At Johnson & Johnson, we believe health is everything. Our strength in healthcare innovation empowers us to build a world where complex diseases are prevented, treated, and cured, where treatments are smarter and less invasive, and solutions are personal. Through our expertise in Innovative Medicine and MedTech, we are uniquely positioned to innovate across the full spectrum of healthcare solutions today to deliver the breakthroughs of tomorrow, and profoundly impact health for humanity. Learn more at jnj.com.

As guided by Our Credo, Johnson & Johnson is responsible to our employees who work with us throughout the world. We provide an inclusive work environment where each person is considered as an individual. At Johnson & Johnson, we respect the diversity and dignity of our employees and recognize their merit.

Job Function:

Project/Program Management Group

Job Sub Function:

Project/Program Management

Job Category:

People Leader

All Job Posting Locations:

Beerse, Antwerp, Belgium, Latina, Italy, Ringaskiddy, Cork, Ireland, Schaffhausen, Switzerland

Job Description:

 Position Summary

At Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicines, we are working to create a world without disease. Finding new and better ways to prevent, intercept, treat and cure disease encourages us. We bring together the best minds and pursue the most promising science. We collaborate with the world for the health of everyone in it.

Innovative Medicine Transcend is a global business transformation program that will modernize our foundational transactional processes and harmonize them into one “clean” ERP as a standardized platform for growth and efficiency gains. By simplifying and standardizing business processes and technology, the pharmaceutical business will be supported by a digital backbone, more efficient and agile. The program will remediate the end-of-life system exposure that we risk towards the end of this decade.

We are seeking a strategic and experienced Deployment Director to drive the Business transformation of the IM Transcend releases within a regulated pharmaceutical environment. This role is responsible for shaping the strategy and managing the key deployment milestones such as Mobilize phase, Solution Confirmation, Program Increment, Testing phases, Business go lives.

The Deployment Director will shape the end-to-end Deployment strategy, planning, readiness and execution for large-scale supply chain systems (ERP, Source, Plan, Make, Deliver, Quality) across the different IM Transcend deployments. This role leads a team of business resources and coordinates cross-functional, internal and external resources to ensure predictable, compliant, deployment from legacy to target platforms. The Deployment Director drives standardized playbook starting from design as part of Discovery, Solution confirmation to rigorous testing and mock runs, reports status and risks to senior leadership, and pursues automation and process improvements to maximize deployment effectiveness and business value. Additionally, this role will engage the Site Leadership to collaboratively work through Risks, Issues, Decisions and ensure appropriate business adoption of the IM Transcend solution.

The ideal candidate will bring deep expertise in ERP Deployment, a strong understanding of complex system landscapes and dependencies, and a collaborative leadership approach to successfully guide cross-functional teams through the global S/4 HANA transformation journey.

This position will serve as the Deployment Director, driving standardization and governance across all activities on release under the Global Delivery Lead. The Deployment Director will define and enforce a consistent, repeatable methodology, ensuring alignment across regions and business units.

Major Duties & Responsibilities

In order of importance, briefly describe, in sentence form, the essential functions/major responsibilities of this position (principal duties and responsibilities of the position) as it exists today.  Describe the job, not the person in the job.  Each item listed below should be an essential function/major responsibility of the position, not a day-to-day activity.

 

Major Duties & Responsibilities

• Develop and own a Deployment Strategy aligned to program objectives, timelines, compliance and funding constraints. 

• Leading project teams in the successful delivery of the system deployment in alignment with the business and funding requirements

• Coordinate and ensure Release activities and milestones that clearly define business tasks, dependencies, resource assignments, success criteria. 

• Lead, mentor and manage the deployment team and cross-functional deployment resources; provide direction, coaching and capacity planning for Deployment activities. 

• Responsibility for all Deployment activities across Scope, Schedule, Budget and Quality working with Global Template Owners, Business process owners, CEBA & PMO teams to minimize downtime and business impact. 

• Ensure compliance with GxP, documentation management and audit requirements throughout Deployment planning and execution. 

• Manage vendor and third-party cutover responsibilities and SLAs; coordinate internal and external resources to meet cutover milestones. 

• Establish and maintain an effective stakeholder engagement model with Functional, Business Partners and Program Governance, communicating status, risks, issues and expected benefits. 

• Adhere to Deployment methodology, incident escalation paths, support rosters and SLAs in coordination with Service Delivery and Functional Teams.

• Ensure rapid incident response and coordinated resolution during the lifecycle of the project; ensure effective triaging of issues, root cause analysis and prioritized remediation plans. 

• Manage vendor and third-party responsibilities and SLAs; coordinate internal and external resources to meet program milestones.

• Implement KPIs and performance management processes to track readiness, delivery quality, defects and realized value; capture lessons learned and apply continuous improvement. 

• Drive adoption of new technologies (automation, orchestration tools, generative AI where appropriate) to improve cutover predictability, repeatability and speed. 

