Strategic Planning and Operations Lead I - US Medical Affairs

 

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Strategic Planning and Operations Lead I - US Medical Affairs 

 

The Strategic Planning & Execution Lead I serves as a critical integrator and orchestrator across US Medical Affairs (USMA). This role ensures disciplined 90-day planning, strategic alignment, and high quality execution across therapeutic areas, products, and priorities. Working in partnership with Heads of Therapeutic Areas, USMA Functions (Clinical Ops., PIM, MIE, & CEC), Financial/Operational partners and DSO practitioners.  The Strat. & Ops Lead anchors USMA’s strategic rhythm of business — translating strategy into executable plans, monitoring progress against outcomes, and ensuring organizational readiness to pivot as the landscape evolves.  This role directs the development of the long-term and multi-year strategic plan for all therapeutic areas and ensures alignment across the greater organization.

The role is essential to shaping USMA strategy, establishing execution excellence, advancing operational rigor, and accelerating medical impact across pre-launch, launch, and post launch portfolios.

 

YOUR TASKS AND RESPONSIBILITIES

 

The primary responsibilities of this role, Strategic Planning and Operations Lead I - US Medical Affairs, are to:

   

    Strategic Planning & Program Alignment

 

• Lead the USMA 90‑day strategic planning cycle, ensuring clear priorities, measurable outcomes, and cross-portfolio alignment.
• Partner with TA Heads and product leads to define, refine, and operationalize short-, mid-, and long‑term strategic medical outcomes.
• Ensure cohesive, evidence‑based medical plans across products and indications, aligned with evolving enterprise strategy, competitive landscape, clinical profile, and treatment pathways; ensuring alignment with USPH short/long term outcome strategy.
• Serve as a strategic advisor to USMA leaders, enabling scenario planning, resource optimization, and effective prioritization.
• Guide development of medical plan sections including strategic foundation, prioritization, activation plans, resourcing, and outcomes.
• Oversee financial planning in a beyond‑budgeting environment, collaborating with Finance and USMA leadership to manage forecasts, spending, and resource adjustments.

 

Execution Leadership & Program Management

 

• Drive disciplined execution of medical initiatives by managing timelines, budgets, and cross‑team interdependencies.
• Lead 90‑day retrospectives and prospective planning forums, ensuring transparency of progress, risks, and required pivots.
• Maintain cross‑portfolio oversight to maximize synergies and reduce duplication across products, indications, and functional partners.
• Partner with Medical Directors, researchers, and cross‑functional colleagues to ensure alignment from planning through execution, measuring outcomes, applying insights, and determining next steps.
• Coordinate and streamline submissions, approvals, and dissemination paths with Legal, Compliance, PRT, and other internal stakeholders.
• Develop and maintain project dashboards offering clear visibility into progress, risks, budget health, and decision‑making needs.
• Lead USMA quarterly planning meetings, driving clarity, accountability, and continuous improvement in execution.
• Oversee vendor strategy and performance, including RFPs, proposal reviews, contract alignment, and quality standards.

 

    Operational Excellence

 

• Identify, define, and measure outcomes that demonstrate the value and impact of Medical Affairs.
• Enable consistent use of tools, platforms, and processes to monitor outcomes and metrics across TAs.
• Facilitate insights integration, stakeholder reviews, and adaptive planning cycles to ensure the strategy remains responsive to evidence and external shifts.
• Champion new ways of working that enhance operational efficiency, collaboration, and agility.
• Maintain strong understanding of competitive and therapeutic landscape trends to inform strategy and execution.

 

 

 

WHO YOU ARE                                        

 

Bayer seeks an incumbent who possesses the following:

 

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in related field (BA/BS/BSN)
• Demonstrated strategic thinking and ability to translate insights into plans that drive measurable outcomes.
• Expertise in project and portfolio management, with strong financial acumen.
• Strong communicator able to distill complex information to its essential elements.
• Excellent relationship‑building skills to influence across a matrixed organization.
• Proven ability to lead through ambiguity, solve complex problems, and adapt quickly in a dynamic environment.
• Strong grounding in VACC leadership principles: Visionary, Architect, Catalyst, Coach.
• Commitment to continuous learning, innovation, experimentation, and coaching others.

 

Preferred Qualifications:

• Advanced Degree
• Pharmaceutical or related experience in medical affairs, field medical affairs, marketing, medical education agency, scientific publications or key opinion leader activities and a financial analysis/budget management experience.
• Management experience

 

 

Employees can expect to be paid a salary of between $169,680.00 – $254,520.00 Additional compensation may include a bonus or commission (if relevant).  Additional benefits include health care, vision, dental, retirement, PTO, sick leave, etc.  This salary range is merely an estimate and may vary based on an applicant’s location, market data/ranges, an applicant’s skills and prior relevant experience, certain degrees and certifications, and other relevant factors. This posting will be available for application until at least 3/7/2026

    YOUR APPLICATION      

Bayer offers a wide variety of competitive compensation and benefits programs. If you meet the requirements of this unique opportunity, and want to impact our mission Health for all, Hunger for none, we encourage you to apply now. Be part of something bigger. Be you. Be Bayer. 
To all recruitment agencies: Bayer does not accept unsolicited third party resumes.
 
Bayer is an Equal Opportunity Employer/Disabled/Veterans
 
Bayer is committed to providing access and reasonable accommodations in its application process for individuals with disabilities and encourages applicants with disabilities to request any needed accommodation(s) using the contact information below. 

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