Associate Director, Operational Excellence & Planning

Kerr Dental

Associate Director DDIT EXP Operational Excellence & Planning at Novartis ensuring smooth operations and pragmatic improvements. Supporting planning, productivity, and execution in the Experience & Adoption function.

Posted 5/22/2026full-timePrague • CzechiaSeniorWebsite

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Drive adoption of standard operational processes, tools, and governance aligned to the DDIT operating model and identify improvement opportunities and lead continuous improvement initiatives across operational workflows.
Support development and maintenance of function portfolio and demand plans while establishing reliable capacity and resource views, partnering with delivery and people leads to enable prioritization.
Coordinate budget, forecasting, and financial reporting activities for the function, ensuring accuracy and timeliness.
Track and report operational targets and key metrics, highlighting risks and proposing mitigations.
Act as a key point of contact for OPX and Planning topics within the function and coordinate cross-functional initiatives.
Contribute to broader OPX and Planning community initiatives to enable standardization and cost efficiency.
Support change management for new processes, tools, and ways of working.
Own the function-wide engagement rhythm, including planning and orchestration of town halls and other related function activities.
Prepare executive-ready slide decks for operational reviews, budgeting and forecasting milestones, quarterly business updates, and change initiatives; ensure consistency of messaging, visuals, and data integrity.

Requirements

What you’ll need

University Degree in IT related professional education (e.g. MSc in Computer Science) OR business/administration professional education (e.g. MBA)
Experience of 7+ years in working in global matrix organizations in Digital/IT domain, showcasing a strong ability building relationships and engage in interactions with senior management effectively driving strategy development.
Digital and technology savvy and comfortable with operational tooling, with ability to leverage digital tools and automation to streamline planning, reporting, and operational workflows while improving transparency and productivity.
Working knowledge of governance, risk, and compliance expectations, with experience applying relevant governance and control requirements to operational processes, proactively identifying gaps and ensuring appropriate evidence and remediation.
Experience in process improvement and process excellence
Proven track record delivering global solutions at scale, collaborating across boundaries and influencing without authority.
Proficiency in Financial Management is essential to ensuring operational decisions align with corporate priorities and enable sustainable business impact.
Excellent communication and presentation skills in English (both written and verbal)
Strong stakeholder management and engagement skills, with ability to influence and drive outcomes without direct authority;

Benefits

Comp & perks

Monthly pension contribution matching your individual contribution up to 3% of your gross monthly base salary;
Risk Life Insurance (full cost covered by Novartis);
5-week holiday per year; (1 week above the Labour Law requirement)
4 paid sick days within one calendar year in case of absence due to sickness without a medical sickness report;
Cafeteria employee benefit program – choice of benefits from Benefit Plus Cafeteria in the amount of 1,500 CZK per year;
Meal vouchers in amount of 105 CZK for each working day (full tax covered by company);
Car Allowance;
MultiSport Card.

ATS Keywords

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Applicant Tracking System Keywords

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Hard Skills & Tools

process improvementfinancial managementgovernancerisk managementcompliancedigital toolsautomationoperational workflowsreportingstrategy development

Soft Skills

communication skillspresentation skillsstakeholder managementrelationship buildinginfluencing skillsengagement skillscross-functional collaborationchange managementorganizational skillsproblem-solving

Certifications

MSc in Computer ScienceMBA