Sr. Director, Business Transformation & Execution

The Sr. Director, Business Transformation & Execution leads execution of DSA’s highest-priority cross-site and cross-functional initiatives and embeds the DSA operating model into daily management practice.

This role ensures that DSA increasingly operates as one coordinated organization from the customer’s perspective—not as independently optimized sites or functions. The Sr. Director translates strategic priorities into clear execution plans; establishes accountability, milestones, governance, and decision paths; removes barriers to implementation; and drives sustained adoption and measurable business results.

Reporting directly to the COO, this leader serves as DSA’s central execution capability for business transformation. The role does not replace site or functional accountability. Rather, it provides the execution discipline, cross-functional coordination, escalation, and follow-through that enable site and functional leaders to deliver common DSA outcomes consistently.

The Sr. Director will continue as a member of the Discovery and Translational Sciences leadership team and lead implementation of the DTS execution plan. The role will also build broader execution capability across DSA by establishing common methods, routines, tools, and internal change leaders.

 

Enterprise execution and transformation

• Lead end-to-end execution of DSA’s highest-priority cross-site and cross-functional initiatives, from planning through implementation, adoption, performance review, and sustainment.
• Translate strategic priorities into integrated execution plans with clear scope, ownership, milestones, dependencies, risks, resource requirements, decision points, and escalation paths.
• Establish and maintain a practical DSA execution system that creates transparency, accountability, timely decision-making, and reliable follow-through.
• Design and facilitate the operating cadence required to manage priorities, including transformation governance, priority reviews, action tracking, risk management, decision forums, and executive reporting.
• Identify barriers that impede execution; engage the appropriate accountable leaders; and drive decisions, interventions, and closure.
• Ensure DSA-wide priorities remain on track when competing site demands, local priorities, or functional constraints threaten execution.

One-DSA customer experience and standardization

• Lead cross-site standardization initiatives that create a more consistent customer experience across DSA services, systems, processes, handoffs, and operating practices.
• Ensure enterprise and DSA initiatives are implemented to a common customer-facing standard across applicable sites rather than being considered complete through locally variable implementation.
• Identify and remove operational and customer obstacles that inhibit study placement, work transfer, service consistency, or efficient delivery across the network.
• Partner with site and functional leaders to establish common practices, decision rights, process ownership, implementation expectations, and measures for priority customer-facing processes.
• Facilitate appropriate trade-offs between local optimization and the needs of the DSA network to improve customer value, capacity utilization, and profitability.

Operating-model implementation

• Partner with the COO and DSA leadership team to embed the DSA operating model into leader behaviors, management routines, and organizational practices.
• Advance adoption of the operating-model modules: effective task assignment and accountability; disciplined change management; appropriate time span of discretion; and manager-once-removed practices.
• Convert operating-model principles into practical tools, meeting routines, leader expectations, training, implementation plans, and performance measures.
• Diagnose and address execution problems arising from unclear accountability, ineffective delegation, insufficient decision authority, inconsistent management routines, weak handoffs, or poor change adoption.
• Coach leaders and teams in disciplined execution, including outcome definition, accountable ownership, milestone management, dependency management, escalation, and sustained implementation.

DTS, capacity, and profitability execution

• Continue to lead development and execution of the DTS execution plan as a member of the DTS leadership team.
• Ensure DTS priorities have clear workplans, accountable owners, milestones, decision requirements, success measures, and escalation mechanisms.
• Partner with the COO, capacity-management leadership, pricing leadership, commercial teams, site leaders, finance, and other stakeholders to convert capacity, demand, utilization, and profitability analysis into practical operating actions.
• Support DSA-wide implementation of capacity-management practices that improve work mobility, study placement, use of the existing footprint, and contribution to profitability.
• Identify and address organizational, process, system, and leadership barriers that prevent capacity, operational-pricing, and work-placement decisions from being implemented effectively.
• Track execution and realized impact of major capacity, work-placement, operational-pricing, and transformation actions.

Capability building and communication

• Develop common execution methods, dashboards, playbooks, governance standards, reporting tools, and change-management practices for DSA-wide priorities.
• Identify, train, coach, and equip selected DSA personnel to lead priority initiatives using consistent execution methods, creating a scalable network of capable execution leaders.
• Provide concise, decision-oriented reporting to the COO and DSA leadership team on progress, risks, dependencies, required decisions, adoption, and realized business outcomes.
• Prepare communications and facilitate leadership alignment so stakeholders understand the purpose, accountabilities, impacts, and required behaviors associated with major changes.

