Director, Safety Operations

Job Title: Director, Safety Operations

Department: Safety Operations, Global Patient Safety, Research & Development

Location: Søborg, Denmark

Your impact begins here

As Director, Safety Operations, you will lead the Centre of Expertise and Submission area and shape how safety information moves from affiliates to health authorities. As Novo grows, you will challenge current ways of working and drive automation and simplification, while keeping quality, compliance and timely reporting uncompromised. Your work helps make sure the safety of our treatments is understood and acted on, for the people who rely on them every day.

What you’ll bring

You are an experienced pharmacovigilance leader who combines deep regulatory knowledge with a drive to make operations simpler, faster and more scalable. You will bring:

• A master’s degree in life sciences.
• Extensive pharmacovigilance experience in a large-scale pharmaceutical company, including senior specialist roles.
• Extensive knowledge of international pharmacovigilance legislation and guidelines.
• Proven success optimising processes and systems, with solid knowledge of the business processes and IT systems behind efficient day-to-day safety operations.
• Strong people leadership experience, including leading through other leaders, and the professional authority to set direction.
• Strong communication, negotiation and conflict-management skills, and the ability to analyse and handle complex, urgent or sensitive issues calmly.
• A strategic mindset, the ability to inspire others and the willingness to take tough decisions for the benefit of the wider organisation.

Useful, but not essential:

• Hands-on experience implementing automation in case processing or regulatory submissions.
• Experience working across global hubs or influencing new regulatory requirements in external working groups.

What you’ll do

You will lead the daily operations of the Safety Operations Centre of Expertise and Submissions while setting the future direction for the area. Leading through a manager and directly managing Safety Operations specialists, you will align teams, resolve operational challenges and deliver sustainable improvements across Safety Operations. More specifically, you will:

• Lead the establishment, maintenance and continuous optimisation of end-to-end individual case safety report (ICSR) handling for clinical and post-marketing products, from affiliate intake through regulatory submission.
• Take an end-to-end view of case processing and submissions, challenge current practices and drive operational efficiency, simplification and automation while maintaining quality, compliance and timely regulatory reporting.
• Ensure systems and processes for reporting safety information remain up to date and compliant with regulatory requirements and guidelines, while influencing emerging requirements for safety information handling.
• Build a strong network across headquarters, affiliates and external collaborators, and ensure new procedures and processes are communicated clearly across the worldwide pharmacovigilance organisation.
• Ensure a consistent approach to onboarding and training across Safety Operations, with clear roles and responsibilities that are understood across the organisation.

Who you’ll work with

You will join Safety Operations, part of Global Patient Safety in Research & Development, and report to the VP of Safety Operations. Safety Operations makes sure safety information from clinical development and marketed products is collected, evaluated, processed and reported accurately, in line with global pharmacovigilance requirements. As Novo grows, the team is developing its operating model, systems and data capabilities to support scalability and efficiency.

You will lead a team of around 20 people: the manager of the global submissions team and approximately six Safety Operations specialists who report directly to you. You will secure operational excellence across organisational units in Denmark, the US and Bangalore, India.

Your network will be broad. Internally, you will work with areas across Global Patient Safety, global project teams, Global Trial Portfolio, Enterprise IT, AI and Digital Innovation, regions and affiliates, US Patient Safety, Quality, Finance, Corporate Legal and senior management. Externally, you will interact directly with health authorities, investigators and vendors. These relationships let you move decisions forward quickly and scale improvements globally.

What you can expect here

This is a role with real decision-making authority. You will be trusted to prioritise, resolve issues and delegate independently, and to set objectives that create impact across functions inside and outside Global Patient Safety. You will work in a complex, fast-moving regulatory environment where your voice shapes how safety operations evolve – and where curiosity about automation and simpler ways of working is valued.

You will be part of a culture that values clear priorities, honest feedback and never compromising on patient safety, with opportunities to grow through cross-functional work, global collaboration and relevant learning offerings.

Salary: For this role, the Annual Base Salary ranges from 940,800.00 to 1,448,700.00 DKK, corresponding to the level of the position. 

 
The placement within the salary range will be assessed during the recruitment process based on the candidate’s skills, competencies, knowledge, and relevant experience. 

Incentives and Benefits: The salary package may include short-term and/or long-term incentives as well as other employee benefits based on position level, location, functional area, and relevant market benchmarks. 

Learn more about our Reward Philosophy here. 

Start now

Your impact begins today. If you are ready to lead the next chapter of safety operations at Novo, apply for the Director, Safety Operations role by 25 October 2026. Applications are reviewed on an ongoing basis, so we encourage you to apply as soon as possible.

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

At Novo Nordisk, we're not chasing quick fixes – we're creating lasting change for long-term health. For over 100 years, we've been driven by a single purpose: to defeat serious chronic diseases and help millions of people live healthier lives. This dedication fuels our constant curiosity and inspires us to push the boundaries of what's possible in healthcare. We embrace diverse perspectives, seek out bold ideas, and build partnerships rooted in shared purpose. Together, we're making healthcare more accessible, treating and preventing diseases, and pioneering solutions that create change spanning generations. When you join us, you become part of something bigger – a legacy of impact that reaches far beyond today.