Senior Program & Strategy Manager, Consumer Eyecare

Job Title Senior Program & Strategy Manager, Consumer Eyecare

Location Birmingham, UK

Division Consumer Markets

Reports to Head of Global Business & Operations, Consumer Eyecare

Contract Permanent, Full-time (Hybrid - 3 days per week in Birmingham office)

The Senior Program & Strategy Manager, Consumer Eyecare

Purpose of this role

The Senior Program and Strategy Manager, Consumer Eyecare combines rigorous program governance with strategic business development. This individual…

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• Owns end-to-end program governance and the integrated timeline and critical path to deliver Consumer Eyecare launch readiness across regions (Global/US/China) and workstreams, ensuring disciplined execution on the critical path
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• Enables timely decision-making through stage-gate readiness, clear escalation, robust reporting, and strategic recommendations grounded in evidence
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• Aligns internal functions and external partners to deliver on time, within budget, and in full compliance with regulatory and quality requirements
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• Shapes the future direction of Consumer Eyecare by contributing to long-term strategy development
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80% focus: Program governance & execution

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• Own the integrated timeline: Build and maintain the timeline and critical path; ensure consistency/quality of workstream plans; manage dependencies and the critical path
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• Run program governance end-to-end: SteerCos, weekly/bi-weekly cadences, workstream reviews, risk reviews; standardized agendas, pre-reads, minutes, action tracking, and follow-ups
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• Drive cross-functional and cross-regional alignment: Align functions and teams, proactively resolve blockers, accelerate decisions
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• Institutionalize RAID management and mitigation tracking: ensure risks/issues are surfaced early, owned, and actively closed
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• Drive stage-gate readiness: Orchestrate gate deliverables, coordinate cross-functional inputs, and ensure timely delivery & decisions
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• Manage external partners and timelines (e.g., contract manufacturers): Together with Procurement, manage and track delivery, cost, and timing of external partners
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• Support financial steering: Track cost center spends vs. plan, support forecasting, and quantify execution impacts (delay cost, scope changes)
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• Lead quarterly OKR planning and review cycles across functions and regions: Ensure measurable outcomes, accountability, and transparent progress reporting
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• Institutionalize ways of working: Templates, standards, routines, playbooks, and lessons learned to scale the Consumer Eyecare PMO
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20% focus: Strategy and Business Development

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• Lead market analysis for new market expansion: Conduct comprehensive assessments of target markets including market sizing, competitive landscape, regulatory environment, and entry barriers to inform go/no-go decisions for expansion
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• Develop and support business cases: Partner with Finance, Commercial, and Regional teams to build robust business cases for new initiatives, product launches, and market entries—including revenue projections, cost modeling, and ROI analysis
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• Monitor competitive and market intelligence: Track competitor activities, market trends, regulatory changes, and emerging technologies; provide regular strategic briefings to leadership
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• Support strategic decision-making forums: Prepare materials for Board reviews, investment committees, and strategic planning sessions; ensure data quality and strategic coherence of recommendations
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Role requirements

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• 5-8 years of combined experience in program/project management, strategy, management consulting, or business development-ideally in (Consumer) Healthcare, MedTech, or related industries
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• Proven track record delivering multi-country product launches and/or large-scale programs with measurable outcomes (time, cost, quality)
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• Strong governance and execution experience: integrated planning, RAID discipline, action management, escalation judgment, and executive-ready reporting
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• Proven experience conducting market analysis, building business cases, and delivering strategic recommendations to senior leadership
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• Ability to drive accountability; excellent stakeholder management across functions, regions, and seniority levels
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• Strong dependency management and structured problem-solving; comfortable translating ambiguity into executable plans
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• Advanced proficiency with project management and reporting tools (e.g., Smartsheet/MS Project), plus advanced skills in MS PowerPoint/Excel
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• High-quality written and verbal communication; able to synthesize complex inputs into clear management narratives
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• Comfortable operating across time zones and cultures; high reliability, ownership mindset, and resilience under pressure
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Diversity is a part of ZEISS. We look forward to receiving your application regardless of gender, nationality, ethnic and social origin, religion, philosophy of life, disability, age, sexual orientation or identity.