Gilead Sciences, Inc. Posted September 1, 2026

Sr Director, Corporate Strategy & Projects

Foster City, United States Full time
BD&L & Strategic Planning Senior Director
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Gilead Sciences, Inc. is the source of truth for this posting and owns the application process. We surface normalized context and market comparison you won't find on the original listing.

About this opportunity

At Gilead, we’re creating a healthier world for all people. For more than 35 years, we’ve tackled diseases such as HIV, viral hepatitis, COVID-19 and cancer – working relentlessly to develop therapies that help improve lives and to ensure access to these therapies across the globe. We continue to fight against the world’s biggest health challenges, and our mission requires collaboration, determination and a relentless drive to make a difference.

Every member of Gilead’s team plays a critical role in the discovery and development of life-changing scientific innovations. Our employees are our greatest asset as we work to achieve our bold ambitions, and we’re looking for the next wave of passionate and ambitious people ready to make a direct impact.

We believe every employee deserves a great leader. People Leaders are the cornerstone to the employee experience at Gilead and Kite. As a people leader now or in the future, you are the key driver in evolving our culture and creating an environment where every employee feels included, developed and empowered to fulfil their aspirations. Join Gilead and help create possible, together.

Job Description

Reporting to the VP, Corporate Strategy & Projects, the Senior Director serves as a strategic thought partner to senior leadership, helping shape enterprise strategy, influencing critical decisions, and leading initiatives that drive long-term value creation.

This leader identifies, frames, and advances the company's most important strategic decisions, translating long-term ambition into actionable priorities and measurable outcomes. The Senior Director builds alignment across senior leaders, influences enterprise decision-making, and drives complex initiatives requiring executive sponsorship and broad organizational engagement.

Success in this role requires building trusted partnerships across the enterprise. Team members are expected to have exceptional strategic judgment, executive presence, influence, and the ability to connect perspectives across functions to drive enterprise outcomes.

Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

Enterprise Strategy & Insights

Serve as a strategic advisor to the VP and senior leaders on high-priority enterprise issues.

Lead development of strategic frameworks, recommendations, and perspectives on the company's most critical business challenges.

Lead major components of corporate strategy development, enterprise planning, and scenario planning.

Assess external trends, strategic risks, and long-term growth opportunities to help shape enterprise priorities and strategic direction.

Strategic Initiatives & Execution

Own and independently lead complex enterprise initiatives sponsored by executive leadership.

Establish governance structures and operating mechanisms that enable effective execution and decision-making.

Drive enterprise outcomes by aligning stakeholders, resolving competing priorities, and ensuring delivery against strategic objectives.

Cross-Functional Leadership & Influence

Align leaders across functions around enterprise priorities and strategic decisions.

Lead cross-functional problem solving and influence decisions in highly matrixed environments.

Foster enterprise-first thinking, collaboration, and high-quality decision-making.

Executive & Board Engagement

Lead development of strategic recommendations and executive communications for senior leadership and the Board.

Shape Board and GLT discussions through strategic insights, recommendations, and facilitation of workshops, strategy sessions, and other key forums.

Serve as a trusted advisor on enterprise strategic matters.

Organizational & Talent Development

Contribute to a culture of curiosity, collaboration, and continuous improvement

Mentor and coach junior team members and rotational talent.

Foster an enterprise mindset and strategic leadership capabilities across the organization.

Basic Qualifications

Bachelor's degree and 14+ years of relevant experience; or Master's degree, MBA, PhD, or MD and 12+ years of relevant experience.

Significant experience in corporate strategy, management consulting, corporate development, business operations, finance, or related fields.

Strong understanding of Gilead's portfolio, business model, and strategic context.

Preferred Qualifications

Deep biotechnology, biopharmaceutical, or life sciences expertise.

Demonstrated success influencing enterprise-level strategic decisions.

Proven experience leading large-scale cross-functional strategic initiatives.

Experience developing corporate or enterprise strategy.

Experience partnering directly with executive leadership and supporting Board-level discussions.

Strong systems-thinking orientation and enterprise mindset.

Ability to balance long-term strategic thinking with executional pragmatism.

Executive presence and confidence challenging assumptions constructively.

Exceptional communication, stakeholder management, and influence skills.

Expertise in executive storytelling and strategic communications.

Proven ability to develop and mentor high-potential talent.

Ability to thrive in highly ambiguous and rapidly evolving environments.

The salary range for this position is: $261,375.00 - $338,250.00. Gilead considers a variety of factors when determining base compensation, including experience, qualifications, and geographic location. These considerations mean actual compensation will vary. This position may also be eligible for a discretionary annual bonus, discretionary stock-based long-term incentives (eligibility may vary based on role), paid time off, and a benefits package. Benefits include company-sponsored medical, dental, vision, and life insurance plans*.

