Senior Administrative Associate, Drug Product Development (DPD

Senior Administrative Associate – Drug Product Development (DPD)

The Oral Product Development (OPD) organization, part of Drug Product Development (DPD), is seeking a highly organized and service-oriented Senior Administrative Associate to provide dedicated executive support to the Executive Director, Head of Oral Product Development, and to enable operational excellence across the OPD group. The selected candidate will anticipate leadership needs, manage complex calendars and travel, and coordinate the meetings, budgets, vendors, onboarding, and events that keep a fast-paced, highly matrixed development organization running smoothly.

This role requires sound independent judgment, discretion with confidential information, strong interpersonal skills, and a proactive, collaborative mindset.

This is an on-site role in New Brunswick, NJ, reporting to the Executive Director, Head of Oral Product Development. Given the hands-on, in-person nature of the support this role provides, the successful candidate will work on-site alongside the leadership team as a regular part of the role. The Senior Administrative Associate provides direct executive support to the Head of OPD and operational support across the OPD organization, which is responsible for small molecule oral drug product design and development within Drug Product Development (DPD).

The role works collaboratively across a complex matrix environment, partnering with colleagues across Pharmaceutical Development (PD) and key partner functions — including Material Science and Technology, Quality, Global Regulatory Sciences, Clinical Pharmacology, etc. — as well as with Finance, HR, and Procurement, and external contract manufacturing organizations and service providers.

Executive support to the Head of Oral Product Development

• Manage a complex calendar; schedule and prioritize meetings, resolve conflicts, and protect time against shifting priorities
• Arrange and manage complex domestic and international travel — flights, accommodations, and transportation — ensuring cost-effectiveness and adherence to Travel & Expense (T&E) policy
• Coordinate travel bookings, receipts, and expense submissions (Concur) for the Executive Director
• Prepare and edit correspondence, presentations, reports, and pre-reads using the MS Office Suite; compile meeting materials (PowerPoint, Excel) and provide meeting summaries on request
• Anticipate the needs of the leader and the team, taking initiative to resolve issues proactively and autonomously
• Provide comprehensive support handling confidential and sensitive information with the highest level of integrity and discretion

Operational support across the DPD group

• Schedule and coordinate meetings across the leadership and extended team, including 1:1s and leadership team (LT) meetings; manage agendas, notes, and logistics
• Lead end-to-end logistics for team meetings, town halls, and offsite events — venue, catering, invitations, onsite support, and readiness planning; set up and support webinars and virtual collaboration sessions
• Track and report on team budgets; process Statements of Work (SOWs), Purchase Orders (POs), invoices, and contract renewals, and partner with Finance on accurate reconciliation and reporting
• Coordinate Workday actions, headcount tracking, and access provisioning/deprovisioning; ensure structured day-one onboarding and clean offboarding for team members
• Maintain distribution lists, Microsoft Teams spaces, and SharePoint sites; ensure accurate storage and accessibility of team records
• Manage departmental files and mail
• Order and stock office and laboratory supplies and equipment
• Support project-based work by monitoring timelines, following up on action items, and organizing materials
• Coordinate broad support requests (e.g., IT, Facilities) and support guest/vendor visitor registrations with front desk
• Serve as a point of contact for internal and external stakeholders; nurture productive relationships with internal partners and external vendors
• Proactively identify opportunities to streamline processes, dashboards, and operational workflows
• Support special projects and time-bound initiatives as…