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Associate Director, Portfolio Insights

AbbVie · North Chicago, IL · Full time · Business Development

Posted Aug 6, 2026 · We last checked this listing on Oct 6, 2026

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Likely interview questions for this role

Written from this job description, not a generic list. Each one notes what the interviewer is really checking.

About your past

You act as a strategic partner to therapeutic area leadership. How do you get invited into a decision rather than asked to justify one?

What they are checking: Earning a seat, which is the difference between analytics and influence.

Tell me about an analysis that changed what leadership decided.

What they are checking: Whether their analysis has changed what leaders decided, which is the real test of value in a portfolio insights role.

This is an associate director seat at North Chicago working across therapeutic areas rather than inside one. What appeals to you about the cross-portfolio view?

What they are checking: That they want the breadth rather than a step up in title.

What would you do

You support capital allocation analytics and quarterly portfolio prioritization. What makes a prioritization process actually change a decision?

What they are checking: Whether they have seen a prioritization process actually change funding, since many portfolio reviews just confirm decisions already made.

How do you present analysis to a therapeutic area leader whose program your numbers do not favor?

What they are checking: Whether they can deliver unwelcome numbers to a powerful leader with tact, without softening the analysis to keep the peace.

How do you keep a portfolio model from becoming a black box that only you understand?

What they are checking: Whether they build models others can follow and maintain, so the company is not stranded when the original author moves on.

The posting names driving high-priority strategic initiatives for the coming year. How do you take on a broadly stated initiative and make it concrete?

What they are checking: Whether they can turn a vague executive priority into a scoped plan with clear deliverables, which this role is expected to do.

About the work

This role drives probability of technical and regulatory success insights for therapeutic areas. How do you arrive at a probability for an asset that has no precedent?

What they are checking: Honest method on a number that is easy to fabricate.

You would advance research and development productivity benchmarking against peers. What benchmark tells you something useful, and what is just noise?

What they are checking: Whether they are skeptical of peer benchmarks, because companies count research spending differently and the comparisons can badly mislead leadership.

Walk me through building a value metric for an early pipeline asset.

What they are checking: Whether they can value an early asset honestly when probabilities are low and uncertain, without false precision that misleads decision makers.

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The full job description

As published by AbbVie.

The Portfolio Insights team is responsible for enabling AbbVie to make data-driven decisions on portfolio choices both within and across Therapeutic Areas (TAs). Core responsibilities include valuation of the internal portfolio, PTRS (probability of technical and regulatory success) assessments, cross-TA prioritization of R&D spend, benchmarking and analytic support for annual financial business processes. The Associate Director, Portfolio Insights drives high-impact strategic projects and provides broad exposure across Portfolio Insights’ core capabilities. Success will position the Associate Director to transition into a longer-term focus area within Portfolio Insights based on strengths and business needs; options include: • TA strategic partner: Drive value metrics and PTRS insights for one or more therapeutic areas in partnership with TA leadership. • Cross-TA prioritization: Support prioritization and capital allocation analytics (e.g., Quarterly Portfolio Prioritization process enhancements), helping ensure R&D investment is directed toward the highest-value opportunities. • Data strategy and benchmarking insights: Advance the R&D productivity benchmarking agenda (e.g., peer comparisons) and translate findings into actionable insights for decision-makers. Core Responsibilities: • Strategic initiative leadership: Drive high-priority 2026 strategic initiatives, including but not limited to: • Continue to enhance the Quarterly Portfolio Prioritization (QPP) process to improve AbbVie’s ability to effectively allocate capital to the areas of greatest value creation. • Pull-through ongoing modernization of AbbVie’s valuation methodologies to best-in-class assessment approaches – including AI/ML driven PTRS assessment. • Institute R&D productivity as a core organizational mindset by collaborating on the “R&D Pulse” initiative and benchmarking AbbVie’s performance versus peers. • Cross-functional agility: Flex into different areas of the portfolio to conduct ad-hoc, short-term analyses, scenario planning, and strategic projects at the request of leadership. • Executive narrative development: Deliver high-impact recommendations on project value, trade-offs, and scenarios to senior leadership. Prepare actionable insights and executive narratives for the monthly Portfolio Review Forum, R&D Plan, and Financial Long Range Planning (LRP). • Change management & capability building: Socialize the value and practical implications of moving to a more data-driven approach for key decision-making across TA leadership. Build capabilities within the team and across the organization. • Value assessment & analytics: Build value metrics (e.g., risk-adjusted net present value (raNPV), Productivity Index) and scenario analyses to drive effective drug development decisions. Constructively pressure-test assumptions and inputs provided by functional stakeholders (e.g., Finance, PPM). • Democratization of data: Support efforts to deploy and improve dashboards for interrogating the R&D portfolio, exploring new use cases that leverage AbbVie’s foundational portfolio data. • Bachelor’s degree in a scientific or business field required; advanced degree (e.g., PharmD, PhD, MD, MBA) highly preferred. • Prior experience in management consulting, with a track record in R&D strategy / portfolio prioritization projects, strongly preferred. • Preferred years of experience: 6+ with a Bachelor’s, 4+ with a Master’s, or 2+ with a Doctorate. • Exceptional analytical and problem-solving skills, with a deep understanding of Pharma R&D business processes, investment stage-gating, and commercial forecasting. • Demonstrated success in fast-paced, ambiguous settings; proven track record of leading complex strategic initiatives without direct authority. • High level of executive presence; ability to navigate different functional perspectives, challenge the status quo, and drive enterprise thinking. • Excellent oral and written communication skills, with the ability to distill complex data into clear, compelling narratives for senior leadership. • Strong organizational and project management skills, with the ability to drive multiple workstreams simultaneously. Key Stakeholders: • Portfolio governance: PPM (Program and Portfolio Management), ASL (Asset Strategy Leadership). • R&D functions: Clinical Development, Regulatory, Statistics, R&D Strategic Resourcing. • Finance partners: R&D Finance, Commercial Finance. • Commercial, partnering & business development: Pipeline Commercialization, Commercial Business Units, Search & Evaluation, Business Development. • Strategic partners: Innovation, Transformation, TA Strategy. Applicable only to applicants applying to a position in any location with pay disclosure requirements under state or local law: ​ • The compensation range described below is the range of possible base pay compensation that the Company believes in good faith it will pay for this role at the time of this posting based on the job grade for this position. Individual compensation paid within this range will depend on many factors including geographic location, and we may ultimately pay more or less than the posted range. This range may be modified in the future. ​ • We offer a comprehensive package of benefits including paid time off (vacation, holidays, sick), medical/dental/vision insurance and 401(k) to eligible employees.​ • This job is eligible to participate in our long-term incentive programs. ​ Note: No amount of pay is considered to be wages or compensation until such amount is earned, vested, and determinable. The amount and availability of any bonus, commission, incentive, benefits, or any other form of compensation and benefits that are allocable to a particular employee remains in the Company's sole and absolute discretion unless and until paid and may be modified at the Company’s sole and absolute discretion, consistent with applicable law. AbbVie is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to operating with integrity, driving innovation, transforming lives and serving our community.  Equal Opportunity Employer/Veterans/Disabled. US & Puerto Rico only - to learn more, visit https://www.abbvie.com/join-us/equal-employment-opportunity-employer.html US & Puerto Rico applicants seeking a reasonable accommodation, click here to learn more: https://www.abbvie.com/join-us/reasonable-accommodations.html

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