Head of Digital Operations and Performance, Global Digital, Data & AI

At Roche you can show up as yourself, embraced for the unique qualities you bring. Our culture encourages personal expression, open dialogue, and genuine connections,  where you are valued, accepted and respected for who you are, allowing you to thrive both personally and professionally. This is how we aim to prevent, stop and cure diseases and ensure everyone has access to healthcare today and for generations to come. Join Roche, where every voice matters.

The Position

Head of Digital Operations and Performance

Why Roche

At Roche you can show up as yourself, embraced for the unique qualities you bring. Our culture encourages personal expression, open dialogue, and genuine connections, where you are valued, accepted and respected for who you are, allowing you to thrive both personally and professionally. This is how we aim to prevent, stop and cure diseases and ensure everyone has access to healthcare today and for generations to come. Join Roche, where every voice matters.

Who We Are

The Global Data, Digital & AI (GDDA) organization plays a central role in Roche Pharma Commercial’s digital and AI ecosystem. GDDA sets the enterprise digital strategy, translates commercial objectives into a coordinated portfolio of investments, and defines the standards and operating model that enable scalable execution across programs and products. By connecting strategy, portfolio, standards, programs, and products, GDDA ensures that data, digital, and AI capabilities are delivered as scalable, enterprise solutions that drive adoption and improve outcomes for patients, healthcare providers, and the broader healthcare ecosystem.

The Opportunity

The Head of Digital Operations and Performance is responsible for establishing and leading the portfolio and investment management function. This role is accountable for operationalizing GDDA strategy, standards, and product operating model in practice, embedding them into portfolio governance, funding processes, and rhythms of business. This role operates the prioritization and funding, model governing the full lifecycle from demand intake and investment approval through to delivery oversight and value realization for GDDA initiatives, ensuring that digital, data, and AI investments are aligned to strategic priorities and deliver measurable business value. The Head drives enables operational discipline through tracking of portfolio performance, risk, and value realization — with outcome metrics embedded from the start to ensure capabilities deliver business value. Working in close collaboration with the Head of GDDA, Finance, and senior business stakeholders, this leader ensures that strategic priorities translate into clear portfolio decisions, sequencing of initiatives, and disciplined oversight across the GDDA organization. Over time, the role will build and lead a portfolio management and operations team responsible for portfolio analytics, value realization measurement, and coordination.

What you will be working on

Portfolio Governance / Operations, Roadmapping Process 

Apply and reinforce GDDA strategy, standards, and global/local operating model guidance through portfolio planning, prioritization, and roadmapping processes.

Set and manage product operations systems, processes, and enablers, as necessary according to the global digital operating model.

Ensure global vs. local decisions are consistently reflected in portfolio and product roadmaps, providing clarity on what is standardized vs. localized across the portfolio.

Own and operate the roadmapping process, including defining templates and governance to steward functional digital priorities into structured product and platform roadmaps.

Operationalize a single GDDA portfolio prioritization management process including integrated intake criteria, evaluation methodology, sequencing logic, and stage-gate ownership for digital, data, and AI initiatives.

In partnership with Roche Digital Technologies (RDT), maintain and oversee a consolidated, cross-portfolio roadmap view, providing an integrated perspective across products, platforms, and service to enable alignment, sequencing, and decision-making.

Establish and run regular portfolio review forums to assess progress against milestones, track value realization, trade-offs, and drive strategic decisions to scale, pivot, or sunset initiatives.

Funding & Capital Allocation 

Own the annual and rolling GDDA investment process in partnership with Finance and RDT, including development of the overall investment case and funding model evolution.

Drive allocation of capital and resources across strategic priorities, ensuring funding decisions are aligned to portfolio priorities and expected value.

Ensure clear linkage between prioritization decisions, funding allocation, and delivery commitments across the portfolio.

Monitor adherence to allocated capital and approved business cases, surfacing risks related to overspend, misallocation, or unapproved initiatives.

Value Measurement & Realization

Define unified value measurement framework, ensuring clear articulation of ROI, adoption and business outcomes for digital, data, and AI initiatives. 

Ensure value metrics and adoption targets are embedded at the investment stage and tracked end-to-end throughout the initiative lifecycle: from business case through delivery, launch, and post-launch performance.

Establish portfolio-level performance tracking, including adoption, usage, and realized business outcomes, with clear visibility for GDDA leadership.

Oversee post-launch value assessments and portfolio-level adoption tracking, surfacing recommendations to scale, iterate, or sunset initiatives based on realized outcomes.

Close the loop between performance insights and portfolio action,  linking value realization directly to prioritization, funding, and scaling decisions. 

Cross-Functional & Team Leadership

Serve as GDDA's primary interface with Finance, RDT, and business functions (e.g., Data,Digital & Analytics (DDA), Global Product Strategy (GPS), Pharma International (PI), Product Development Medical Affairs (PDMA) on portfolio investment, funding decisions, and resource allocation.

Surface cross-portfolio risks, dependencies, and capacity constraints to enable proactive resolution and informed prioritization.

Partner with GDDA leadership to ensure strategic priorities flow cleanly into portfolio decisions and across the digital program and product portfolio, maintaining end-to-end visibility and alignment.

Build, develop, and lead a portfolio management team, scaling capabilities as the organization evolves. 

Who You Are

Minimum Candidate Qualifications and Experience

12+ years of experience in portfolio management, investment leadership, digital program management, or strategy/finance roles within a large, complex organization (experience in pharma, life sciences, technology, or other digital-intensive industries).

6+ years leading, coaching or mentoring talent.

Strong financial acumen, with the ability to build business cases, defend investment proposals, and engage effectively with Finance and senior leadership stakeholders.

Experience designing and operating portfolio management frameworks (e.g., stage-gate processes, portfolio reviews, prioritization models) within matrixed organizations.

Comfortable navigating political complexity and stakeholder dynamics across multiple business units and geographies.

Proven ability to manage competing stakeholder priorities and make clear trade-off recommendations in complex organizational settings.

Understanding of digital, data, and AI investment dynamics, including trade-offs between build vs. buy decisions, platform vs. point-solution investments, and pilot vs. scale economics.

Demonstrated people leadership experience, or clear readiness to build and lead a small team as the portfolio function scales.

Additional Desired Qualifications

Advanced degree (MBA or equivalent) or equivalent experience in a finance or portfolio management context.

Prior experience in a data/digital – organization finance/portfolio role at a pharma or large-scale tech company.

Location:  Basel is the preferred location with  South San Francisco secondary 

Travel Requirements 

As this position is a global role, high flexibility and frequent international business travel will be required

 

 

Where pay transparency applies, details are provided based on the primary posting location. For this role, the primary location is Basel. If you are interested in additional locations where the role may be available, we will provide the relevant compensation details later in the hiring process.

Who we are

A healthier future drives us to innovate. Together, more than 100’000 employees across the globe are dedicated to advance science, ensuring everyone has access to healthcare today and for generations to come. Our efforts result in more than 26 million people treated with our medicines and over 30 billion tests conducted using our Diagnostics products. We empower each other to explore new possibilities, foster creativity, and keep our ambitions high, so we can deliver life-changing healthcare solutions that make a global impact.

Let’s build a healthier future, together.

Roche is an Equal Opportunity Employer.