Head of Data Strategy

#LI-Hybrid

Location : Barcelona, Spain

Novartis is seeking a motivated leader for the Data Strategy team to manage data solutions at international, regional, and country levels (IRC) and drive commercial activities. This role involves partnering with various teams to scale valuable data solutions across Novartis's commercial value chain. The leader will govern a centralized data hub for IRC, ensuring excellence in data management and collaboration. They will lead a team of experts, stay updated on industry practices, and collaborate with DDIT to deploy data strategies at scale.

About the Role

Key responsibilities :

• Accountable for end-to-end data lifecycle to enable CLS and IRC business needs.
• Define data vision, strategy, resource prioritization, budget, recruitment, and work planning.
• Lead the Data Strategy team to support data-driven decision-making by leveraging data and technologies to provide strategic insights on business performance and opportunities.
• Strategize, build, deploy, and operate commercial data products.
• Collaborate with country data and analytics teams to customize data solutions for local needs while maintaining standardization for scalable implementation.
• Partner with Analytics, AI & Data Science, Marketing Platforms, and other teams to identify opportunities, manage data solutions, and translate outcomes to drive business impact.
• Lead a team of data experts with deep expertise in pharma use cases.
• Implement, govern, and scale a centralized multi-tenant data hub for CLS / International data needs.
• Manage data acquisition and ingestion from external partners.
• Oversee Enterprise Data Management (EDM) for International.
• Work with legal, ethical, and compliance teams to ensure governance, risk minimization, and compliant data use, maximizing automation and integration.
• Plan and manage budgets, resources, timelines, and change management for data solutions.
• Require a graduate degree (preferably MSc / PhD) in a quantitative field (AI, Data Science, Bioinformatics, Engineering, Mathematics, Statistics, IT, etc.).
• Require 10+ years of experience in data, analytics, IT, or similar roles.
• Require 5+ years of experience with Data Cloud Infrastructure, Master Data Management, and Pharma data.
• Require 5+ years of experience in pharma, biotech, healthcare, or consumer analytics, with hands-on understanding of pharma datasets and use cases.
• Require 5+ years of managing and leading data teams, with a passion for coaching and development.
• Strong understanding of the pharma value chain, commercialization, field, marketing, and sales analytics.
• Experience with Agile methodologies.
• Hands-on leadership in data engineering and cloud environments.
• Experience with cloud computing, big data architectures, and engineering.
• Ability to conduct analytics on pharma commercial data independently.
• Experience building data solutions integrated with marketing platforms like CRM, SFMC, web ecosystems, and social media.
• Recognized externally as a data leader through publications or presentations.

Benefits and Rewards in Spain : Company pension plan, life and accidental insurance, meals or canteen in the office, flexible working hours.

Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion : Novartis is dedicated to fostering an inclusive, diverse work environment reflecting the communities we serve.

Why Novartis : Helping people with disease takes more than science; it requires a community of passionate people. Join us to create breakthroughs that change lives. More info :

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