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The Head of Strategy and Portfolio Management (Principal Practice Lead ) is a high-impact strategic leadership role responsible for shaping and driving the strategic agenda for Roche Digital Technology (RDT). As the owner and driver of the Strategy to Portfolio (S2P) value stream, you ensure that Roche’s global business ambitions are translated into a prioritized, high-impact investment portfolio.
Reporting to the Head of SPG and ultimately supporting the Chief Digital Technology Officer (CDTO), you are responsible for establishing robust governance frameworks and ensuring the effective delivery of strategic projects across global functions. Your mandate is to ensure that technology investments are transparently managed, strategically aligned, and optimized for business value. By maximizing RDT value through architectural integrity and portfolio excellence, you will foster a "One Roche" lens across all digital investments to achieve our vision: “Doing now what patients need next.”
In this role, you are the "engine room" of RDT strategy. You bridge the gap between visionary strategy and operational execution, managing one of the largest technology portfolios in the industry and leading a team that directly powers Roche’s ability to save and improve patients' lives.
Job Responsibilities
Strategic Leadership & Planning:
Act as the end-to-end owner of the Strategy to Portfolio (S2P) value stream, ensuring a seamless and frictionless flow from Group-wide strategic intent to a prioritized, value-based investment landscape.
Orchestrate the translation of Roche Group strategies into a high-impact RDT strategic agenda, ensuring that Corporate Executive Committee (CEC) priorities are converted into actionable, measurable digital initiatives.
Partner with senior leaders across business-facing functions, horizontal technology, and Enterprise Architecture to co-create a unified digital technology roadmap that reflects the "One Roche" vision.
Define and oversee the implementation of the RDT (out)sourcing, location, and internal workforce strategies to ensure the organization has the critical capacity and expertise to execute the strategic portfolio.
Proactively identify opportunities to shape Roche’s digital environment including the S2P value stream by leveraging market insights and global technology trends, driving a unified "One Roche" approach to technical debt and innovation.
Governance & Investment Management:
Establish and maintain robust governance frameworks and structures for RDT to ensure efficient allocation of resources and prioritization of projects.
Drive the investment governance process with RDTLT and business leaders, evaluating the value of business initiatives and managing RDT portfolio.
Utilize the three-tiered governance model (Value & Funding, Strategic Portfolio, and Functional Portfolio) to balance funding across RDT Functions.
Drive transparency on portfolio health, business outcomes and value contribution, cost (including categorization), and resource utilization to provide a single, data-driven version of the truth for RDT leadership.
Team Leadership & Organizational Management:
Lead and mentor a senior team of dedicated Functional Portfolio Heads responsible for driving strategic RDT functional portfolios, transforming business priorities into a lean, high-impact technology reality.
Oversee the "Practices, Tools & Insights" function to ensure continuous improvement and measurement of adoption of the portfolio management practices so that RDT benefits from high data integrity, transparency, and decision support for all in-flight initiatives.
Foster a high-performing, data-driven culture. Responsible for the recruitment, coaching, and professional growth of a diverse team of experts, including Portfolio Insights and decision-support specialists.
Orchestrate the interaction between your team and Business Operations Leads to ensure seamless resource management, financial forecasting, and cost reconciliation.
Act as a trusted advisor and facilitator to RDT and Business leadership, fostering joint ownership of priorities and an enterprise-wide "One Roche" mindset.
Project & Solution Delivery:
Enable the effective delivery of strategic projects across global functions, supporting cross-functional, large-impact initiatives from investment approval to final delivery.
Track value delivery from strategic projects and recommend corrective actions to ensure intended business benefits are realized.
Proactively recommend areas for investment by assessing technology capabilities against evolving business needs.
Qualifications
Education / Experience
Professional Experience: 15+ years of leadership experience in global technology and/or consulting organizations, with at least 10+ years specifically in leadership roles encompassing Delivery Management and Portfolio Management.
Experience within the Pharmaceutical or BioTech industry is highly preferred.
Degree in IT or a related knowledge area.
Functional & Technical Skills
Strong grasp of IT governance, finance, and cost management.
Up-to-date knowledge of digital technology trends (AI, Data, Cloud) and a passion for translating them into new ways of working.
Leadership Skills
Proven ability to lead, mentor, and develop a high-performing team.
Ability to translate high-level business goals into a concrete functional vision and roadmap.
Strong communication and influencing skills, with the ability to manage expectations and align diverse groups (e.g., business, engineering, executives).
Demonstrated ability to build constructive and effective relationships with business and tech leaders, developing strategy in a consultative manner.
Experience managing cross-functional partner relationships in a complex organization, with the ability to influence at the most senior leadership levels.
Enterprise Mindset: A commitment to the "One Roche" philosophy, prioritizing the success of the entire organization over individual functional silos.
Additional Qualifications
Pragmatic Thinker: Strong analytical skills with a focus on outcome-driven, sustainable solutions.
Digital Translator: Proven experience as a digital product owner or "digital translator" who has delivered digital use cases including advanced analytics and AI technologies.
#RDT2026
Where pay transparency applies, details are provided based on the primary posting location. For this role, the primary location is Kaiseraugst. If you are interested in additional locations where the role may be available, we will provide the relevant compensation details later in the hiring process.
A healthier future drives us to innovate. Together, more than 100’000 employees across the globe are dedicated to advance science, ensuring everyone has access to healthcare today and for generations to come. Our efforts result in more than 26 million people treated with our medicines and over 30 billion tests conducted using our Diagnostics products. We empower each other to explore new possibilities, foster creativity, and keep our ambitions high, so we can deliver life-changing healthcare solutions that make a global impact.
Let’s build a healthier future, together.
Roche is an Equal Opportunity Employer.