Senior Manager, R&D Operations

This is a fully remote position, open to applicants in California.

📋 Description

• Oversee comprehensive budget management and execution for designated R&D divisions.

• Facilitate annual budget formulation, quarterly forecasts, closing activities, leadership reporting, and financial deliverables.

• Collaborate with functional leadership and R&D Finance teams.

• Convert spending, portfolio, operational, resource, and business-priority modifications into forecasts, risks, and suggested actions.

• Manage budget plans by reconciling actuals with commitments and pinpointing variances and spending trends.

• Direct the collection, validation, challenge, and synthesis of planning assumptions and long-term spending drivers.

• Create leadership-ready financial reports, analyses, narratives, and decision-support documents.

• Assist productivity initiatives, scenario development, and business case analysis.

• Facilitate capital and operating expense planning through forecasting, funding alignment, and tracking.

• Offer budget execution assistance throughout the procure-to-pay process and resolve escalated issues.

• Coordinate accruals, maintenance of purchase orders, forecast updates, and various financial exercises.

• Enhance dashboards, reporting products, analytics, tools, processes, controls, cycle times, and scalability.

• Build collaborative relationships across R&D, Finance, FP&A, Strategic Sourcing, transactional finance, and other stakeholders.

• Supervise team members’ daily activities, priorities, assignments, timelines, and expectations.

• Mentor, train, and develop direct reports and team members.

• Allocate resources and modify priorities as business requirements change.

• Cultivate a collaborative, inclusive, and customer-oriented atmosphere.

⛳️ Requirements

• Doctorate degree with 2 years of experience in biotech/pharma business operations and/or financial analytics, OR Master’s degree with 4 years, OR Bachelor’s degree with 6 years, OR Associate’s degree with 10 years, OR high school diploma/GED with 12 years.

• Advanced degree in business, finance, life sciences, or a related discipline is preferred.

• Proficient in budget management, financial planning, forecasting, reporting, and variance/root-cause analysis.

• Experience in leading professional employees and/or teams, projects, programs, or financial resources.

• Strong project and operational management expertise.

• Familiarity with the drug development process and R&D organizations.

• Capability to translate business priorities into financial forecasts and actionable insights.

• Experience in creating executive- or leadership-level financial narratives, presentations, analyses, and decision-support documents.

• Ability to analyze complex information and recognize trends, implications, risks, and necessary actions.

• Proficiency in Tableau, Smartsheet, and Microsoft Teams.

• Advanced Excel skills and a strong command of Microsoft Office.

• Familiarity with SAP, Ariba, and Anaplan.

• Ability to utilize automation, digital tools, and AI-enabled solutions.

• Experience in driving continuous improvement and organizational change.

• Ability to excel in a complex, matrixed environment and influence without direct authority.

• Outstanding written and verbal communication skills.

• Strong relationship-building and customer service capabilities.

• Capacity to learn rapidly, take initiative, develop others, and enhance team performance.

• Sponsorship for this position is not guaranteed.

🏝️ Benefits

• Retirement and Savings Plan with generous company contributions.

• Group medical, dental, and vision insurance coverage.

• Life and disability insurance.

• Flexible spending accounts.

• Discretionary annual bonus program.

• Stock-based long-term incentives.

• Award-winning time-off plans.

• Flexible work models where feasible.

• Career development opportunities.

• Reasonable accommodation for individuals with disabilities.