Director, R&D - Emerging Technologies

About the Department

For more than 100 years, Novo Nordisk has been tackling the unmet medical needs of people living with serious chronic diseases, such as diabetes & obesity. Being part of Novo Nordisk allows our employees to embark on life-changing careers, and the opportunity to help improve the quality of life for millions of people around the world.

Our new Petersburg, Virginia site marks a strategic move to advance our capabilites in Emerging Technologies (ET) within Chemical API development and production. The highly experienced site is designed to strengthen and accelerate our Small Molecule (SMOL) strategy while amplifying our operational capacity. This is to safeguard and support ET's SMOL projects in the coming years, aligning our vision and strengthening our potential for growth and innovation.

What we offer you:

• Leading pay and annual performance bonus for all positions
• All employees enjoy generous paid time off including 14 paid holidays
• Health Insurance, Dental Insurance, Vision Insurance – effective day one
• Guaranteed 8% 401K contribution plus individual company match option
• Family Focused Benefits including 12 weeks paid parental & 6 weeks paid family medical leave
• Free access to Novo Nordisk-marketed pharmaceutical products
• Tuition Assistance
• Life & Disability Insurance
• Employee Referral Awards

At Novo Nordisk, you will find opportunities, resources, and mentorship to help grow and build your career. Are you ready to realize your potential? Join Team Novo Nordisk and help us make what matters.

The Position

The purpose of this site senior leadership role is to effectively interact with internal (across sites and functions) and external stakeholders. This role will guide and oversee process chemistry activities from the laboratory through all development phases up to commercial product delivery and entails leading and developing a diverse team to collectively achieve area and project objectives, while also driving the R&D team to support the site in meeting production targets. A successful manager in this role must possess a combination of skills, including the ability to lead cross-functional groups, comprehend supporting roles, ask insightful questions, manage expectations through clear communication, and detect unstated assumptions. Central to the role is the requirement to understand process chemistry, lead and guide the R&D team to reach its full potential, and ensure adherence to regulatory guidelines set by relevant agencies.

Relationships

Site Leader.

Essential Functions

• Lead and oversee the development and scaling-up of API processes from lab to plant scale
• Develop the R&D area, focusing on change management, talent onboarding, training, and development
• Ensure R&D team compliance with safety and other regulations
• Collaborate with project teams and managers to meet project timelines and supply demands
• Allocate resources to support production schedules, maintain operational licenses, and assist with inspections and audits
• Provide support in resolving complex technical or operational issues
• Coordinate Process Chemistry R&D and production support activities
• Establish and maintain interfaces between R&D and key stakeholders, including production, QA, QC, and Sourcing & Procurement
• Guide the R&D team in identifying and addressing project risks
• Serve as the interface for communication with senior leadership teams
• Drive the establishment and expansion of laboratory facilities
• Follow all safety & environmental requirements in the performance of duties
• Other accountabilities as assigned

Physical Requirements

Ability to work in an open office environment with the possibility of frequent distraction. Ability to travel up to 10% of the time. (% can change on a case-by-case basis based on the role.)

Development of People

Supervisory

Ensure that reporting personnel have individual development plans (IDP), with annual goals and measurements that are consistent with the priorities of the business, and that interim reviews are held so that their work is focused on those priorities, and they understand their level of accountability for results and the measurement process.

Ensure that the IDP forms include completed learning and aspiration plans and are in place for all reporting personnel to enable the achievement of goals and capability to assume increased levels of responsibility.

Manage the application and communication of all Novo Nordisk policies, procedures, and Novo Nordisk Way.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in chemistry or relevant field of study from an accredited university is required
• PhD in chemistry preferred
• Minimum of ten (10) years industrial experience within process chemistry, preferably within a pharmaceutical company required
• Minimum of five (5) years managing other managers required
• Solid understanding of API Development, herein route scouting & development, scale-up, process characterization and implementation for plant scale required
• Solid understanding cGMP and regulatory requirements for API manufacturing for clinical trials and commercial use required
• Solid understanding of CMC deliverables required to support CTAs and NDA required
• Quality and safety mindset
• Excellent verbal & written communication skills
• Excellent presentation skills
• Proven process improvement & problem-solving skills             

We commit to an inclusive recruitment process and equality of opportunity for all our job applicants.

At Novo Nordisk we recognize that it is no longer good enough to aspire to be the best company in the world. We need to aspire to be the best company for the world and we know that this is only possible with talented employees with diverse perspectives, backgrounds and cultures. We are therefore committed to creating an inclusive culture that celebrates the diversity of our employees, the patients we serve and communities we operate in. Together, we’re life changing.

Novo Nordisk is an equal opportunity employer. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, ethnicity, color, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, protected veteran status or any other characteristic protected by local, state or federal laws, rules or regulations.

If you are interested in applying to Novo Nordisk and need special assistance or an accommodation to apply, please call us at 1-855-411-5290. This contact is for accommodation requests only and cannot be used to inquire about the status of applications.