R&D Modernization Project Leader

This job offer is accessible to all, regardless of gender.

Job title: R&D Modernization Leader

• Location:Paris
• Job type: Permanent​

About the job

Sanofi R&D is undergoing a significant transformation to accelerate innovation, increase productivity, and deliver breakthrough medicines to patients faster. To enable this ambition, Sanofi is establishing R&D Transformation, a new organization strategic modernization team within R&D Operations, designed to drive enterprise-level change through disciplined execution, operational excellence, and sustainable value realization.

R&D Transformation acts as a catalyst for change across the R&D organization, bridging strategic priorities with operational execution to ensure rapid adoption and lasting impact. Led by the Global Head of R&D Transformation, the organization is structured around three core pillars:

• Execution of strategic modernization initiatives: Translating R&D strategic priorities endorsed by the R&D Leadership Team into actionable, end-to-end execution plans, ensuring speed, coherence, and seamless integration into business as usual.
• Process excellence: Designing, simplifying, and continuously improving high-impact R&D processes to maximize productivity, reduce complexity, and enable organizational agility.
• Post-merger integration: Leading R&D-wide integration efforts to unlock scientific, cultural, and organizational value from M&A transactions.

Within the R&D Modernization team, the Project Leader will independently lead enterprise-visible transformation initiatives, acting as both a catalyst for change and a trusted advisor to senior R&D leadership on execution strategy, rollout planning, and sustainable value realization.

Mission : The R&D Modernization Project Leader will independently lead the strategic planning, execution, rollout, and monitoring of 1 to 3 high-impact R&D Modernization initiative(s) depending on complexity, with direct visibility to the R&D Leadership Team.

Main responsibilities:

• Strategic Execution Leadership
  • Independently lead complex, high-impact modernization initiatives with direct RDLT visibility, translating strategic intent into actionable implementation frameworks.
  • Structure ambiguous execution challenges and develop comprehensive rollout strategies that ensure sustainable adoption and measurable enterprise-level impact.
  • Prepare and moderate executive-level discussions, including RDLT forums and cross-functional governance bodies.
  • Challenge execution assumptions through data-driven analysis, scenario planning, and competitive benchmarking.

• Initiative Design & Delivery
  • Lead 2–4 high-impact modernization workstreams annually, from strategic framing through business-as-usual integration.
  • Design and manage end-to-end execution frameworks, including governance, timelines, cross-functional resourcing, RACI, and decision-making processes.
  • Translate strategic priorities into clear implementation plans for individual R&D functions (e.g., Research, CMC), with well-defined scope, objectives, success metrics, and accountability.
  • Structure scenario analyses and strategic trade-offs that optimize implementation speed, adoption, and long-term value realization.

• Stakeholder Engagement & Influence
  • Mobilize and engage senior leadership across R&D and cross-functional areas (e.g., People & Culture, Finance, IT) to drive alignment, sustain momentum, and deliver measurable impact.
  • Demonstrate strong executive presence and facilitation skills, influencing senior stakeholders on execution strategy and change roadmaps.
  • Build trusted relationships across R&D functions and cross-functional teams while seamlessly engaging with scientific and technical experts when required.
  • Act as an integrator and connector, bringing together diverse teams and perspectives to drive coherent execution.

• Performance Monitoring & Value Realization
  • Define and track KPIs to assess workstream effectiveness, ROI, and alignment with strategic objectives.
  • Monitor performance against key milestones, proactively identifying risks and dependencies and implementing mitigation actions.
  • Ensure measurable outcomes transition effectively into sustained business-as-usual operations.
  • Report workstream progress to the Head of R&D Modernization for input into the central R&D Steering Committee, proactively communicating interdependencies across workstreams.

• Change Integration & Adoption
  • Ensure successful implementation of transformation impacts at local and site level, including implications across processes, IT, governance, change management, and communications.
  • Drive seamless integration into business-as-usual operations and sustainable adoption, supporting local roadmaps to ensure lasting impact.

The role demands strong analytical capabilities, execution rigor, strategic thinking, and executive maturity, with the ability to operate with a high degree of autonomy. The ability to seamlessly zoom in and out between strategic and detailed levels is essential.

Please note that key responsibilities may change over time in accordance with business need.

About you

You will gain exposure to enterprise-level transformation topics and contribute directly to shaping the execution and realization of Sanofi R&D's strategic priorities. You will operate with independence, executive maturity, and strong analytical rigor, balancing objective challenge with collaborative partnership to drive sustainable change.

• Experience
  • 6+ years of professional experience in strategic roles within life sciences, with a strong understanding of the pharmaceutical industry, particularly R&D.
  • Significant exposure to large-scale transformations, complex strategic problem-solving, and executive-level interaction.
  • Experience in top-tier strategy consulting or comparable high-performance environments is strongly valued.
  • Demonstrated experience leading high-impact transformation initiatives from strategic framing through execution and sustainable implementation.
  • Experience in change management and/or Finance functions would be a significant asset.

• Soft and technical skills:
  • Strong business judgment and ability to structure ambiguous execution challenges and rollout strategies.
  • Demonstrated ability to independently engage and influence senior executive stakeholders across R&D and cross-functional teams.
  • Strong executive presence and facilitation skills in high-level forums.
  • Exceptional synthesis and communication skills; adept at distilling complex information into structured recommendations and execution plans.
  • Disciplined prioritization and project leadership with a proven track record of presenting transformative projects to Senior Leadership Teams.
  • Intellectual agility with strong drive for change and questioning the status quo.
  • Proven ability to balance strategic vision with pragmatic execution and hands-on accountability.
  • Deep experience navigating large and global organizations.
  • Strong analytical and financial modeling skills with solid business judgment and financial acumen.
  • Ability to evaluate business cases, define KPIs, and track ROI metrics.
  • Ability to leverage data, competitive insight, and AI-enabled tools to inform execution decisions.
  • Experience with advanced analytics and digital tools is a strong asset.

• Education: Bachelor's degree required. Advanced degree in Life Sciences, Top Engineering school, Business School (MBA), or comparable advanced degree (PhD, MD, PharmD) strongly preferred.

• Language: Fluent English (written and spoken) required. Working proficiency in French strongly preferred.

​PursueProgress. Discover Extraordinary.

Join Sanofi and step into a new era of science - where your growth can be just as transformative as the work we do. We invest in you to reach further, think faster, and do what’s never-been-done-before. You’ll help push boundaries, challenge convention, and build smarter solutions that reach the communities we serve. Ready to chase the miracles of science and improve people’s lives? Let’s Pursue Progress and Discover Extraordinary – together.

At Sanofi, we provide equal opportunities to all regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity, protected veteran status or other characteristics protected by law.