Summary The Strategic Assistant supports the Country President (CP) in daily business and manages strategic and innovative initiatives for the CP, Chief of Staff (CoS) and the German Country Leadership Team (CLT), with the aim of maximizing economic value and securing future competitive advantage in a highly complex market. The person will be responsible for managing the agenda and execution of key board meetings incl. CLT and business reviews. Acting as a strategic partner to the CP and CoS requires strong alignment and collaborating with the local leadership team, head office roles and the international strategic assistant community. This role reports directly into the Chief of Staff and will work hand in hand with the Staff & Strategic Projects team. LI-Hybrid About the Role Major Accountabilities Overarching aspects & sparring Serve as a strategic partner to the CP, handling inquiries and developing action plans to address them in a timely manner Support and advise CP and CoS on larger strategy across units and functions with an enterprise view and provide expert consultation during all phases Serve as link to CP and CLT for broader organization, translating and disseminating CP and CLT perspectives, as well as collecting, aggregating and providing upwards feedback to the CP and CLT Meetings & Events Coordinate and organize internal and external key strategic meetings and events (e.g. CLT, business reviews, country visits) including taking responsibility for preparation of agenda, meeting facilitation and the creation of meeting minutes Support CP on internal (e.g. General Assemblies, Supervisory Board Meetings) and external engagements (e.g. stakeholder meetings and speaker engagements at external events) with presentation preparation, talking points and meeting follow-up, taking ownership for next steps Projects & Initiatives Support and coordinate large, often cross-business unit-wide projects and initiatives assigned by the CP, CoS, or their delegates Take ownership and lead selected strategic initiatives from project scoping, creating content and managing of stakeholders to generate insights and prepare outputs with the aim to develop recommendations that enable informed decisions of the CP, CoS and CLT Ad-hoc / decision support Support the CP and CoS with business case elaboration, scenario analysis, and presentations in respect of strategy and priorities of Novartis Germany Frame and break down complex business problems into key components, design analysis to develop actionable insights, and answers to critical questions while recommending practical solutions to get results Collect, analyze and summarize complex data, information and knowledge for decision making (e.g. market data, competition, industry trends, regulations, patients and providers, etc.) through quantitative and qualitative methods as well as internal and external data sources Link to broader organization / stakeholder management Align and partner closely with senior executives and other stakeholders at country, functional and global level as defined by the requirements of the different initiatives Drive and guide CLT on aligned priorities and key initiatives Drive the local community of "head office" roles to foster x-unit alignment also on operational level Build and extend solid network with International, Region Europe and Global Essential requirements - Education and work experience: Master of Science / MBA Several years of management consulting experience Experience in the German healthcare market (pharmaceutical industry) Fluent in German and English (spoken and written) Strong analytical skills & critical thinking Strategic thinking & creativity Ability to collaborate and align across functions and divisions Workshop and board meeting facilitation Challenge status quo, positive 'can do' attitude Reliability, responsiveness & resourcefulness Strong (agile) Project / Process Management skills Ability to work independently Ability to influence and lead without authority Ability to engage deeply in various business issues and elevating strategic discussions by contributing to and influence recommendations and decisions Ability to develop new and impactful ideas and ability pitch to and convince senior management Strong judgment and ability to take initiative Commitment to Diversity & Inclusion: Novartis is committed to building an outstanding, inclusive work environment and diverse team's representative of the patients and communities we serve. Hiring decisions are only based on the qualification for the position, regardless of gender, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, age and disability. The law provides for severely disabled / equal applicants the opportunity to involve the local representative body for disabled employees (SBV) in the application process. If you would like to request this, please let us know in advance as a note on your CV. Adjustments for Applicants with Disabilities: The law provides for severely disabled / equal applicants the opportunity to involve the local representative body for disabled employees (SBV) in the application process. If you would like to request this, please let us know in advance as a note on your CV. Why Novartis: Helping people with disease and their families takes more than innovative science. It takes a community of smart, passionate people like you. Collaborating, supporting and inspiring each other. Combining to achieve breakthroughs that change patients' lives. 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