Senior Director, Head of Research Strategy & Operations, R&D, Japan

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Job Description

Takeda is transforming how medicines are discovered, developed and delivered by embedding AI, advanced data platforms and lab automation directly into the heart of R&D in our Labs of Tomorrow. Built on more than 240 years of scientific heritage our discovery engine connects computational science, wet lab innovation and product thinking to unlock new biology, design the next ground-breaking medicines and accelerate patient impact.

Takeda Research is seeking a experienced, dynamic, and strategic-minded, Head of Research Strategy & Operations, Japan to lead business operations, strategic planning, and Labs of Tomorrow transformation for Research in Japan. Reporting to the Global Head of Strategy & Operations for Research, this leader will ensure the organization evolves with clarity, discipline, cross functional collaboration and strong alignment to global priorities.

This is a high-impact enterprise leadership role at the intersection of strategy, operations, finance, and transformation. This leader will act as a senior partner across Japan and global teams, shaping priorities, and representing Research Japan in critical cross-functional and leadership forums that drive portfolio impact.

The successful candidate will combine strategic judgment, operational excellence, financial acumen, and the ability to lead globally through complexity and change.

Strategy & Business Operations

• Implements the operational strategy and business management of Research Japan aligning with the global ONE Research strategy.
• Align Japan Research operations with global priorities, operating models, and organizational standards while ensuring effective local execution.
• Oversee core governance, operating rhythms, and organizational reporting to drive clarity, accountability, and business performance.
• Identify operational risks and issues, drive resolution, and provide senior leadership with clear visibility and recommendations.

Financial Planning & Business Performance

• Work with the Research Operations team to drive annual planning, budgeting, headcount planning, and financial forecasting for Research Japan in partnership with Finance.
• Translate scientific, operational, and financial data into decision-ready business reviews and investment cases for senior leadership.
• Monitor performance against plan, identify risks and trade-offs, and recommend actions to optimize resources and delivery.

Executive Communications & Leadership Support

• Develop high-quality executive materials, business updates, and strategic narratives for senior leadership forums.
• Provide strategic counsel to senior leaders by framing issues clearly, anticipating decision needs, and coordinating inputs across functions.
• Support organization-wide communications that reinforce priorities, progress, and change across Research Japan.

Transformation & Change Leadership

• Lead the design and adoption of new ways of working, operating models, and processes that support Takeda Research’s Labs of Tomorrow ambition.
• Leads Research’s Japan integration in to the digital transformation strategy.
• Partner with transformation leaders and functional stakeholders to align enterprise initiatives, manage change impacts, and embed sustainable improvements.
• Build organizational readiness for change by driving engagement, execution discipline, and adoption across the Japan research organization.

Required

• Bachelor’s degree or higher in life sciences, business, or a related field; advanced degree preferred.
• Significant leadership experience in strategy, operations, transformation, or business management within pharma, biotech, or life sciences.
• Strong track record leading complex business operations and enterprise change in a matrixed, global environment.
• Strong financial acumen, including experience with strategic planning, budgeting, forecasting, and investment case development.
• Excellent executive communication skills, with the ability to synthesize complexity into clear, decision-oriented narratives.
• Fluency in Japanese and English, written and verbal.
• Experience in pharmaceutical or biotechnology research operations, R&D governance, or lab operating models.
• Experience leading transformation initiatives involving process simplification, digital enablement, or new operating models.

Preferred

• Familiarity with global research organizations and the Japan-global operating environment.
• Experience with digital transformation programs.

Leadership Profile

• Strategic and enterprise-minded, with the ability to translate long-term priorities into operational execution.
• Decisive and accountable, with sound judgment in complex and ambiguous environments.
• Influential across functions and cultures, able to build alignment and momentum in a matrixed global organization.
• Change-oriented, with a demonstrated ability to lead transformation and embed new ways of working.
• Clear, credible, and effective with senior stakeholders, with strong executive presence and communication skills.
• Values-led and highly collaborative, with the ability to build trusted partnerships and lead through influence across a complex global organization.

Takeda is a patient-focused, values-based R&D-driven biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Japan. Our Research organization is at the frontier of discovering innovative therapies that address the world’s most pressing unmet medical needs. The Labs of Tomorrow initiative represents our commitment to reimagining how research is done — harnessing new science, new technologies, and new ways of working to accelerate the path from discovery to patient impact.

Japan is a strategically important part of Takeda’s global research network. We are committed to creating an environment where scientific talent can thrive and deliver meaningful impact for patients.

Takeda Compensation and Benefits Summary:

• Allowances: Commutation, Housing, Overtime Work etc.

• Salary Increase: Annually, Bonus Payment: Twice a year

• Working Hours: Headquarters (Osaka/ Tokyo) 9:00-17:30, Production Sites (Osaka/ Yamaguchi) 8:00-16:45, (Narita) 8:30-17:15, Research Site (Kanagawa) 9:00-17:45

• Holidays: Saturdays, Sundays, National Holidays, May Day, Year-End Holidays etc. (approx. 123 days in a year)

• Paid Leaves: Annual Paid Leave, Special Paid Leave, Sick Leave, Family Support Leave, Maternity Leave, Childcare Leave, Family Nursing Leave.

• Flexible Work Styles: Flextime, Telework

• Benefits: Social Insurance, Retirement and Corporate Pension, Employee Stock Ownership Program, etc.

Important Notice concerning working conditions:

• It is possible the job scope may change at the company’s discretion.

• It is possible the department and workplace may change at the company’s discretion.

Locations

Fujisawa, Japan

Worker Type

Employee

Worker Sub-Type

Regular

Time Type

Full time