Executive Director, Head of R&D of the Future

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Job Description

Role Purpose:

The Executive Director, Head of R&D of the Future, is accountable for the strategy, integrated execution, and value realization of Takeda’s R&D of the Future program—a multi-year transformation to build a differentiated, technology-enabled R&D engine. This leader serves as the cross‑R&D integrator, enabling the portfolio, aligning leaders on priorities and trade-offs, and ensuring measurable outcomes across initiatives and enablers (including data and technology). The role ensures program designs and new ways of working are scalable across R&D’s GCM-aligned multi-hub model, enabling consistent adoption and durable performance across geographies.

Key Responsibilities:

1) Strategy, Outcomes, and Value Realization

• Own the R&D of the Future strategy, including ambition, outcomes, and KPI framework across R&D functions and program initiatives.

• Drive end-to-end value realization discipline: ensure clear business cases, success metrics, leadership accountability, and ongoing ROI management.

• Establish transparent performance reporting and management routines to sustain momentum and outcomes through implementation and evolution of the program.

2) Executive Alignment Across R&D and Enterprise Transformation

• Align the portfolio to enterprise priorities through connectivity to enterprise transformation stakeholders and related initiatives (e.g., GCM).

• Serve as the senior integrator between R&D of the Future and R&D functional priorities, ensuring connectivity, coherence, and minimization of competing change burdens.

• Drive senior stakeholders to be accountable for decisions, commitments, and outcomes across the program.

3) Governance, Decision-Making, and Escalation (Portfolio “Control Tower”)

• Establish agile, fit-for-purpose governance and escalation paths that clarify decision rights and enable empowered initiative-level execution within defined guardrails.

• Lead prioritization, sequencing, and trade-off discussions across initiatives and functions to maximize delivery momentum and value realization.

• Proactively remove roadblocks by mobilizing cross-functional leadership and resolving interdependency risks.

4) Integrated Program Management and Cross‑Initiative Connectivity

• Set program direction, shared operating mechanisms, and—where needed—common processes (e.g., governance, finance, strategic priorities) to connect initiatives and enable consistent execution.

• Evolve an empowered program management capability/PMO that provides leadership visibility to progress, milestones, risks, and dependencies.

• Enable transparent communication and knowledge-sharing across initiatives to avoid duplication and accelerate adoption of best practices.

5) End-to-End Lean Process Redesign at Scale

• Lead end-to-end Lean redesign of priority R&D value streams to improve cycle time, quality, compliance, and productivity, integrating people, process, and technology changes into a coherent target state.

• Ensure redesigned processes are built for GCM-aligned multi-hub execution—standardizing core workflows, controls, and metrics while enabling fit-for-purpose localization across geographies and sites where required.

• Partner with R&D Functions, Therapeutic Areas, and enablement leaders (including data/technology) to embed enabling capabilities into redesigned processes and ensure scalable deployment across locations.

• Establish operating rhythms (governance, KPI cadence, continuous improvement mechanisms) to sustain performance and prevent divergence of ways of working across hubs over time.

6) Change Leadership, Communications, and Adoption

• Champion adoption and leadership endorsement of new ways of working and enabling technologies across R&D.

• Develop consistent program messaging and communications to articulate strategy, progress, decisions required, and realized value.

7) People Leadership and Team Development

• Lead and develop the central R&D of the Future team, creating clarity, accountability, collaboration, and an enabling environment for performance and growth.

Decision Rights:

• This role owns program governance, performance management, and value realization for R&D of the Future; sets guardrails and operating mechanisms; and drives prioritization, sequencing, and escalation to resolve cross-functional and cross-hub trade-offs.

• Initiative Leads remain accountable for day-to-day initiative delivery within the portfolio guardrails and governance established by this role.

Minimum Requirements / Qualifications:

Required:

• 15+ years of leadership experience across multiple R&D functions.

• Demonstrated ability to make key program decisions, hold partners accountable, and build trust and influence across R&D functions.

• Experience leading complex, multi-initiative portfolios requiring sequencing, prioritization, and trade-off management across competing demands.

• Proven success leading enterprise-scale, cross-functional transformations with measurable value realization.

• People leadership and team management experience.

Preferred:

• Deep strategic and domain expertise in Development and strong digital/data/AI fluency in an R&D context.

• Experience integrating data/technology foundations into business process optimization and redesigned ways of working.

• Track record of operating with an enterprise- and R&D-wide mindset, coordinating priorities across functions and geographies.

• Advanced degree (or equivalent experience).

Work Model / Travel:

• Hybrid (Cambridge, MA): This role is based in Cambridge, MA with a hybrid working model aligned to business needs.

• As a member of the R&D Operational Excellence Leadership Team, drive alignment across Operational Excellence priorities and partner with R&D leaders to accelerate transformation outcomes and value realization.

• Provide enterprise leadership through a core team of 5–8 direct reports and extensive indirect influence across a broad, cross‑functional matrix, aligning and mobilizing stakeholders to deliver end‑to‑end transformation and value realization.

• 10-20% Travel may be required to support global stakeholder engagement and multi-hub deployment.

Takeda Compensation and Benefits Summary

We understand compensation is an important factor as you consider the next step in your career. We are committed to equitable pay for all employees, and we strive to be more transparent with our pay practices.

For Location:

Boston, MA

U.S. Base Salary Range:

$238,000.00 - $374,000.00

The estimated salary range reflects an anticipated range for this position. The actual base salary offered may depend on a variety of factors, including the qualifications of the individual applicant for the position, years of relevant experience, specific and unique skills, level of education attained, certifications or other professional licenses held, and the location in which the applicant lives and/or from which they will be performing the job. The actual base salary offered will be in accordance with state or local minimum wage requirements for the job location. 

U.S. based employees may be eligible for short-term and/ or long-term incentives. U.S. based employees may be eligible to participate in medical, dental, vision insurance, a 401(k) plan and company match, short-term and long-term disability coverage, basic life insurance, a tuition reimbursement program, paid volunteer time off, company holidays, and well-being benefits, among others. U.S. based employees are also eligible to receive, per calendar year, up to 80 hours of sick time, and new hires are eligible to accrue up to 120 hours of paid vacation. 

EEO Statement

Takeda is proud in its commitment to creating a diverse workforce and providing equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, parental status, national origin, age, disability, citizenship status, genetic information or characteristics, marital status, status as a Vietnam era veteran, special disabled veteran, or other protected veteran in accordance with applicable federal, state and local laws, and any other characteristic protected by law.

Locations

Boston, MA

Worker Type

Employee

Worker Sub-Type

Regular

Time Type

Full time

Job Exempt

Yes

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