Operations Director Jobs at AbbVie with Visa Sponsorship
Operations Director jobs at AbbVie involve leading manufacturing, supply chain, and quality functions across its global pharmaceutical and biologics network. The company has a consistent track record of sponsoring work visas for operations professionals, including both nonimmigrant and immigrant pathways, making it a realistic target for internationally qualified candidates.
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Company Description
About AbbVie
At Allergan Aesthetics, an AbbVie company, we develop, manufacture, and market a portfolio of leading aesthetics brands and products. Our aesthetics portfolio includes facial injectables, body contouring, plastics, skin care, and more. Our goal is to consistently provide our customers with innovation, education, exceptional service, and a commitment to excellence, all with a personal touch. For more information, visit https://global.allerganaesthetics.com/. Follow Allergan Aesthetics on LinkedIn.
Job Description
Position Overview:
The Associate Director, Strategy & Operations, Practice Economics is responsible for helping build the structure, strategy, and operating discipline for a newly evolving Practice Economics organization within Allergan Aesthetics. This role will support the Vice President, Practice Economics and partner closely with the leadership team to translate strategic priorities into clear plans, governance, execution, and measurable customer and business impact.
This role is based in Irvine, California and will require close collaboration with Practice Economics leadership, cross-functional partners, and field-facing teams.
The ideal candidate will be a strategic, operationally strong leader who is comfortable operating in ambiguity, creating clarity, influencing across a matrixed organization, and driving disciplined follow-through on complex priorities. This individual will bring strong business judgment, executive communication skills, and the ability to connect strategy, governance, insights, cross-functional execution, and leadership communication in support of a newly evolving organization.
Key Responsibilities
Strategic Planning & Business Insights: Partner with the VP, Practice Economics and leadership team to define, refine, and execute Practice Economics strategic priorities, including annual planning, long-range planning, goal setting, prioritization, roadmaps, milestones, owners, and measurable outcomes.
Business Operations & Governance: Establish and manage the Practice Economics operating cadence, including leadership team meetings, business reviews, prioritization forums, governance mechanisms, decision-making processes, initiative tracking, and accountability routines.
Cross-Functional Initiative Leadership: Lead high-priority, cross-functional initiatives from strategy through execution by coordinating workstreams across Practice Consulting, National Accounts, Strategic Planning, Marketing, Analytics, Finance, Operations, and Field teams.
Organizational Effectiveness & Ways of Working: Help define and evolve the Practice Economics operating model, including workstream ownership, governance, decision rights, team interfaces, leadership alignment, role clarity, and repeatable processes that move the team from reactive work toward proactive planning and disciplined execution.
Executive Communications & Special Projects: Develop concise, executive-ready communications, presentations, briefing documents, strategic narratives, recommendations, decision points, and action plans for senior leadership audiences, business reviews, board-level discussions, and major stakeholder engagements.
Performance Management & Accountability: Develop and maintain dashboards, scorecards, operating tools, and progress updates that clarify performance, risks, dependencies, decisions, and execution status across key Practice Economics priorities.
Stakeholder Alignment & Influence: Facilitate alignment across stakeholders with different priorities, timelines, and decision rights while anticipating execution risks, removing barriers, escalating issues, and ensuring initiatives remain connected to broader Practice Economics strategy and customer and business impact.
Qualifications
Education: Bachelor’s degree required. MBA or advanced degree preferred.
Experience: 10+ years of experience in strategy, business operations, commercial operations, management consulting, project leadership, or related functions. Experience leading complex cross-functional initiatives in a matrixed environment. Healthcare, aesthetics, pharmaceutical, medical device, commercial excellence, or customer success experience preferred. Experience supporting senior leadership teams or helping build and scale a new function, center of excellence, or transformation capability preferred.
Skills: Strong business acumen, analytical capability, executive communication skills, and ability to influence without authority. Experience developing operating rhythms, governance processes, executive updates, and performance management tools. Strong PowerPoint, storytelling, executive-level synthesis, and data-driven problem-solving skills.
