Head, AI Product Management and Program Delivery in London

Location: Multiple Location Opening, please apply to the location preferred. #LI-Hybrid

The Head, AI Product Management & Program Delivery leads the end-to-end execution of the Development AI product portfolio, ensuring successful delivery from MVP through scale and steady-state operations, with a strong focus on adoption readiness and measurable business value. The role is accountable for establishing and running a high-performing product management and program delivery system, including operating model, governance, and delivery standards, to ensure consistent, predictable execution across a complex AI portfolio. In alignment with strategic direction, portfolio priorities, and governance decisions defined by the Head of Development AI and relevant leadership forums, the role translates agreed priorities into integrated product roadmaps, ensuring dependencies, sequencing, and cross-product alignment are actively managed at portfolio level.

The role drives coherence and contributes to shaping the product and business capability platform layer across AI solutions, ensuring reuse, rationalization, and consistency of user experience, while aligning with strategy and governance direction. The role ensures AI products are delivered in a manner that enables adoption, scaling, and integration into business processes, working closely with Line Functions who retain accountability for value realization. This is an enterprise-level leadership role responsible for building a high-performing organization and enabling scalable delivery capability across Development.

Responsibilities:

• Define and continuously evolve the AI Product Management and Program Delivery operating model, including governance, methodologies (e.g., product lifecycle), and delivery standards across Development.
• Ensure high-quality execution of the AI product portfolio against agreed priorities and roadmaps, translating strategic direction into actionable delivery plans.
• Establish and maintain strong delivery alignment with LFs, DDIT, and key stakeholders, ensuring clarity on execution ownership, dependencies, and interfaces.
• Drive portfolio-level delivery oversight, including progress tracking, risk management, dependency management, and escalation of critical issues.
• Lead the mobilization and oversight of cross-functional program structures (e.g., Tiger Teams) for priority AI initiatives, ensuring delivery at pace and scale.
• Oversee resource planning and allocation across the AI portfolio, ensuring optimal deployment of product managers, program leads, and delivery capacity.
• Monitor execution performance across AI products and programs, ensuring consistency, predictability, and adherence to defined delivery standards.
• Ensure AI products are delivered in a manner that enables and embeds business transformation, including integration into workflows, process changes, and new ways of working, in close collaboration with Line Functions.
• Drive cross-product integration and coherence across the portfolio, actively managing dependencies, sequencing, and opportunities for reuse and rationalization at the product and business capability level.
• Build and lead a high-performing team of product managers and program delivery leads, fostering strong delivery capability, accountability, and talent development.
• Serve as a member of the Process Innovation and AI Leadership Team, contributing to cross-pillar alignment and continuous improvement of the AI operating model.
• Oversee external delivery capacity and partners within program execution, ensuring alignment with delivery standards and internal objectives.

Requirements:

• Education: Advanced degree (Master's or PhD) in Computer Science, Engineering, Life Sciences, or related field.
• Languages: Excellent English required (oral & written).
• Experience/Professional requirement:
• Minimum 10 years of experience in Technology, Digital Transformation, Product Management, or related fields (preferably in healthcare / life sciences).
• Demonstrated success in leading large-scale product portfolios and complex program delivery across multiple concurrent initiatives.
• Strong experience in AI-enabled product management and end-to-end product lifecycle delivery (MVP to scale).
• Proven ability to establish and govern delivery operating models, including prioritization translation, resource management, and performance tracking.
• Experience operating in complex, cross-functional environments with strong dependency on DDIT / IT delivery organizations.
• Demonstrated ability to ensure consistent execution across distributed teams, delivering predictable outcomes at scale.
• Strong stakeholder management skills, with the ability to engage and influence senior leaders across Development and enabling functions.
• Experience with Agile/SCRUM methodologies and modern product delivery frameworks.
• Track record of building, developing, and retaining high-performing teams.
• Strong understanding of how AI-enabled products drive value through adoption, workflow integration, and business process enablement.

Rewards:

At Novartis, we’re committed to reimagining medicine together - and rewarding the people who make it happen. The rewards of being part of our team go far beyond base pay and incentives. We also offer a variety of competitive benefits in kind to help you thrive personally and professionally, such as insurance plans, retirement plans, wellbeing resources and global recognition programs. In addition, we provide flexible and hybrid working options, where possible, and a minimum of 14 weeks paid parental leave.

Expected Annual Base Salary Range for role: London: 118,020.00 - 219,180.00 GBP Annual. The salary offered is determined based on gender-neutral objectives, such as relevant skills, competencies and experience in accordance with the Novartis pay setting policy and upon joining Novartis will be reviewed periodically. In addition to your base salary, you may be eligible for a performance-based bonus depending on certain performance parameters. Further details will be provided during the application process.

Pay equity is a fundamental principle of our employment policy and reflects our commitment to create a diverse, equitable and inclusive environment that treats all employees with dignity and respect, as outlined in our Code of Ethics.

Novartis is committed to building an outstanding, inclusive work environment and diverse teams’ representative of the patients and communities we serve.