For additional benefits information, visit:

https://www.gilead.com/careers/compensation-benefits-and-wellbeing

* Eligible employees may participate in benefit plans, subject to the terms and conditions of the applicable plans.

For jobs in the United States:

Gilead Sciences Inc. is committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment, and is dedicated to fostering an inclusive work environment comprised of diverse perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences. Employment decisions regarding recruitment and selection will be made without discrimination based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex , age, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, genetic information or characteristic, gender identity and expression, veteran status, or other non-job related characteristics or other prohibited grounds specified in applicable federal, state and local laws. In order to ensure reasonable accommodation for individuals protected by Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Vietnam Era Veterans' Readjustment Act of 1974, and Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, applicants who require accommodation in the job application process may contact ApplicantAccommodations@gilead.com  for assistance.

For more information about equal employment opportunity protections, please view the  'Know Your Rights' poster.

NOTICE: EMPLOYEE POLYGRAPH PROTECTION ACT

YOUR RIGHTS UNDER THE FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE ACT

Gilead Sciences will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, (c) consistent with the  legal duty to furnish information; or (d) otherwise protected by law.

Our environment respects individual differences and recognizes each employee as an integral member of our company. Our workforce reflects these values and celebrates the individuals who make up our growing team.

Gilead provides a work environment free of harassment and prohibited conduct. We promote and support individual differences and diversity of thoughts and opinion.

For Current Gilead Employees and Contractors:

Please apply via the Internal Career Opportunities portal in Workday.

Job details

Seniority
Senior Director
Function
BD&L & Strategic Planning
Therapeutic area
Not listed
Location
Foster City, United States
Employment type
Full time

How this role compares

Computed from every other active BD&L & Strategic Planning role in our database, not just this employer's listings.

We currently track 50 comparable Senior Director BD&L & Strategic Planning roles across 24 biopharma companies.

50Comparable roles tracked
38Currently active
24Companies hiring similar roles
10Countries represented

Salary context

15 of 50 peers report a salary range (USD, annualized)

Peers share this role's job function and a matching or adjacent seniority level -- not necessarily the same therapeutic area or country.

This roleSubject $261,375/yr – $338,250/yr
Lowest disclosed · Director Global Strategic Projects · Merck KGaA $165,100/yr – $247,700/yr
Peer group range $206,400 – $380,750 (median $252,000)

Where these roles are based

Top locations among the 50 comparable roles

United States26
China9
Germany5
Switzerland3
United Kingdom2
Israel1

+ 4 more countries

Seniority mix

50 of 50 peers have a known seniority level

Director41
Executive/VP5
Senior Director4

Therapeutic area mix

13 of 50 peers have a known therapeutic area; the rest are genuinely unlabeled, not hidden

Immunology5
Oncology4
Neuroscience3
Cardiovascular / CVRM1

Similar opportunities

The closest matches from our peer group, ranked by how similar they are, not how well you'd qualify for them -- treat this as market context, not a guaranteed shortlist; a weak match is labeled as one below.

50%similar
Lilly Indianapolis, Indiana, United States of America Executive/VP
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50%similar
Novartis Cambridge (USA), United States Director
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50%similar
Gilead Sciences, Inc. Foster City, United States Executive/VP
Same function Adjacent seniority Same country
50%similar
Novartis East Hanover, United States Director
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50%similar
Regeneron Genetics Center (USA) Tarrytown, United States Director
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50%similar
Pfizer New York City, United States Director
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Notify me about similar jobs

Get an email when we spot other openings like this one – same job function, comparable seniority, roles you'd actually want to see.

How we calculate "similar"

No black box, no LLM guesswork: a deterministic score built from four normalized attributes. Here's this role's own peer group at different match levels, so you can see the mechanism, not just the result.

Every comparison starts from the same 100-point budget: 25 for working in the same function, 40 for the same therapeutic area, 20 for the same or adjacent seniority, 15 for the same country. A dimension we can't confirm on both sides contributes nothing, never a guess, never a free pass.

50%
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Unmatched or unknown dimensions score exactly the same: 0 points, never a partial guess. A role we know almost nothing about beyond its function bottoms out at 25%; it never inflates to 100% just because there's little to compare against. Seniority uses a defined ladder (Associate → Manager → Associate Director → Senior → Principal → Director → Senior Director → Executive/VP) so "Director" and "Senior Director" count as adjacent, but "Director" and "Executive/VP" do not.