Director, Digital Product Management & Chief of Staff

The Director, Digital Product Management & Chief of Staff leads the standards, operating model, governance, and capabilities that enable effective product management across the Digital / eCommerce organization. The role also serves as a strategic partner and Chief of Staff to digital leadership, helping translate strategy into priorities, operating rhythms, decisions, and coordinated execution. Working across Product, UX / Design, Engineering, Data, Commercial, and business teams, this leader strengthens product maturity, drives alignment across the portfolio, prepares executive-level insights and communications, and ensures that key initiatives, resources, risks, and dependencies are actively managed to deliver measurable customer and business outcomes.

How you will thrive and create an impact

• Lead and continuously improve the Product Management practice, including product discovery, prioritization, roadmap development, delivery, measurement, governance, and supporting tools. 

• Partner with the Chief Digital Officer and digital leadership team to translate enterprise and digital/eCommerce strategy into clear priorities, initiatives, milestones, and measures of success. 

• Establish and manage leadership operating rhythms, including leadership meetings, strategic reviews, portfolio discussions, decision forums, and follow-up mechanisms that strengthen accountability and execution. 

• Coordinate annual and multi-year strategic planning for the Digital / eCommerce organization, integrating customer needs, commercial priorities, technology dependencies, resource requirements, and investment choices. 

• Develop executive-ready materials, business updates, decision briefs, presentations, and communications that clearly articulate strategy, performance, risks, trade-offs, and recommended actions. 

• Maintain an integrated view of the digital portfolio; track priorities, commitments, key performance indicators, risks, dependencies, and decisions, and escalate issues requiring leadership attention. 

• Facilitate alignment and coordinated execution across Product, UX / Design, Engineering, Data, Commercial, Operations, Finance, HR, and other business partners. 

• Set and steward product management standards, methodologies, governance, and tools, reducing unnecessary variation and improving quality and consistency across teams. 

• Advance product and UX maturity through capability assessments, modern operating practices, communities of practice, targeted development, and AI-enabled ways of working. 

• Support product talent and capability planning, including role clarity, job architecture, career paths, hiring standards, onboarding, calibration, succession planning, and leadership development. 

• Lead selected cross-functional strategic initiatives on behalf of digital leadership, moving ambiguous topics from analysis and recommendation through decision and implementation. 

• Champion customer-centricity, outcome orientation, data-informed decisions, disciplined execution, and transparent communication across the Digital / eCommerce organization. 

What we're looking for

• Bachelor’s degree required; MBA or other advanced degree preferred. 

• 10+ years of progressive experience in product management, digital strategy, eCommerce, business operations, management consulting, or a related field. 

• Demonstrated experience supporting a senior executive or leadership team in a Chief of Staff, strategy, transformation, portfolio, or comparable cross-functional capacity. 

• Experience building or improving product management practices, operating models, governance, standards, and organizational capabilities. 

• Proven success leading complex, cross-functional digital initiatives from strategy through execution in a matrixed organization. 

• Experience preparing executive-level analyses, presentations, communications, and recommendations and facilitating leadership decision-making. 

• Demonstrated ability to connect digital and product investments to measurable customer, commercial, and operational outcomes. 

• B2B eCommerce, distribution, or life sciences industry experience preferred. 

• Experience with UX / Design, product and portfolio analytics, organizational design, talent frameworks, and AI-enabled ways of working preferred. 

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES

• Strong knowledge of product management practices, digital and eCommerce operating models, portfolio planning, governance, and performance measurement. 

• Strategic thinking and structured problem-solving, with the ability to convert complex or ambiguous issues into clear options, recommendations, and action plans. 

• Strong business and financial acumen, including the ability to assess investments, capacity, dependencies, trade-offs, and business impact. 

• Excellent executive communication and storytelling skills, with the ability to synthesize information into concise presentations, briefings, and messages for varied audiences. 

• Ability to design effective leadership operating rhythms, facilitate decision-making, document actions, and drive follow-through without relying on formal authority. 

• Strong program and portfolio management skills, including prioritization, milestone and KPI tracking, risk management, dependency management, and executive escalation. 

• Ability to build alignment across Product, UX / Design, Engineering, Data, Commercial, Operations, Finance, HR, and business teams in a complex matrixed environment. 

• Understanding of customer-centered design, outcome-based planning, product and UX maturity, and data-informed decision-making. 

• High judgment, discretion, adaptability, and organizational awareness, with a collaborative leadership style and a strong commitment to accountability and ethical conduct. 

Disclaimer:

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by employees assigned to this classification. They are not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties and skills required of employees assigned to this position. Avantor is proud to be an equal opportunity employer.

Why Avantor?

Dare to go further in your career. Join our global team of 14,000+ associates whose passion for discovery and determination to overcome challenges relentlessly advances life-changing science.
 
The work we do changes people's lives for the better. It brings new patient treatments and therapies to market, giving a cancer survivor the chance to walk his daughter down the aisle. It enables medical devices that help a little boy hear his mom's voice for the first time. Outcomes such as these create unlimited opportunities for you to contribute your talents, learn new skills and grow your career at Avantor.
 
We are committed to helping you on this journey through our diverse, equitable and inclusive culture which includes learning experiences to support your career growth and success. At Avantor, dare to go further and see how the impact of your contributions set science in motion to create a better world. Apply today!

Pay Transparency:

The expected pre-tax pay for this position is

Actual pay may differ depending on relevant factors such as prior experience and geographic location.

EEO Statement:

We are an Equal Employment/Affirmative Action employer and VEVRAA Federal Contractor. We do not discriminate in hiring on the basis of sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, color, religious creed, national origin, physical or mental disability, protected Veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state/province, or local law.

If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the employment process, please contact us by email at [email protected] and let us know the nature of your request and your contact information. Requests for accommodation will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Please note that only inquiries concerning a request for reasonable accommodation will be responded to from this email address.

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3rd Party Non-Solicitation Policy:

By submitting candidates without having been formally assigned on and contracted for a specific job requisition by Avantor, or by failing to comply with the Avantor recruitment process, you forfeit any fee on the submitted candidates, regardless of your usual terms and conditions. Avantor works with a preferred supplier list and will take the initiative to engage with recruitment agencies based on its needs and will not be accepting any form of solicitation.

Avantor offers a comprehensive benefits package including medical, dental, and vision coverage, wellness programs, health savings and flexible spending accounts, a 401(k) plan with company match, and an employee stock purchase program. Employees also receive 11 paid holidays, accrue 18 PTO days annually, are eligible for volunteer time off and 6 weeks of 100% paid parental leave (except in states that offer paid family leave). These benefits may not apply to employees covered by a collective bargaining agreement or those subject to other eligibility rules.