operations to empower leaders and teams to deliver with focus, transparency, and accountability. By connecting enterprise priorities with operational realities, BSO drives consistency, clarity, and coordinated progress across PDD and the broader development organization.

The Opportunity: 

The Strategy & Ops Specialist within the Business Strategy & Operations (BSO) function supports the execution of Roche’s PDD strategic initiatives. Working closely with the Strategy & Ops Lead and sub-functional leaders, the Strategy & Ops Specialist contributes to defining and implementing operational priorities, enabling execution across cross-functional teams. This role helps the organization prioritize and enable the delivery of strategic and operational imperatives by leveraging data from operational sources, governance forums, and cross-functional stakeholders. This includes support for cross-functional coordination and planning, leadership forums, strategic roadmapping and prioritization efforts, and ensures clarity and alignment through effective meeting management and initiative follow-up. The position is critical for translating and implementing actionable strategic priorities  and may be embedded in one or more PDD sub-functions. Success in this role requires strong comfort operating proactively and at pace within a dynamic, fast-changing, and often ambiguous environment to drive priority needs. 

• You serve as a key point of contact for sub-function leaders from a Strategy & Operations perspective, providing strategic input and operational leadership/thought partnership towards data-driven insights coming from partnership across BSO

• You develop and implement strategic tracking mechanisms and operating rhythms across sub-functions, proactively identifying and resolving issues in a dynamic and fast-paced setting

• You facilitate our PDD initiative governance process, including escalation of risks, priority agenda items to bring transparency to process, and connectivity across broader enterprise activities 

• You act as a connector across the PDD organization and key stakeholders, integrating diverse perspectives across sub-functions and senior leadership, and navigate high ambiguity and complexity to bring clarity, alignment, and accountability to stakeholders and initiatives in support of PDD strategic goals

• You operate with a continuous improvement mindset to proactively identify process gaps and/or opportunities to improve our strategic, operational planning across functions 

Who you are:

• You hold a Master’s degree in business administration, public health, organizational strategy, or a related field

• You have 6+ years of experience leading strategic or operational initiatives within a pharma, biotech, or R&D organization

• You have a proven ability to lead large, complex initiatives and support senior stakeholders in strategic planning and execution

• You have experience developing and managing leadership meeting structures and performance reporting processes

• You have the ability to analyze organizational challenges and recommend solutions aligned with enterprise priorities

• You have capacity for independent thinking and ability to make decisions based upon sound principles

• You have excellent strategic agility including problem-solving and critical thinking skills, and agility that extends beyond technical domain

• You demonstrate respect for cultural differences when interacting with colleagues in the global workplace

• You have excellent verbal and written communication skills, specifically in the areas of presentation and writing, with the ability to explain complex technical concepts in clear language

Preferred: 

• Proven experience shaping and executing functional strategies in R&D, data science, or enterprise transformation contexts

• Strong understanding of impact measurement frameworks (e.g., OKRs, KPIs) and ability to align them with organizational goals

• Experience with organizational effectiveness, operating model design, or innovation portfolio management

• Demonstrated ability to influence senior stakeholders and drive cross-functional alignment

• Deep familiarity with the strategic challenges of pharma/biotech organizations and how to structure effective responses

Relocation benefits are not available for this posting

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Where pay transparency applies, details are provided based on the primary posting location. For this role, the primary location is Basel. If you are interested in additional locations where the role may be available, we will provide the relevant compensation details later in the hiring process.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.