Sr. Manager, R&D Planning & Operations

Sr. Manager, R&D Planning & Operations

This is where your work makes a difference. At Baxter, we believe every person—regardless of who they are or where they are from—deserves a chance to live a healthy life. It was our founding belief in 1931 and continues to be our guiding principle. We are redefining healthcare delivery to make a greater impact today, tomorrow, and beyond.

Our Baxter colleagues are united by our Mission to Save and Sustain Lives. Together, our community is driven by a culture of courage, trust, and collaboration. Every individual is empowered to take ownership and make a meaningful impact. We strive for efficient and effective operations, and we hold each other accountable for delivering exceptional results.

Here, you will find more than just a job—you will find purpose and pride.

The Sr. Manager, R&D Planning & Operations is a key business partner to the Head of R&D, responsible for driving operational performance, portfolio governance, financial planning, and execution across the R&D organization. This role ensures strategic priorities are translated into actionable operating plans, investment decisions, resource allocation strategies, and measurable business outcomes.

Serving as the central point of coordination between R&D, Finance, Quality, Regulatory, Operations, and Commercial teams, this leader drives accountability, improves decision-making, and enables efficient portfolio execution in a complex, matrixed environment.

Portfolio & Business Operations

• Lead planning and execution of key R&D priorities, portfolio initiatives, and organizational objectives.
• Support portfolio governance, investment reviews, and prioritization decisions to optimize resources and business results.
• Develop executive-level analyses, dashboards, and recommendations to support leadership decision-making.
• Monitor portfolio performance, identify risks and resource gaps, and drive corrective actions.

Financial Planning & Resource Management

• Partner with Finance and R&D leaders to manage budgets, headcount planning, forecasting, and investment allocation.
• Analyze financial, operational, and portfolio data to support resource and investment decisions.
• Develop business cases and scenario analyses to support strategic planning and prioritization.
• Drive financial discipline and transparency across the R&D organization.

Operational Excellence

• Establish and improve operating processes, governance frameworks, KPIs, and reporting mechanisms.
• Lead initiatives focused on improving productivity, resource utilization, decision quality, and delivery performance.
• Implement scalable tools and management routines that improve organizational effectiveness.
• Support organizational change initiatives and adoption of new operating models.

Leadership & Cross-Functional Support

• Manage the R&D leadership team's operating cadence, including business reviews, governance meetings, action tracking, and executive communications.
• Partner across Finance, Regulatory, Quality, Operations, HR, and Commercial teams to ensure alignment on priorities and execution.
• Facilitate cross-functional decision-making, issue resolution, and accountability for key deliverables.
• Prepare leadership communications, presentations, and business updates for senior executives.

• Experience leading complex business operations, portfolio management, finance, PMO, strategy, or transformation initiatives.
• Strong financial and business acumen with the ability to connect investments, resources, risks, and business outcomes.
• Proven ability to influence senior leaders and drive execution across matrixed organizations.
• Strong analytical skills with experience synthesizing operational and financial data into actionable recommendations.
• Experience establishing governance processes, performance metrics, and operating rhythms.
• Exceptional communication and stakeholder management skills.

• Bachelor's degree in Finance, Business, Engineering, Management, or related field required.
• MBA or advanced degree preferred.
• 10+ years of experience in Finance, Strategy, PMO, Operations, Business Operations, Portfolio Management,…