Associate Director, Catalyze360 Business Operations

Company: Eli Lilly and Company
Location: San Francisco
Posted on: January 17, 2026

Job Description:

At Lilly, we unite caring with discovery to make life better for people around the world. We are a global healthcare leader headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. Our employees around the world work to discover and bring life-changing medicines to those who need them, improve the understanding and management of disease, and give back to our communities through philanthropy and volunteerism. We give our best effort to our work, and we put people first. We’re looking for people who are determined to make life better for people around the world. Organization Overview Lilly Catalyze360 is a comprehensive approach to enabling the early-stage biotech ecosystem by democratizing access to infrastructure, expertise, and resources. Through its interconnected pillars—Lilly Ventures, Lilly Gateway Labs, Lilly ExploR&D, and Lilly TuneLab—Catalyze360 strategically removes barriers that traditionally block bold science from becoming life-changing medicines, providing biotechs with flexible combinations of capital, physical lab space, R&D capabilities, AI/ML tools, and decades of enterprise learning. Job Summary The Associate Director, Catalyze360 Business Operations is responsible for driving operational excellence across the Catalyze360 organization. This role requires deep expertise in procurement, contracting, third-party risk management, and other financial and operational matters with the ability to translate that knowledge into streamlined processes and effective system configurations. The individual will design and implement scalable business processes, lead system implementations, and develop a unified onboarding framework for the team. A passion for identifying and evaluating emerging technologies and tools—particularly AI/ML applications—is essential, as this role will continuously scout, pilot, and implement innovations that can enhance operational efficiency and effectiveness. The scope of this role could also be expanded to include contract negotiation responsibilities for Lilly Gateway Labs as well as consulting and sponsorship agreements. Key Responsibilities Map existing processes end-to-end, identify inefficiencies, and redesign workflows to optimize speed, accuracy, and resource utilization across Catalyze360 Identify, propose, and pilot innovative solutions—including AI/ML applications—to drive efficiencies and enhance operational capabilities Evaluate, select, design, and manage systems and tools to automate contracts and invoice management, financial and headcount tracking, and other operational workflows across the Catalyze360 organization Partner with Catalyze360, Procurement, Finance, Legal, IT, and other stakeholders to ensure operational systems meet the business needs, integrate seamlessly with enterprise platforms, and comply with corporate standards Design, implement, and manage a consistent, scalable onboarding program for Catalyze360 team members, ensuring new hires are equipped with the knowledge, tools, and resources to succeed from day one Represent Catalyze360 in cross-functional operational forums Potential for responsibilities to be expanded to include contract negotiations for Catalyze360, including managing agreements related to Lilly Gateway Labs as well as consulting, sponsorship, and other similar engagements Minimum Requirements Education: Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university Experience: 7 years of experience in operations, procurement, contracting, or business development within pharmaceutical/biotech or other regulated industry Work Authorization: Qualified applicants must be authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis. Lilly will not provide support for or sponsor work authorization and/or visas for this role Additional Skills/Preferences Demonstrated experience : Driving operational/financial efficiencies for biotech/pharma/life sciences companies Mapping and optimizing processes and supporting change management Negotiating and managing R&D service, consulting, sponsorship, and/or real estate agreements for biotech/pharma/life sciences companies Designing, implementing, and evaluating pilot programs for new technologies and tools, with particular emphasis on AI/ML solutions for operational efficiency Using, configuring, and/or integrating with financial/operations systems, such as ERPs, CLMs, third party risk management systems, and human resource systems Supporting system implementations or technology deployments in a regulated corporate environment Skills Strong understanding of contracts, procurement, and financial management processes, including vendor onboarding, contracts negotiation, third party risk management, invoice management, and budget tracking Self-starter with a proactive, entrepreneurial mindset and drive to take initiative, solve problems, and deliver results independently Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills with ability to influence across organizational levels Current knowledge of emerging technologies and trends, particularly AI/ML applications for operational efficiency and automation Strong project management and organization skills Additional Information Travel up to 10% domestic Lilly is dedicated to helping individuals with disabilities to actively engage in the workforce, ensuring equal opportunities when vying for positions. If you require accommodation to submit a resume for a position at Lilly, please complete the accommodation request form ( https://careers.lilly.com/us/en/workplace-accommodation ) for further assistance. Please note this is for individuals to request an accommodation as part of the application process and any other correspondence will not receive a response. Lilly is proud to be an EEO Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, religion, gender identity, sex, gender expression, sexual orientation, genetic information, ancestry, national origin, protected veteran status, disability, or any other legally protected status. Our employee resource groups (ERGs) offer strong support networks for their members and are open to all employees. Our current groups include: Africa, Middle East, Central Asia Network, Black Employees at Lilly, Chinese Culture Network, Japanese International Leadership Network (JILN), Lilly India Network, Organization of Latinx at Lilly (OLA), PRIDE (LGBTQ Allies), Veterans Leadership Network (VLN), Women’s Initiative for Leading at Lilly (WILL), enAble (for people with disabilities). Learn more about all of our groups. Actual compensation will depend on a candidate’s education, experience, skills, and geographic location. The anticipated wage for this position is $145,500 - $213,400 Full-time equivalent employees also will be eligible for a company bonus (depending, in part, on company and individual performance). In addition, Lilly offers a comprehensive benefit program to eligible employees, including eligibility to participate in a company-sponsored 401(k); pension; vacation benefits; eligibility for medical, dental, vision and prescription drug benefits; flexible benefits (e.g., healthcare and/or dependent day care flexible spending accounts); life insurance and death benefits; certain time off and leave of absence benefits; and well-being benefits (e.g., employee assistance program, fitness benefits, and employee clubs and activities).Lilly reserves the right to amend, modify, or terminate its compensation and benefit programs in its sole discretion and Lilly’s compensation practices and guidelines will apply regarding the details of any promotion or transfer of Lilly employees. WeAreLilly

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