Operational Excellence Lead (Sr Manager)

Career Category

Sales & Marketing Operations

Job Description

Operational Excellence Lead will lead a newly established team under Business Excellence, focusing on driving operational simplification, standardization, and automation across the organization.

This role will oversee centralized administrative operations that span beyond Commercial to include Marketing, Sales, Medical, R&D, Finance, and HR, ensuring compliant, efficient, and scalable processes that enable business excellence.

Key responsibilities include:

• Lead centralized administrative operations with expanded scope including P2P events, ensuring consistency, compliance, and efficiency.
• Oversee inventory management of promotional materials and equipment, ensuring accurate tracking and optimization of resources.
• Coordinate national congress support, including logistics, vendor collaboration, and expense management.
• Manage advertisement placement, membership fee processing, and purchase order (PO) operations on behalf of Marketing.
• Oversee data management within the hub system (e.g., organizational changes, new employee information), ensuring data accuracy and process integrity.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with Transformation Office (TXO), Technology, and AI teams to design and implement systems and tools that drive process automation and improvement.
• Partner with the Engagement & Recognition team to enhance communication and workflow integration across departments.
• Identify and implement best practices to streamline operations, reduce manual workload, and improve overall operational agility.

This position reports to the Director, Business Excellence, and plays a critical role in enabling Amgen Japan’s transformation toward a smarter, more efficient, and data-driven organization.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Operations, or related field.
• Minimum of 8 years of experience in operations, process management, or business excellence within the pharmaceutical or related industry.
• Proven track record of managing cross-functional projects with multiple stakeholders.
• Strong understanding of operational processes, compliance frameworks, and system integration (CRM, ERP, or equivalent).
• Demonstrated leadership and people management experience, including team development and performance management.
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills in both Japanese and English.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree (MBA or equivalent) preferred.
• Experience in process optimization, automation, or digital transformation initiatives (e.g., AI, RPA, or system integration).
• Knowledge of P2P event operations, marketing operations, or commercial excellence within the healthcare industry.
• Strong interest and curiosity in leveraging AI for process improvement, and a forward-looking mindset toward exploring future applications of AI and emerging technologies in operations.
• Basic knowledge of CRM tool (Veeva) and SAP
• Knowledge of industrial data (JD-Net, IQVIA, Ultmarc, etc.)
• Strong analytical mindset with experience in data management and KPI tracking.
• Ability to operate effectively in a matrix organization and influence without direct authority.
• Passion for driving change and fostering a culture of continuous improvement.

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