Associate Director, Launch Excellence & Portfolio Capability Management

Job Description The Associate Director, Launch Excellence & Portfolio Capability Management will be a key member of the Global Launch Excellence and Portfolio Management team within Global Commercial Operations. The team is responsible for end-to-end coordination of product launches and portfolio management across Livestock and Companion Animal species. This role will drive the mobilization and execution of Key Revenue Driver (KRD) launch squads, support launch governance processes, and lead the development and continuous improvement of Launch Excellence capabilities, tools, and methodologies, including New Product Prioritization, Control Tower, IRIS administration, and related frameworks.

Reporting to the Executive Director, Launch Excellence & Portfolio Management, this individual will partner across Commercial, R&D, Supply Chain, Manufacturing, Regulatory Affairs, Finance, and regional teams to provide a consolidated view of launch progress, enhance organizational transparency, and enable informed leadership decision making. The successful candidate will demonstrate strong leadership, project management, stakeholder engagement, and communication skills while fostering a culture of continuous improvement, learning, and operational excellence.

Key Revenue Driver (KRD) Launch Management Partner with cross-functional teams to mobilize and govern Key Revenue Driver (KRD) launch squads. Serve as the primary Launch Excellence point of contact for designated KRD product launches. Collaborate with Marketing Leadership to identify Launch Leads and align Project Management resources to support launch execution. Develop and manage mechanisms to consolidate launch status, risks, milestones, and key decisions across all KRD programs.

Provide leadership with a holistic and transparent view of launch performance and execution progress. Support onboarding and training of new Project Managers on Launch Excellence methodologies, tools, governance, and best practices.

Launch Governance & Portfolio Coordination Serve as a key interface between Launch Excellence and Portfolio Management to ensure alignment across launch programs and portfolio priorities. Coordinate and facilitate Launch Excellence governance forums, including leadership reviews, regional touchpoints, and internal operating meetings. Monitor launch performance, risks, dependencies, and critical milestones, escalating issues as appropriate. Support portfolio decision-making by providing launch-related insights, progress updates, and recommendations.

Capability Development & Continuous Improvement Own the development, deployment, and continuous enhancement of Launch Excellence capabilities, frameworks, and operating models. Lead ongoing refinement of tools and processes, including New Product Prioritization, Control Tower, IRIS, and other launch management solutions. Capture and institutionalize lessons learned from launches to continuously improve methodologies and ways of working. Identify and drive functional and cross-functional process improvement opportunities across the launch ecosystem.

Measure and track Launch Excellence KPIs to evaluate performance and identify areas for optimization.

Organizational Enablement & Communications Drive Launch Excellence awareness, adoption, and organizational capability building across global teams. Partner with Learning & Development and functional stakeholders to design and deliver training, communications, and enablement programs. Develop toolkits, playbooks, best practices, and knowledge-sharing resources that strengthen launch capabilities across the organization. Promote a culture of continuous learning, collaboration, and operational excellence.

Operational Support Manage day-to-day IRIS administrative activities and related governance processes. Maintain launch data integrity, reporting standards, and portfolio visibility tools. Support special projects and strategic initiatives sponsored by the Launch Excellence and Portfolio Management leadership team.

Education Bachelor's degree required. Advanced degree (MBA, MS, or equivalent) preferred.

Experience Minimum of 5 years of experience in Launch Operations, PMO, Process Excellence, Commercial Operations, Capability Building, or related disciplines. Demonstrated experience managing complex cross-functional programs in a matrixed global environment. Experience developing and implementing frameworks, methodologies, toolkits,…