Senior Director ADME Operations

At Lilly, we unite caring with discovery to make life better for people around the world. We are a global healthcare leader headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. Our employees around the world work to discover and bring life‑changing medicines to those who need them, improve the understanding and management of disease, and give back to our communities through philanthropy and volunteerism. We give our best effort to our work, and we put people first.

We’re looking for people who are determined to make life better for people around the world.

Eli Lilly and Company is committed to using its innovation‑based strategy to discover, develop and deliver innovative medicines that help improve the lives of people.

The DMPK/ADME organization is seeking an expert Senior Director Operational Leader with strong project management, portfolio operations, and budget governance experience to transform how we plan, forecast, track, and deliver our book of work. This leader would manage a diverse group of individuals to complete this strategy.

The ideal candidate is a systems‑focused operational expert with hands‑on experience in Smartsheet, Prism, and other enterprise project management tools. This role ensures accurate forecasting, consistent results tracking, transparent KPI reporting, optimized resource management, and operational excellence across the portfolio.

• Lead, mentor, and develop a high‑performing team of scientists.
• Lead transformation of operational workflows to create a consistent and transparent system for tracking project plans, results, and risks.
• Maintain high‑quality project timelines, achievement links, and status updates to ensure real‑time visibility and alignment across functions.
• Coordinate monthly and quarterly operational reviews based on standardized baseline and variance reporting.

• Develop and maintain accurate short‑and long‑range forecasts using Prism’s integrated project data.
• Partner with functional planners and scientific leaders to ensure forecast accuracy and alignment with sanctioned scope, resource demands, and business planning cycles.
• Analyze forecast vs. actual performance and identify corrective actions tied to project, modality, or vendor‑driven changes.

• Build and maintain enterprise‑standard KPIs measuring on‑time delivery, study throughput, financial accuracy, and vendor performance.
• Use Smartsheet, Prism, and dashboarding tools (e.g., Power BI) to create automated, reliable portfolio visualizations.
• Provide leadership with clear operational insights, executive summaries, and risk assessments.

• Own operational budget tracking, ensuring ongoing alignment between forecasted spend and actuals.
• Accountable for monthly reconciliation activities and support quarterly and annual planning cycles.
• Elevate budget consistency and accuracy by implementing standardized processes and improving data robustness within operational systems.

• Partner with project teams, finance partners, ADME planners, BioA, Tox, and external collaborators to ensure unified operational excellence.
• Drive alignment in how project plans, financial models, and timelines are maintained across systems and functions.
• Serve as the operational subject‑matter expert for DMPK/ADME, ensuring clear communication and punctual decision‑making.

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in operations management, project management, business, life sciences, or related field.
• 10+ years of industry experience in R&D operations, PMO, or scientific project management.
• Experience with project management tools including timeline management, forecasting, dashboarding, and cross‑functional reporting workflows.
• Experience in operational leadership roles requiring forecasting, budgeting, KPI development, and portfolio management.
• Excellent communication, organizational, and stakeholder‑management skills.

• Experience driving operational transformation initiatives.
• Experience with Smartsheet and/or…