Executive Director, Global Medical Operations

This is a builder role. The leader will lead an organization of approximately 50 and will be expected to assess the current state, redesign the organizational structure, clarify roles and accountabilities, and ensure the team is equipped to execute BMS's medical evidence generation portfolio at scale and with excellence.

The role will require a leader who has previously built and scaled operational organizations from the ground up in complex, matrixed, global pharmaceutical or biotechnology environments and can bring that proven expertise to bear immediately.

Critically, this model must be purpose-built for medical — not adapted from drug development. While development trials are designed to satisfy regulatory bodies and support product approval, medical studies serve a different purpose: generating evidence that informs clinical practice, supports medical education, and deepens understanding of disease and treatment in real-world settings.

The ED of MEG Operations will ensure operational excellence across the full study lifecycle — from budget conception, feasibility, and timeline planning through site activation, data collection, monitoring, and study closeout. This leader reports to the SVP and Head of Medical Evidence Generation, Managed Access Programs & Real-World Evidence and serves as a core member of the MEG, MAP & RWE Leadership Team.

Responsibilities

1. Organizational Design & Capability Building (Priority One)

• Own the enterprise-wide operational strategy for medical study execution across BMS's full portfolio — oncology, hematology, immunology, cardiovascular disease, and neuroscience — ensuring the operational model is built to serve the full diversity of evidence generation needs across the organization
• Define and own the organizational architecture for MEG Operations — establishing the right structure, roles, levels, and accountability model for the team responsible for day-to-day study execution
• Architect a medical-specific operational framework that is deliberately distinct from the drug development model — built around the flexibility, creativity, and evidence-focused nature of medical studies rather than the regulatory-prescribed pathways that govern development trials
• Design adaptable operational frameworks tailored to each study modality — interventional, observational/non-interventional, and externally sponsored — recognizing that each requires a different operational approach, governance structure, and level of sponsor oversight
• Identify talent gaps and partner with HR to address under-resourced areas and elevate capability where roles have been too junior for the complexity of the work
• Ensure the model scales with BMS's evolving medical portfolio and can flex as new evidence generation priorities emerge

2. Governance, Compliance & Regulatory Standards

• Establish robust governance frameworks that ensure all medical study operations comply with applicable global and local regulations, ICH guidelines, Good Clinical Practice (GCP), and BMS internal standards
• Maintain deep working knowledge of the regulatory and compliance requirements that govern global clinical trials across all three study modalities, including country-specific requirements for non-interventional and real-world evidence studies
• Implement standardized — yet adaptable — operational policies and procedures that drive consistency and compliance across the portfolio while preserving the operational flexibility that medical studies require

3. Study Operations Execution & Oversight

• Provide senior oversight of MEG study operations across the full lifecycle, ensuring studies are delivered on time, within scope, and to the highest quality standards
• Identify, assess, and mitigate operational risks across the portfolio; implement corrective and preventive actions as needed
• Oversee CRO and vendor partnerships, ensuring external partners are aligned to BMS standards, contractual obligations, and quality expectations

4. Strategic Alignment & Leadership

• Represent MEG Operations as an enterprise leader and key decision-maker within the MEG, MAP & RWE Leadership Team, bringing operational strategy, portfolio-level insights, and a cross-therapeutic area perspective to senior leadership discussions
• Act as a change agent and organizational architect, setting the vision for how medical operations will evolve at BMS — anticipating future portfolio needs and ensuring the function is always positioned ahead of demand
• Partner closely with the Head of MEG, MAP & RWE and the broader Leadership Team to align operational strategy with medical portfolio priorities
• Serve as a visible, credible operational leader across the MEG, MAP & RWE organization — someone who can translate high-level strategy into executable operational plans and who earns trust through both expertise and delivery
• Champion innovation and continuous improvement, benchmarking BMS MEG operations against industry best practices and driving adoption of digital tools, data platforms, and process enhancements that improve execution speed and data quality

Qualifications

• Educational Background: Degree in a relevant field (e.g., Life Sciences, Medicine, Pharmacy, Clinical Research, or related discipline) required.
• Industry Experience: Minimum of 12+ years of experience in the pharmaceutical or biotechnology industry, with significant experience across both drug development and medical/clinical study operations. Minimum of 3-5 years in a ED-equivalent or enterprise leadership role, with direct accountability for building and scaling operational organizations — not solely managing within existing structure.
• Operational Model Expertise: Demonstrated track record of building fit-for-purpose operational models from the ground up within large, complex, matrixed, global pharmaceutical or biotech organizations — with proven ability to move fluidly between enterprise strategy and granular operational execution
• Study Operations and Regulatory/Compliance Expertise: Deep understanding of drug development processes and the full lifecycle of medical studies. Solid understanding of global and local regulatory frameworks governing medical studies, including GCP, ICH guidelines, and country-specific requirements for non-interventional and real-world evidence studies.
• Cross-Portfolio Scope: Experience operating at an enterprise or global level, with accountability that spans multiple therapeutic areas, disease areas, or business units simultaneously — comfortable managing the complexity and competing priorities that come with a cross-portfolio remit
• Communication & Influence: Excellent communication, presentation, and interpersonal skills, with a demonstrated ability to influence and align stakeholders across functions and organizational levels.