Project Manager / Process Improvement Manager

NILOFER JIWANI, PH.D

linkedin.com/in/niloferjiwani • Grayslake, IL • 224-***-**** • ***********@*****.*** BUSINESS PARTNER / PROJECT / RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT Outcome-driven Knowledge Discovery/Strategy Management professional with a broad range of skills and experience, including alliance management, influential senior leadership communications, strategy, innovation, process improvement, informatics, consulting, business analysis, and multidisciplinary matrixed global project and people management. Skilled leader with practical innovation and thought leadership to identify and address opportunities to improve the quality and efficiency of drug discovery and development approaches. Recognized for ability to provide appropriate and constructive challenge, both strategically and operationally. Detail-oriented, versatile, nimble, self-motivated, efficient information partner with excellent communication and people skills. CORE COMPETENCIES

Solutions-driven business partner with experience leading cross-functional global teams in the development, documentation and delivery of process innovations/improvements driving the attainment of business goals.

Strong interpersonal skills with ability to bridge between skilled and non-skilled team members, develop and manage relationships in a global matrixed environment.

Develop opportunities to transform company practices into cost-effective, efficient solutions / operations

Define, analyze and documented business processes and identify areas of improvements.

Turn strategic objectives into actionable solutions that take advantage of technologies, behaviors and drive organizational performance.

Project Management / Process Improvement: Leadership: Provide oversight to projects in terms of scope defining, risk management, project delivery; Stakeholder Alignment: Share project status, risks, impacts and needs at regular intervals; Project Deliverable: Maintain project plans and timelines, project status reports, meeting minutes, action and decision logs and various other standard project artifacts; Management: Coordination of project stakeholder groups and workstreams through the project lifecycle for successful delivery; Strategic Contributor: Work closely with executive sponsors and stakeholders for thorough project discovery / vetting and development of business cases.

Application of design-thinking.

Data entry and data curation for several in-house platforms and databases.

Solutions-driven business partner with experience leading and working with cross-functional teams.

Good communication, interpersonal, organizational and management skills.

Detail oriented, Versatile, Team player, Creative, Self motivated, Thrive on dynamic challenges, Deliver on or before set timelines.

Ability to manage multiple projects with changing priorities to meet desired project timelines.

Effectively communicate to all levels within and external to the organization.

Proactively identify potential issues and resolutions. Anticipate and prepare contingency plan. SKILLS & CAPABILITIES

Strategic - be able to see and articulate the big picture, identify risks and opportunities

Proactive - a self-starter and self-manager who spots issues that need to be addressed, and then takes action.

Influencer - able to build strong relationships and work effectively in a matrix organization.

Collaborative - know how to work with all involved to find solutions

Innovative / Disruptive thinker - think creatively to find new ways of addressing issues / opportunities

Diplomatic - able to find a universal solution when dealing with diverse groups with disparate opinions

Adaptable - learn continuously, with openness to new perspectives PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Consultant – Project Manager (BristolMyersSquibb, Theravance Pharm and networking professionals) Sept 2019 – present

Drove partnerships and collaborations for the Predictive Sciences group managing and supervising cross-site, cross-function outreach, and operational activities.[BristolMyersSquibb]

Involved and led several matrixed initiatives to drive better aligned Predictive Sciences portfolio, increase transparency and visibility, increase the value of long term strategic projects, ensure timelines, operations and relationship with internal and external partners.[BristolMyersSquibb]

Worked in partnership with the project / functional leads to provide operational and strategic leadership.

[BristolMyersSquibb; Theravance]

Defined, analyzed and documented processes and identified areas of improvements. [BristolMyersSquibb; Theravance]

Identified growth opportunities and developed business cases. Compiled research ideas for proposals.

Translated business strategies to programs and procedures.

Ensured operational alignment through implementation of the portfolio governance processes, knowledge management, system structure, process improvisations and decision pathways to foster transparency and efficiency. [BristolMyersSquibb; Theravance]

Led an initiative to define cross-functional access of research data.[Theravance]

Helped develop operational and scientific strategy of the new drug discovery and development initiative. Developed Target / Portfolio-Review Model to aid portfolio management through target selection and decision-making. Defined and maintained Activities-Decisions logs, decision framework. [Theravance]

Facilitated requirement gathering sessions for medical device adoption.

