Manager - Medical Affairs Financial Operations

Manager, US BPA

Job Description Summary

About the Role:

The role serves as a key operational partner to Medical Affairs stakeholders and BPAs, while also supporting broader FinOps priorities as required. The position combines hands on operational ownership, people leadership, and process excellence within Novartis’ global finance operating model. The Manager is accountable for end-to-end operational financial support, ensuring timely, accurate, and compliant execution across purchase orders, statements of work, invoices, vendors, accruals, and close activities.

Job Description

Key requirements:

• Medical Affairs FinOps Operations: Own end‑to‑end FinOps operations for Medical Affairs, from request intake through closure. Ensure accurate and compliant PR, PO, and SOW creation, amendments, and issue resolution.

• Oversee invoice processing, service confirmations, GR/IR management, and timely payments. Manage vendor onboarding, amendments, and lifecycle support in partnership with Procurement and Finance.
• Ensure timely and accurate accruals, invoice cut‑offs, and month‑end / quarter‑end close activities. Act as the primary operational escalation point for Medical Affairs finance‑related issues.
• FinOps Team & Cross‑Functional Support: Provide operational support to the wider FinOps team based on business demand and priorities.

• Support cross‑TA activities such as backlog management, audits, transitions, and special initiatives. Partner closely with US BPAs, Medical Affairs stakeholders, Procurement, and Finance teams to ensure seamless execution.
• People Leadership: Lead, coach, and develop a team of Medical Affairs & FinOps. Ensure clear workload allocation, SLA adherence, and consistent service quality.

• Drive capability building through training, knowledge sharing, and SOP adherence. Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
• Controls, Compliance & Process Excellence: Ensure strong financial controls, documentation standards, and audit readiness. Identify process inefficiencies and drive standardization, simplification, and automation initiatives. Support FinOps transformation efforts aligned with Novartis finance strategy.

Essential Requirements

• 6+ years of experience in FRA, BPA, or Financial Operations, preferably supporting global or US markets.
• Strong hands‑on experience with PR/PO/SOW lifecycle management, invoicing, accruals, and close activities. Proficient in Ariba, SAP/FICO, and vendor portals.
• Experience supporting the Finance Operations domain, BPA-related domain, or other regulated functions. Familiarity with global finance operating models.

Desirable Skills:

• People management experience, including coaching and performance management. Strong understanding of financial controls, compliance, and governance requirements.

• Proven ability to manage multiple priorities in a high‑volume operational environment.
• Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills with problem solving approach.
• Strong analytical and reporting abilities, including Excel-based operational reporting. Experience with AI-driven process improvements and a willingness to learn and apply new technologies for process simplification are highly valued. Team management experience is considered an asset.

Skills Desired

Ability To Influence Key Stakeholders, Accounting, AI Driven, Business Planning, Compliance And Controls, Critical Thinking, Data Cleansing / Normalization, Data Visualization, Employee Engagement, Financial And Management, Financial Operations, Giving And Receiving Feedback, Insight Generation, Interpersonal Savvy, Managing Ambiguity, Market Understanding, Planning & Analysis, Process Optimization, Rapid Problem Solving, Reporting, Understanding Value Drivers

Experience Level

Senior Level