Attributes: Strategic thinker with operational discipline. Proven ability to manage ambiguity, prioritize competing demands, and convert strategic ideas into disciplined execution. Ownership, accountability, high follow-through, executive presence, curiosity, flexibility, and a solution-oriented mindset. Ability to build trust and drive alignment across teams.
Travel: Some travel may be required through the year, up to 20% of the time.
Additional Information
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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Get Access To All JobsTips for Finding Operations Director Jobs at AbbVie
Align your credentials to pharma GMP standards
AbbVie's operations roles are tied to FDA-regulated manufacturing environments. Frame your resume around GMP compliance, biologics production, or pharmaceutical supply chain experience before you apply. Generic operations credentials won't hold up against candidates with regulated-industry backgrounds.
Target roles with international site accountability
AbbVie's Operations Director openings that span multiple manufacturing sites or global supply chains are more likely to carry visa sponsorship. Prioritize job postings that reference cross-functional or cross-border oversight, since those roles have historically attracted candidates who need sponsorship.
Use Migrate Mate to filter AbbVie operations roles by visa type
Search AbbVie's open Operations Director positions on Migrate Mate to filter specifically by your visa category. This saves time by surfacing only roles where AbbVie has sponsored that visa type, so you're not chasing postings where sponsorship is unlikely.
Clarify your status during the offer conversation
Raise your visa situation once you reach the offer stage, not the application stage. AbbVie uses an in-house immigration team for sponsored roles, so the process is structured. Asking too early can remove you from consideration before hiring managers have assessed your fit.
Understand how PERM timelines affect Director-level offers
If your goal is a Green Card through AbbVie, EB-2 or EB-3 PERM cases for Director-level roles require DOL to certify that no qualified U.S. worker was available. Labor certification processing currently runs 12 to 18 months at DOL, so factor that into your planning before accepting a role.
Prepare for specialty occupation scrutiny on ops leadership roles
USCIS applies the specialty occupation test to H-1B petitions, and operations roles get more scrutiny than technical ones. Make sure your offer letter specifies a degree requirement in a directly related field, such as engineering, life sciences, or supply chain management, not a general management requirement.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does AbbVie sponsor H-1B visas for Operations Directors?
Yes. AbbVie sponsors H-1B visas for Operations Director roles, particularly in manufacturing, supply chain, and quality functions tied to its pharmaceutical and biologics operations. The role needs to qualify as a specialty occupation under USCIS standards, which means the position must require a specific bachelor's degree or higher in a directly related field, such as engineering, life sciences, or supply chain management.
Which visa types does AbbVie commonly use for Operations Director roles?
AbbVie sponsors H-1B, E-3 visa, H-1B1 visa, and TN visas for operations professionals depending on your nationality. For candidates pursuing permanent residence, AbbVie supports EB-2 and EB-3 Green Card pathways through PERM labor certification. F-1 OPT and CPT holders can also be considered for these roles if they meet the experience requirements and there's runway left on their authorization.
What qualifications and experience does AbbVie expect for Operations Director roles?
AbbVie typically expects a bachelor's degree in engineering, life sciences, supply chain, or a related field, with senior leadership experience in FDA-regulated manufacturing environments. Familiarity with GMP compliance, biologics or pharmaceutical production, and cross-functional team management is central to most postings. Advanced degrees or lean manufacturing credentials strengthen your profile for Director-level consideration.
How do I apply for Operations Director jobs at AbbVie?
You can find and filter AbbVie's open Operations Director positions by visa type on Migrate Mate, which shows roles where AbbVie has a documented sponsorship history. Apply through AbbVie's careers portal directly, and tailor your application to the specific function, whether that's manufacturing, supply chain, or quality operations. Clarify your visa situation after you've progressed through initial screening, not in your cover letter.
How long does AbbVie's visa sponsorship process take for Operations Directors?
For H-1B transfers or cap-exempt filings, USCIS standard processing runs three to five months, with premium processing available to reduce that to roughly 15 business days. If AbbVie is filing a new H-1B subject to the annual cap, you'd need to wait for the April lottery window. Green Card sponsorship through PERM adds significantly more time, with DOL labor certification alone currently averaging 12 to 18 months.