Success Measures

Success will be measured by DSA’s improved ability to execute enterprise priorities and operate as a coordinated network. Key measures include:

• Delivery of strategic priorities against agreed milestones, scope, quality, and intended outcomes.
• Adoption of common cross-site operating practices, systems, and customer-facing standards.
• Reduction in customer and operational barriers affecting study placement, work mobility, service consistency, and cross-site delivery.
• Increased number and value of studies effectively placed or moved across the DSA network.
• Improved capacity utilization and measurable financial impact from capacity-management, work-placement, and operational-pricing actions.
• Demonstrated adoption of the DSA operating model in accountability, delegation, management routines, execution discipline, and leadership capability.
• Delivery of DTS execution-plan commitments and improvement in the speed, quality, and reliability of DTS execution.
• Development of internal execution leaders able to drive cross-functional initiatives using a common DSA execution standard.

Minimum Requirements

Education & Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in business, operations, life sciences, information systems, engineering, or a related field required; advanced degree preferred.
• Ten or more years of experience in business transformation, enterprise program leadership, operations, technology-enabled change, consulting, or complex cross-functional execution.
• Demonstrated success leading large, complex initiatives spanning multiple functions, locations, systems, and stakeholder groups.
• Experience translating strategy into executable operating plans, including governance, milestone management, decision management, risk management, resource planning, and performance measurement.
• Experience in a matrixed, regulated, technical, life sciences, research, healthcare, manufacturing, or similarly complex operating environment preferred.
• Experience with enterprise systems and business-process transformation, including ERP, CRM, finance systems, enterprise applications, integrations, automation, or digital workflow adoption.

Skills & Abilities

• Proven ability to translate ambiguous strategy into clear, sequenced, accountable execution.
• Strong systems thinking and business acumen, including the ability to connect customer experience, capacity, process design, technology, organization, and profitability.
• Highly effective cross-functional leadership, influence, facilitation, stakeholder management, and executive communication skills.
• Strong program and portfolio management capability, including governance, risk management, issue resolution, reporting, and performance tracking.
• Practical organizational change-management expertise, including stakeholder alignment, communication, training, adoption, reinforcement, and measurement.
• Strong analytical ability and comfort using operational, capacity, demand, financial, and performance data to support decisions.
• Demonstrated ownership, sound judgment, discretion, resilience, and ability to work effectively amid competing priorities.

• Extended computer and display screen usage.
• Ability to read, interpret materials, and communicate effectively.
• Fully remote
• Most have ability to travel to site locations as needed < 10 %

• Customer Focus.  Identifies, prioritizes and anticipates customer needs and delivers relevant, value-add, solutions to meet and exceed them.
• Results Driven. Internal drive toward action to efficiently, timely, and accurately achieve results. Sets high but achievable standards for self and others. Seeks opportunities to improve process and outcomes. Constantly reviews performance to identify areas to develop.
• Efficient.   Takes responsibility for own time and effectiveness.  Identifies what needs to be done and does it before being asked or before the situation requires it.  Able to work things out without having to be shown too often. Seeks opportunities to contribute appropriately without direction. 
• Collaboration.  Actively supports and contributes to the success of the team. Actively encourages and practices collaboration and cooperation on the team.  Shares information and supports other team members. Can get things done with and through others and set realistic objectives. Seeks opportunities to develop others.
• Relationship Builder.  Develops, maintains, and strengthens strong partnerships with others internally and externally, cross functionally, in person and remotely.

 

 

*This position could be offered at different levels for candidates who qualify with a combination of advanced levels of education and/or years of experience.  The salary range will adjust along with the level of the role to match the person’s relevant experience and/or education level.

At Inotiv, our work helps advance the development of new medicines and therapies that can improve people's lives. As a leading global contract research organization (CRO), we partner with researchers to tackle complex scientific challenges, drive innovation, and help build a healthier, safer world. Bringing together scientists, researchers, technical experts, and business professionals, we provide the expertise and collaboration needed to move research forward. Our people make this work possible, and we value the knowledge, ideas, and contributions each person brings to the team. Whether you are starting your career or bringing years of experience, Inotiv offers opportunities to learn, grow, and play a meaningful role in advancing treatments for patients around the world.

Salary will be commensurate with experience and responsibilities. Benefits include health and dental coverage, short- and long-term disability, paid time off, paid parental leave, 401K, and more!

Inotiv is an Equal Opportunity Employer. It is our policy to provide a fair and equal employment opportunity to all persons, regardless of age, race, color, religion, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, genetic information, disability, national origin, veteran status, or any other basis prohibited by law. This policy governs all aspects of employment, including selection, job assignment, compensation, discipline, termination and access to benefits and training.