• Provide timely, clear escalation and reporting to senior management and program leadership on program milestones, issues and mitigation plans. 

Tasks/Duties/Responsibilities

Deployment Management

• Adhere to a consistent Deployment Methodology for all IM Transcend releases, ensuring consistency and repeatability across regions and business units.
• Establish governance for the release across all stakeholders, including tools, templates, and best practices.
• Ensure alignment with SAP Clean Core principles and compliance with regulatory requirements during deployment activities.

Leadership & Collaboration

• Provide matrix leadership for global and regional teams, including business SMEs, JJT & system integrators, and validation experts.
• Collaborate with Deployment Leads, PMO, and technical teams to manage dependencies and ensure adherence to integrated plans across releases.
• Act as the primary interface between program leadership and execution teams, driving alignment on scope, timelines, and readiness within all the deployment domains.

Stakeholder Engagement

• Oversee end-to-end stakeholder engagement, including leaders at various levels to ensure that the scope of the deployment is clearly defined.
• Manage risk identification and mitigation strategies to ensure business continuity as part of the deployment.
• Validate business readiness checkpoints and coordinate issue resolution, collaborating with the local SME’s during critical milestones.

Change Management & Communication

• Partner with Change Management teams to ensure stakeholder awareness and readiness for cutover activities.
• Support creation of various playbooks, communication plans, and training materials for global and regional teams.
• Provide clear reporting and status updates to senior leadership during cutover phases.

 

Required Qualifications

Education:

• BA/BS or equivalent experience required; MA/MS/MBA preferred. 
   

Required Minimum Education:                                            

• University level degree in supply chain, business/IT technical/scientific area or comparable education/experience.
   

Experience: Proven success leading global cutover or deployment teams for complex Business transformation programs (ERP and broader functional areas). 

• Technical competence: Strong knowledge of Deployment methodologies, data migration, system integrations, interfaces and infrastructure transitions.

• Project leadership: Demonstrated program and project management skills, including planning, resource orchestration and stage-gate deployments. 

• People leadership: Experience managing, mentoring and developing cross-functional teams and third-party resources. 

• Compliance and process discipline: Comfortable with GxP environments, documentation controls and audit expectations. 

• Communication & stakeholder management: Excellent interpersonal, negotiation and executive reporting skills with a track record of aligning cross-functional partners to outcomes. 

• Continuous improvement: Familiarity with automation, testing best practices and process improvement methodologies (Lean, Six Sigma, etc.). 

 
 

Required Years of Related Experience:     

• Deep expertise in ERP Deployment including Solution Confirmation, Program Increment, Testing, Cutover for large-scale, multi-release programs, preferably in a global environment.
• Experience in managing complex cross-functional activities with a focus on mission critical business focused activities.
• Proven experience managing complex system landscapes and dependencies during cutover, including data migration, environment readiness, and mock cutover rehearsals.
• Strong leadership, facilitation, and stakeholder engagement skills, including experience working with business leaders, IT teams, system integrators, and global/regional teams under tight timelines.
• Familiarity with CSV, SDLC, GxP compliance, and regulatory requirements for life sciences or other highly regulated industries.
• Experience in the Pharmaceutical/Life Sciences sector is highly preferred.
• Proficiency with SAP S/4HANA, including understanding technical architecture, integration points, and tools such as Solution Manager; knowledge of Fiori and relevant modules is a plus.
• Ability to develop and enforce global standards for Deployment methodology, tools, and templates across multiple releases.
   

Required Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Fluent in Written and Spoken English
   

Travel on the Job:

Yes

Percentage Traveled:

Up to 25% (Domestic + International)

 

 

 

 

Required Skills:

 

 

Preferred Skills:

Agile Decision Making, Analytics Insights, Budget Management, Business Savvy, Developing Others, Give Feedback, Inclusive Leadership, Leadership, Organizational Project Management, Performance Measurement, Program Management, Project Management Methodology (PMM), Project Management Office (PMO), Project Management Tools, Project Reporting, Regulatory Compliance, Statement of Work (SOW)

  

 

The anticipated base pay range for this position is:

€104,000.00 - €179,515.00

 

 

Benefits:

In addition to base pay, we offer the following benefits*: an annual bonus with set target (% of pay) depending on pay grade / location, where the actual amount is based on the employees’ and companies’ performance of the previous calendar year, or sales commissions. Moreover, we offer vacation days, parental leave for a minimum of 12 weeks, bereavement leave, caregiver leave, volunteer leave, well-being reimbursement, programs for financial, physical and mental health. We also offer service anniversary and recognition awards, and subject to the terms of their respective plans, employees - and in some location’s eligible dependents - can participate in several insurance plans. For more information, visit Employee benefits | Supporting well-being & career growth | Johnson & Johnson Careers.

 

*This is for informative purposes only. Amounts and actual benefits may vary by location and are subject to change.