Partnered with diverse functional areas (Med Chem, Toxicology, Biology, DMPK, CMC) for cross-functional inputs / inter-dependencies for non-clinical development project plan. Conducted “facilitated planning session” and developed plan for DC to IND submission phase.[Theravance]

Facilitated team meetings and decision-making practices.

Facilitated cross-functional business coordination and project progress for Discovery Projects & Research Operations Governance senior leadership team.[Theravance]

Worked with the Group Leaders and Research Project team leads; organized research team meetings by developing agenda, capturing meeting minutes, tracking and following up on action items.

Ensured portfolio alignment to corporate strategy and goals; managed project changes and risks and mitigation plans.

ABBVIE, North Chicago, IL 2013 – 2018

Project Manager – R&D Knowledge Discovery & Management Worked in Global Information Research, IT, supporting Immunology, Oncology and Neuroscience Units. Collaborated with stakeholders to define, outline and prioritize business requirements. Developed project plans in collaboration with IT team; managed project plans, communicated with and presented to stakeholders and senior leadership. Defined R&D requirements and the benefits case for investments. Managed, coached and trained employees, project managers, developers, scientists and contractors.

Integrated business solutions with organizational goals while reaching consensus of the stakeholders.

Worked in partnership with the project / functional leads to provide operational and strategic leadership.

Defined, analyzed and documented processes and identified areas of improvements.

Orchestrated and coordinated technology scouting and evaluation efforts for access to novel capabilities.

Ensured operational alignment through implementation of the portfolio governance processes, system structure, knowledge management, process improvisations and decision pathways to foster transparency and efficiency.

Drove business assessments and strategic recommendations of business opportunities.

Instrumental in defining and conducting “facilitated planning sessions” for planning drug discovery projects.

Developed idea presentations to aid executives in R & D program evaluation and process improvement.

Involved in defining collaborations success factors, due diligence, mapping key processes of business areas.

Defined strategies / road maps for introducing and implementing new technologies and processes.

Coordinated identification / defining of cross-function information-sharing opportunities, best practices, lessons-learned to enhance alignment of scientific efforts.

Collaborated with business and vendor partners to identify strategic innovation and improvement areas.

Closely managed multi-site initiatives; developed and strengthened relationships with vendors, suppliers and internal business units across the business, including disparate geographical locations.

Slashed payroll/benefits administration costs 15% through identification and defining of outsourcing opportunities for the Information Research Group.

Experience working with the business to build and execute strategy, evaluate software alternatives, conceive innovative solutions. Matured relationships with internal clients from transactional interactions to consultative and strategic discussions through development and evolution of Opportunity Assessment process. Defined governance and decision frameworks including decision trees, process flowcharts.

Assessed and prioritized business requirements through recommendations and designing of improvements of business processes and operational procedures (Open Science concepts) and translation of user concepts and ideas into comprehensive business solutions to aid analytic capabilities.

Recommended and implemented opportunities for streamlining team and business processes.

Collaborated with stakeholder groups across the organization to ensure business and technology alignment. Proposed solutions addressing defined specifications and needs.

Cultivated strategic partnerships, gathered business information needs, established rapport and nurtured open communication to facilitate development of business focused programs and initiatives.

Managed and operationally led matrixed projects/teams. Maintained timelines and flagged potential issues to be addressed.

Maintained records / logs of data communication transactions, problems and remedial actions taken.

Developed executive presentations to facilitate project evaluation and process improvement.

Worked closely with the Research Program Lead to manage all Research Project Team(s) with respect to – team formation, meetings schedule, communication plan, maintaining minutes, action & decision logs.

Served as neutral and objective facilitator to ensure open and transparent communication within the team, and to senior leadership; resolving any conflicts that may arise.

Created a clear vision for the function and communicated a supporting strategy to align people, critical resources, management and stakeholders in the delivery of services and products to business partners.

Helped define Knowledge Notebook / Project Management / Company-wide data platform.

Developed business cases for several areas utilizing tools such as interviewing, brainstorming, mind- mapping, requirements gathering.

