Vice President, Safety Operations, Novo

Vice President, Safety Operations, Novo

Lead the continued development of Safety Operations, strengthening compliance, efficiency and scalability to support Novo’s  growth.

Novo is seeking a senior leader in Global Safety Operations / Pharmacovigilance , with deep expertise in high-volume safety case processing and a track record of leading complex, large-scale operations in a major pharmaceutical environment.

You will shape the continued development of a large global organisation, strengthening its operating model through data-driven performance management, process improvement, automation, digital solutions and artificial intelligence. You will be accountable not only for delivering high-quality, compliant and timely safety operations at scale , but also for shaping the next generation of the operations: simpler, more data-driven, more automated.

The Position

As Vice President of Safety Operations, you will lead the strategy, development and performance of the global function, ensuring compliant collection, evaluation, monitoring and reporting of safety information.

Your mandate is to build on the strengths of the organisation while continuing to improve quality, productivity and scalability. You will identify opportunities to simplify and standardise processes, strengthen data-driven decision-making and advance automation and digital solutions, while preserving critical scientific expertise and maintaining a strong focus on compliance and patient safety.

You will lead an international organisation across Denmark and Bangalore, create alignment and accountability across sites, and partner closely with Global Patient Safety, Development, Quality, Information Technology, Legal, Finance, affiliates and external stakeholders.

The position reports to the GVP of Global Patient Safety and is part of the Global Patient Safety leadershipteam .

Key Responsibilities

• Set and execute the strategy for Safety Operations, ensuring quality, compliance and strong operational performance.
• Drive continuous improvement and modernisation of processes, operating models and ways of working.
• Advance the use of automation, digital technologies, data and artificial intelligence where these can improve quality, efficiency and scalability.
• Ensure robust global safety case management, inspection readiness and compliance with pharmacovigilance requirements.
• Use data and performance indicators to guide decisions on workload, capacity, quality, risk and resources.
• Lead workforce, succession and budget planning across geographies.
• Develop the leadership team and strengthen organisational capability, engagement and accountability.
• Ensure effective safety information exchange with authorities, affiliates, partners and other stakeholders.
• Build strong cross-functional partnerships and contribute to the strategic development of Global Patient Safety.

About You

We are looking for a senior pharmacovigilance leader with deep Safety Operations expertise and a strong track record of improving complex global operations and delivering sustained performance improvement.

You bring substantial leadership experience from global pharmacovigilance or Safety Operations in a large pharmaceutical organisation, with accountability for high-volume operations across multiple geographies, products, partners or vendors.

You have experience evolving operating models, improving ways of working and leading significant change when needed, with measurable impact on productivity, quality, cycle time, cost or scalability. You combine strong knowledge of end-to-end safety case management, global regulatory requirements, compliance, inspection readiness and safety systems with demonstrated experience applying automation, digital solutions, data and artificial intelligence to strengthen operational performance.

You are comfortable leading managers and international teams across a complex global delivery model and understand how to bring people with you as the organisation evolves. Experience across Europe, the United States and India, or comparable geographies, is advantageous.

You combine pharmacovigilance credibility with strategic perspective, sound business judgement and disciplined execution. Analytical and action-oriented, you translate data and operational insight into clear priorities, identify opportunities for improvement and help the organisation continue to evolve in a thoughtful and sustainable way.

You operate confidently in ambiguity, make difficult decisions when required and influence effectively across functions, cultures and geographies.

About Safety Operations

Safety Operations, part of Global Patient Safety, ensures that safety information from clinical development and marketed products is collected, evaluated, processed and reported accurately in line with global pharmacovigilance requirements.

The organisation operates globally and collaborates closely with Development, affiliates, Quality, Information Technology, Legal, Finance, external partners and regulatory authorities.

As Novo grows, Safety Operations is continuing to develop its operating model, systems and data capabilities to support scalability, efficiency and strong operational oversight while maintaining high standards of quality, compliance and inspection readiness.

Application deadline: 15 October 2026

For further information, please contact Executive Search Advisor Kristoffer Baadsgaard at +45 30 77 56 05.

We commit to an inclusive recruitment process and equality of opportunity for all our job applicants.