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Salary: USD 170,000 - 200,000 / annual
Vaxcyte is a clinical-stage vaccine innovation company developing high-fidelity vaccines to protect against bacterial diseases including invasive pneumococcal disease, Group A Strep, and Shigella.
This Associate Director role sits within Technical Operations' Capabilities & Business Operations function and is critical for translating strategy into executable work and building repeatable, scalable ways of working as the organization advances toward commercialization and future growth.
You will partner closely with Technical Operations leaders and cross-functional teams to shape strategic priorities into well-defined initiatives, strengthen end-to-end business processes and operating practices, and improve execution readiness through continuous improvement. You will lead select high-priority cross-functional initiatives where additional coordination, specialized expertise, or execution capacity creates the greatest business value.
Key responsibilities include:
**Strategy Realization & Execution Readiness:** Partner with leaders to translate Technical Operations strategy and priorities into executable initiatives with clear roadmaps, milestones, ownership, governance, decision rights, and success measures. Establish and apply project-shaping and execution-readiness practices so high-priority work is well-defined, resourced, governed, and ready before execution begins. Support demand intake and prioritization by assessing business value, readiness, dependencies, risk, resource implications, and sequencing. Connect strategy, priorities, and execution by identifying gaps, interdependencies, and decisions needed to move work forward.
**Business Process Management & Operational Excellence:** Design, map, optimize, and sustain end-to-end business processes and cross-functional workflows that improve execution, scalability, and clarity across Technical Operations. Establish practical process ownership, governance, operating rhythms, roles, decision rights, and performance measures. Identify operational friction, duplication, bottlenecks, and handoff gaps, and simplify work across functional boundaries. Lead continuous-improvement efforts using fit-for-purpose problem-solving and process-improvement methods, including Lean/Six Sigma tools where useful. Capture lessons learned, codify best practices, and build repeatable processes and playbooks.
**Cross-Functional Initiative Leadership:** Lead select high-priority cross-functional initiatives requiring neutral leadership, organizational coordination, specialized expertise, or added execution capacity. Facilitate complex cross-functional decisions, working sessions, and problem-solving efforts that build alignment and accelerate action. Strengthen interfaces between Technical Operations and other functions. Build trusted relationships with leaders and technical experts, bringing an objective, business-minded perspective to execution challenges.
**Organizational Capability:** Ensure major initiatives build organizational capability alongside near-term outcomes. Help leaders establish sustainable ways of working that strengthen accountability, decision-making, coordination, and operational performance. Partner with the Principal, Business Operations & Digital Enablement so business processes, portfolio visibility, data, systems, and digital solutions reinforce one another.
Reports to: Executive Director, Commercialization Capabilities & Strategic Projects
Work Arrangement: Hybrid (minimum 3 days per week onsite)
**Requirements:**
- Bachelor's degree in Business, Operations, Engineering, Life Sciences, Organizational Development, or related discipline; advanced degree preferred.
- 10+ years of progressive experience in business process management, operational excellence, strategy execution, transformation, business operations, program leadership, or related disciplines.
- Experience in biotechnology, pharmaceutical, biopharmaceutical manufacturing, Technical Operations, or another complex regulated environment strongly preferred.
- Demonstrated experience designing and improving end-to-end business processes, including process architecture, process ownership, process mapping/redesign, governance, and performance management.
- Demonstrated ability to translate broad strategy into executable plans and lead complex cross-functional initiatives from ambiguity through execution.
- Strong understanding of operating models, governance, decision rights, continuous improvement, and organizational change and adoption.
- Exceptional facilitation, communication, problem-solving, and executive presentation skills, with the ability to influence without direct authority.
- Ability to operate effectively in a fast-paced, evolving environment and move comfortably between strategic thinking and hands-on execution.
- Other combinations of education and/or experience may be considered.
