Associate Director, Marketing Program Governance (MPG)

Job Description Summary #LI-HybridLocation: Mexico City, Insurgentes Contract Type: This role is based in Mexico City, Insurgentes. Novartis is unable to offer relocation support: please only apply if accessible. Reimagining Medicine Starts With Our People The Associate Director, Marketing Program Governance (MPG), is responsible for leading and growing the NOCC-based MPG team that supports US Marketing Operations. This role oversees operational delivery, talent development, resource planning, stakeholder engagement, and continuous improvement initiatives across the MPG portfolio. As a senior people leader, the Associate Director serves as the primary NOCC leader for MPG operations, ensuring the team is positioned to provide high-quality, scalable, and compliant support while driving operational excellence and business outcomes. The role partners closely with US MPG leadership and cross-functional stakeholders to align priorities, optimize service delivery, build organizational capabilities, and support the expansion of MPG services within the NOCC model. Job Description Key Responsibilities Team Leadership & Capability Building • Lead, coach, and develop a high-performing team supporting Marketing Program Governance activities. • Establish team priorities, performance expectations, and development plans aligned with organizational goals, including succession planning and employee engagement. • Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, continuous learning, and operational excellence. • Build and scale MPG capabilities within NOCC to support evolving business needs and strategic objectives. Operational Leadership • Oversee day-to-day delivery of MPG services and operational support activities. • Manage workload distribution, resource planning, capacity management, and delivery performance. • Monitor operational metrics to assess delivery performance, efficiency, quality, and stakeholder satisfaction. Stakeholder Partnership • Serve as the primary NOCC leadership contact for MPG operational activities. • Partner closely with US MPG leaders to align priorities, staffing needs, and strategic objectives. • Build strong working relationships across Marketing, Marketing Operations, Marketing Technology (MarTech), Studio Operations, Regulatory, Compliance, Legal, Privacy, Medical, and Commercial teams. • Facilitate effective communication between US and NOCC teams to ensure transparency, alignment, and successful execution. Marketing Program Governance & Content Approval Excellence • Lead cross-functional governance to enable compliant marketing programs, channel capabilities, and technology. • Apply enterprise execution requirements consistently across digital and channel marketing, balancing compliance, quality, speed, and business needs. • Translate technical, regulatory, and operational requirements into practical guidance and decision frameworks for the NOCC MPG team and business partners. • Simplify and standardize content approval and digital engagement using Agile practices, defining requirements, process inputs and outputs, stakeholder roles, technical specifications, testing, and deployment readiness. • Oversee the Material Approval Process and related systems and workflows before, during, and after review to improve effectiveness, consistency, and compliance. • Maintain centralized channel requirements, content standards, process maps, playbooks, standard operating procedures (SOPs), working-practice documents, system instructions, and quick-reference guides. Continuous Improvement & Transformation • Lead continuous-improvement initiatives to streamline MPG processes, strengthen operating models, and enhance service delivery. • Support implementation of new technologies, automation opportunities, and AI-enabled solutions that improve operational efficiency. • Promote adoption of best practices through training materials and knowledge management. • Risk Management & Quality Oversight • Ensure operational processes are executed in accordance with Novartis standards, policies, and governance requirements. • Identify risks, issues, and operational challenges and lead appropriate mitigation strategies. • Maintain quality, consistency, and documentation standards across team deliverables. • Partner with relevant functions on internal and external audits, inquiries, remediation, and inspection readiness. Required Experience • Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience required; concentration in Business, Marketing, Digital Media, Communications, Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field preferred. • 8+ years of experience in Marketing Operations, Program Management, Governance, Shared Services, or related business functions. • 3+ years of people leadership experience managing managers and/or professional teams. • Proven experience leading global or offshore operational teams. • Experience working within complex, matrixed organizations. • Demonstrated ability to build, develop, and scale high-performing teams. • Digital Media, Communications, Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field preferred. • Fluent English communication skills, both written and verbal, with the ability to work effectively across regions and functions. • Working knowledge of pharmaceutical advertising and promotion requirements, content review and approval processes, privacy expectations, and digital-channel governance. • Experience with US - Medical, Legal, and Regulatory (MLR) review or Material Approval Process (MAP) workflows and systems such as Veeva Vault PromoMats, Aprimo, or comparable digital asset management and workflow platforms; familiarity with channel-execution platforms is preferred. • Strong facilitation, executive communication, process mapping, project management, risk management, and change leadership capabilities. • Ability to lead through ambiguity, challenge current ways of working constructively, build consensus, and deliver r