Associate Director, R&D Portfolio FP&A
Posted Sep 8, 2026 · We last checked this listing on Oct 6, 2026
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
How do you prepare executive-level financial material that drives a decision rather than describing a position?
What they are checking: Whether they build executive material that frames a clear choice and its consequences, rather than describing spending for its own sake.
How do you tell a programme leader their budget assumption doesn't hold?
What they are checking: Whether they can tell a program leader a budget assumption is wrong, clearly and respectfully, with evidence that holds up.
What would you do
How do you reconcile numbers across therapeutic areas and functions when each has its own view?
What they are checking: Whether they can reconcile conflicting numbers from different teams into one trusted view, which this role is responsible for producing.
A therapeutic area's spend is running well under plan. What do you do?
What they are checking: Whether they investigate underspend as hard as overspend, since it often signals trial delays that will move costs into later years.
This is based at North Chicago. What would you want to know about the portfolio and the current process before you took it?
What they are checking: Whether they ask about the inherited process and portfolio before accepting, which shows the judgment a finance leader needs on day one.
About the work
This role oversees planning and analysis for research and development external spend and the wider portfolio. Walk me through managing an external spend plan across a research organization.
What they are checking: Whether they have actually managed an external research spend plan, with its many vendors and moving timelines, rather than only reported on it.
The posting names the plan, long-range plan and latest business estimate. How do those differ in what you build and who you build them with?
What they are checking: Whether they understand how the annual plan, long-range plan and latest estimate differ in purpose, horizon and the people involved.
You'd design and build portfolio and consolidated views in Power BI. What have you built there, and how do you keep it accurate?
What they are checking: Whether they build Power BI views that leaders trust, which depends on data discipline and reconciliation as much as on design.
You'd support the monthly portfolio review and quarterly prioritization. What does finance actually contribute to a prioritization decision?
What they are checking: Whether they understand that finance adds cost, timing and trade-off clarity to prioritization, while leaving the science to scientists.
External research spend is hard to forecast because trials move. How do you build a forecast that survives that?
What they are checking: Whether they forecast trial-driven spending with ranges and clear assumptions, because clinical timelines slip and a single number misleads people.
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Practice this out loudThe full job description
As published by AbbVie.