Senior Director - Applied Design Research

Location: Plainsboro
Posted on: June 23, 2025

Job Description:

About the Department Our Marketing & Patient Solutions group creates and delivers human-centered experiences, where innovation meets customer-centricity, driving the ultimate experience for our patients. Our focus extends beyond transactions to craft experiences as one fully integrated, aligned and connected organization that puts empathy at the center, powered by insight and foresight. We develop an end-to-end approach to strategy, focusing on every touchpoint that impacts our customers. We leverage data and insights to inform our decision-making processes, ensuring that our strategies are rooted in a deep understanding of customer needs and behaviors. Our 'test and learn’ mindset and approach enables us to iterate rapidly and refine our strategies based on real-world results. We are building an intentional team culture that is made up of diverse skillsets, united by the shared belief that reinvention and learning is what fuels continuous growth. Do you get excited about exploring the unknown? Does the idea of driving value through human-centered design pull you in? Are you ready to experiment with us? The Position The Senior Director, Applied Design Research leverages behavioural science and qualitative research to inform and drive design decisions, experience interventions, and innovation initiatives. This role is instrumental in translating customer insights into actionable strategies that enhance the overall customer experience across all touchpoints. This role will lead a skilled team of behaviour science experts to design and manage experiments and tests that generate actionable insights and drive behaviour change. It will lay the groundwork for projects with a solid behavioural foundation, ensuring stakeholder alignment and scalable outcomes that significantly impact our business. Relationships Reports to the Head of Customer Experience. Collaborates across the Customer Experience(CX) team and across MPS to design and implement optimized patient and HCP experiences, removing key friction points along their journeys. Essential Functions · Behavioural Science and Qualitative Research Design and execute comprehensive qualitative research initiatives, including interviews, focus groups, and contextual inquiries, to uncover deep customer insights. Apply behavioural science principles to interpret research findings and guide the design of interventions that resonate with user motivations and needs. Collaborate with stakeholders to define the research agenda, ensuring alignment with strategic objectives for CX enhancement · Design CX Experiments and Interventions Lead the conceptualization and implementation of customer experience experiments that test new interventions, interfaces, and engagement strategies. Develop prototypes and mockups for new services, ensuring they are grounded in user insights and tested with real customers for validity. Synthesize results from experiments and provide actionable recommendations to design teams and stakeholders for iterative improvements · Cross-functional Collaboration Work closely with the CX Strategy & Blueprinting Lead and UX teams to ensure research insights are integrated into design processes and customer journey development. Facilitate workshops and co-creation sessions with teams to promote collaboration and align efforts around customer-centered design. Share best practices and insights from research with internal teams to foster a culture of continuous learning and improvement in design approaches · People Development and Coaching Responsible for setting and communicating clear individualized role expectations for each report based on position, skills, talents, and objectives. Ensure that reporting personnel have strengths-based individual development plans (IDP), with annual goals and measurements that are consistent with the priorities of the business. Provide regular coaching of reports that prioritizes appropriate challenging, development, feedback, regular recognition, and support Physical Requirements Approximately 20-30% overnight travel. Development Of People Non-Supervisory. Manage the application and communication of all Novo Nordisk policies, procedures, and Novo Nordisk Way. Qualifications · Requires a Bachelor’s degree; Master’s degree or PhD in Behavioural Science, Psychology, Data Science or related field strongly preferred · 12 years of experience, including demonstrated, practical experience applying behavioural science in a product environment · 8 years of leading a team of behavioural science experts · Proven track record of designing and executing successful experiments and optimization projects · Experience in pharmaceutical industry/life sciences/health care/health insurance/health tech is a plus · Understanding chronic disease areas especially diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular diseases is a plus · Experience using data analytics to inform experiment design decisions and recognize user behaviour patterns · Demonstrated ability to drive innovation in design strategies and stay ahead of industry trends · Creative thinking and problem-solving aptitude · Demonstrated collaboration skills in leading cross-functional teams required · Embodies leadership behaviors, including authenticity, servant leadership, will, empathy, decisiveness, a growth mindset, and driving focus and simplicity · Experience managing and collaborating with external partners · Experience leading and implementing organizational change and transformation initiatives · People management experience required, with a proven track record of development and coaching The base compensation range for this position is $181,670 to $317,920. Base compensation is determined based on a number of factors. This position is also eligible for a company bonus based on individual and company performance. Novo Nordisk offers long-term incentive compensation and or company vehicles depending on the position's level or other company factors. Employees are also eligible to participate in Company employee benefit programs including medical, dental and vision coverage; life insurance; disability insurance; 401(k) savings plan; flexible spending accounts; employee assistance program; tuition reimbursement program; and voluntary benefits such as group legal, critical illness, identity theft protection, pet insurance and auto/home insurance. The Company also offers time off pursuant to its sick time policy, flex-able vacation policy, and parental leave policy. We commit to an inclusive recruitment process and equality of opportunity for all our job applicants. At Novo Nordisk we recognize that it is no longer good enough to aspire to be the best company in the world. We need to aspire to be the best company for the world and we know that this is only possible with talented employees with diverse perspectives, backgrounds and cultures. We are therefore committed to creating an inclusive culture that celebrates the diversity of our employees, the patients we serve and communities we operate in. Together, we’re life changing. Novo Nordisk is an equal opportunity employer. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, ethnicity, color, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, protected veteran status or any other characteristic protected by local, state or federal laws, rules or regulations. If you are interested in applying to Novo Nordisk and need special assistance or an accommodation to apply, please call us at 1-855-411-5290. This contact is for accommodation requests only and cannot be used to inquire about the status of applications.

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