At Gilead, we’re creating a healthier world for all people. For more than 35 years, we’ve tackled diseases such as HIV, viral hepatitis, COVID-19 and cancer – working relentlessly to develop therapies that help improve lives and to ensure access to these therapies across the globe. We continue to fight against the world’s biggest health challenges, and our mission requires collaboration, determination and a relentless drive to make a difference.
Every member of Gilead’s team plays a critical role in the discovery and development of life-changing scientific innovations. Our employees are our greatest asset as we work to achieve our bold ambitions, and we’re looking for the next wave of passionate and ambitious people ready to make a direct impact.
We believe every employee deserves a great leader. People Leaders are the cornerstone to the employee experience at Gilead and Kite. As a people leader now or in the future, you are the key driver in evolving our culture and creating an environment where every employee feels included, developed and empowered to fulfil their aspirations. Join Gilead and help create possible, together.
Job Description
Associate Director, Global Meetings Management – Global Congresses & Events
Based at Stockley Park, UK
We are pleased to share that Gilead’s Stockley Park and Holborn offices are planning to come together at a new London headquarters at 1 Triton Square, NW1, from approximately Q2 2027. Applicants should consider this planned location change when applying for this role. Gilead operates a flexible working policy, offering a balanced approach with two days of remote working and three days working onsite
Gilead Sciences, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company that has pursued and achieved breakthroughs in medicine for more than three decades, with the goal of creating a healthier world for all people. The company is committed to advancing innovative medicines to prevent and treat life-threatening diseases, including HIV, viral hepatitis, and cancer. Gilead operates in more than 35 countries worldwide, with headquarters in Foster City, California.
As Associate Director, Global Meetings Management, you’ll manage the ongoing development and execution of Gilead’s Global Meetings strategy and operations; you will also lead the planning of key global meetings to ensure a standardized and consistent planning process. You’ll report to the Director of Global Meetings & Technology, as part of Global Commercial Operations (GCO).
Job Responsibilities: This role will lead the delivery of key Global Meetings for Gilead, while simultaneously establishing the operational governance and ways of working that enable consistent, compliant, and scalable meetings delivery — with future expansion to affiliate enablement. Global Meetings are a broad scope of non-congress meetings, inclusive of both internal and external meetings.
Delivery of Key Global Meetings
- Own end-to-end delivery of priority global and cross-functional meetings, from initial brief through execution and close-out, acting as the single point of accountability.
- Lead planning for complex, high-visibility meetings (multi-day, international, senior leadership, VIP, or high-risk), managing scope, timelines, dependencies, and decision-making.
- Partner with senior stakeholders to shape meeting objectives, challenge requirements where needed, and ensure outcomes align to business priorities.
- Oversee onsite / live execution (in-person, virtual, or hybrid), including run-of-show, issue resolution, contingency planning, and post-event debriefs.
- Manage agencies and suppliers supporting delivery, ensuring quality, consistency, and value.
- Drive fiscal responsibility for Global Meetings, whether budget is centralised or stakeholder-owned, ensuring all financial processes are completed in line with requirements.
- Ensure a consistently high attendee experience, while balancing compliance, cost, and operational feasibility.
- Capture and embed learnings from delivered meetings to improve future delivery.
- Support to the GCO External Engagement Operations team (Advisory Boards etc) if additional resource is required from time to time
Operational Governance & Ways of Working
Operating model & governance
- Define and own operational governance for Global Meetings, including intake, prioritisation, escalation, and decision frameworks.
- Run and evolve the meeting intake / triage model, ensuring meetings are supported via the right route (CoE vs admin vs agency) based on complexity and risk.
- Establish clear service standards and expectations for stakeholders, planners, and vendors.
- Collaborate with cross-functional partners on the implementation of the Internal Meetings Programme outside the USA.
Process & consistency
- Develop and maintain core meeting processes, templates, and tools to enable repeatable, scalable delivery.
- Standardise planning materials (briefs, timelines, trackers, budgets, post-event reporting) to reduce variation and risk.
- Embed playbook-aligned ways of working across meetings supported by the Global Meetings team.
Vendor & commercial governance
- Provide day-to-day governance of meeting suppliers, including scope clarity, performance management, issue escalation, and continuous improvement.
- Partner with Procurement and Legal to ensure contracts, SoWs, and commercial models support efficient and compliant delivery.
Technology & data discipline
- Ensure disciplined use of meeting technology platforms, including data quality, user governance, and process adherence.