Developed and championed a Lean Six Sigma-based approach to knowledge discovery.

Lead the identification and implementation of SaaS products to support drug discovery and development.

Worked closely with IT department making sure partner programs and requirements are up to date.

Developed process mapping of current and future business processes to aid process improvements. SANO, San Francisco, CA 2013 – 2013

Consultant

Researched and helped define strategy on a wearable biometric sensor. Sanofi (formerly Aventis Pharmaceuticals), Bridgewater, NJ 1998 – 2012 Senior Research Informatics Partner

Worked globally in Lead Generation Informatics, Functional Genomics and Biologics partnering with Infectious, Immuno-Inflammation, Oncology Units. Managed and trained a cadre of staff and contractors. Complex role spanned alliance management, business analysis, project execution and R&D. Alliance Management – External & Internal stakeholders:

Led company-wide evaluation and determination of the impact of number of external (SaaS) products on business strategy for drug discovery process.

Managed multi-site initiatives, working with vendors, suppliers and global internal business units.

Matured relationships with clients from transactional interactions to consultative and strategic discussions.

Involved in defining alliance’s success factors, due diligence, mapping key processes of business areas.

Played a contributory role in business development by facilitating and managing several academic and commercial collaborations and alliances.

Experience working closely with the business to build and execute strategy, evaluate software alternatives and conceive innovative solutions.

Oversaw, planned and managed technology transfers, ahead of schedule, with zero disruption.

Performed Business Analysis – interviewing, mind-mapping, building business case document, gathering requirements. In addition, analyzed data pipelines, workflows to identify and resolve gaps.

Inherited program that was in jeopardy of being lost due to poor communication and resource mismanagement. Leveraged negotiation and communication skills to revive and deliver successful program.

Headed a global team that conducted interviews and gathered user requirements for the development of a global portal for target validation and data analysis. Business Analysis, Project Execution, Management and Communications:

Developed process mapping of current and future business processes.

Developed documentation to successfully plan and execute new process improvement initiative. Developed decision framework including decision trees, process flowcharts, work instructions, procedures, forms, templates, surveys, and training curriculum. Created templates for project team members. Defined SOPs.

Conducted interviewing, brainstorming, mind-mapping, requirements gathering; developed business cases.

Worked closely with business users and IT developers to understand current work-flows, document business/functional requirements, identify potential improvements, test and implement the necessary changes in a timely manner

Facilitated project team meetings. Managed the project plan and the time-lines. Communicated with and managed expectations of the stakeholders.

Reviewed and edited non-clinical protocols, reports, product documentation.

Maintained project deliverables through instituting regular communication and tracking of project progress.

Oversaw implementation of a drug development project tracking system.

Coordinated implementation of Biotherapeutics portal. Developed the working prototypes and managed the website content and provided expertise in consolidation and migration of the content.

Reduced antibody generation process time by one year through optimization of business and scientific processes of the Biologics Discovery space and defining improvisation of antibody engineering protocol.

Led, defined and managed Knockout & Transgenic resources platform to aid research projects.

Analyzed business users’ requirements for several initiatives and solutions TECHNOLOGIES

Business Analysis, Lean Six Sigma, Design-Thinking, Project Management (Microsoft Project. Teams, OnePager), New Product Development, Tableau, Knowledge Management, Mind-mapping, Systems Biology, NLP, AI-R&D, Microsoft Visio, SharePoint, Confluence, Lucid, Web-based technologies, Agile development, SDLC, BizDevOps, UML, SOPs, PMBOK.

EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND

Ph.D in Bioinformatics Loyola Univ. Med Center

M.S. in Chemistry San Jose State University

Diploma in Business Management Siddharth College

HONORS

Excellence Award for Text Mining Strategy, USA Green Belt Six Sigma, USA Recognition Award for xxxx Drug Candidate, USA Young Investigator Award, USA Schmidt Graduate Fellowship, USA Young Investigator Award, USA Loyola Univ. Chicago Fellowship, USA CEB Awards, Bombay, India FEEB Awards, Bombay, India

CERTIFICATIONS AND COURSES

Green Belt Six Sigma Certification; Leadership Courses; Business Analysis; Project Management (Certification in progress); Business Analytics (in progress).

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