- Define operational reporting (volumes, spend, delivery performance, risks) to create visibility for leadership and support decision-making.
Leadership & Influence
- Act as an escalation point for complex delivery, stakeholder challenges, and supplier issues.
- Lead through influence in a matrix environment, partnering across Compliance, Legal, Procurement, Finance, IT, Admin communities, and agencies.
- Coach and guide planners and contractors, setting standards for quality, structure, and professional judgement.
- Represent Global Meetings in senior forums, providing clear, concise updates and recommendations.
Compliance, Risk & Control
- Ensure meetings are delivered in line with internal policies and external codes, with complete and audit-ready documentation.
- Proactively identify and manage delivery risk, including operational, financial, reputational, and vendor-related risks.
- Maintain strong governance over approvals, contracting, and attendee management.
Future Focus: Affiliate Model & Capability Expansion
- Contribute to the design of a scalable Global Meetings model for affiliates, informed by hands-on delivery experience.
- Support development of affiliate guidance, standards, and enablement approaches once core global delivery and governance are embedded.
- Help identify opportunities for harmonisation and efficiency across regions, based on data and observed patterns.
What “Good” Looks Like
- Key global meetings delivered on time, on budget, and to stakeholder expectations
- Clear, adopted governance and intake model
- Improved consistency across meeting delivery
- Reduced friction for stakeholders engaging the Global Meetings team
- Measurable improvements in efficiency, risk management, and cost control
- Strong partnership with vendors and internal functions
Basic Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s degree and 10 years’ experience
OR - Master’s degree and 8 years’ experience
OR - PhD and 5 years’ experience
Preferred Qualifications:
- With a bachelor’s degree, a minimum of 10 years of relevant pharmaceutical marketing experience, including prior experience leading meeting planning or a minimum of 8 years’ experience with an advanced degree
- 30% global and domestic travel
- Prior experience of managing regional and global programmes
- Proven ability to independently lead high visibility strategic projects and translate strategies into defined resource needs, tactics, and metrics to achieve results
- Proven experience contributing to the design and delivery of a strategic meetings management program, with hands‑on involvement in standardization, governance, and enterprise adoption
- Excellent interpersonal and verbal and written communication skills with a demonstrated ability to independently lead high visibility strategic projects and translate strategies into defined resource needs, tactics, and metrics to achieve results
- Demonstrated strong ability to lead and influence in a fast-paced, matrixed global biopharmaceutical organization, across a variety of organizational levels and disciplines with high expectations and a customer focus which drives the need for quality deliverables and performance
- Experience working with senior /executive management, to clearly and concisely present strategic plans for endorsement
- Strong competitive and innovative mindset and strategic and analytical skills, demonstrated by the ability to identify and interpret complex issues and provide appropriate recommendations across functional areas
- Demonstrated excellence in project management and working collaboratively effectively and managing multiple priorities and projects
- Proven skills in global pharmaceutical planning, including the ability to develop and implement strategic and tactical plans and budget management
- Knowledge of key event management platforms, including Cvent and VEM
People Leader Accountabilities
- Create Inclusion - knowing the business value of diverse teams, modelling inclusion, and embedding the value of diversity in the way they manage their teams.
- Develop Talent - understand the skills, experience, aspirations and potential of their employees and coach them on current performance and future potential. They ensure employees are receiving the feedback and insight needed to grow, develop, and realize their purpose.
- Empower Teams - connect the team to the organization by aligning goals, purpose, organizational objectives and holding to account. They provide the support needed to remove barriers and connect their team to the broader ecosystem.
Ready to create possible, together? Hit apply
Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO)
It is the policy of Gilead Sciences, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates (collectively "Gilead" or the "Company") to recruit select and employ the most qualified persons available for positions throughout the Company. Except if otherwise provided by applicable law, all employment actions relating to issues such as compensation, benefits, transfers, layoffs, returns from layoffs, company-sponsored training, education assistance, social and recreational programs are administered on a non-discriminatory basis (i.e. without regard to protected characteristics or prohibited grounds, which may include an individual’s gender, race, color, national origin, ancestry, religion, creed, physical or mental disability, marital status, sexual orientation, medical condition, veteran status, and age, unless such protection is prohibited by federal, state, municipal, provincial, local or other applicable laws). Gilead also prohibits discrimination based on any other characteristics protected by applicable laws.
For Current Gilead Employees and Contractors:
Please apply via the Internal Career Opportunities portal in Workday.