Associate Vice President – Global Communications Innovation & Operations

At Lilly, we unite caring with discovery to make life better for people around the world. We are a global healthcare leader headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. Our employees around the world work to discover and bring life-changing medicines to those who need them, improve the understanding and management of disease, and give back to our communities through philanthropy and volunteerism. We put people first and strive to make life better for people around the world.

This role reports directly into the Chief Communications Officer and leads the development of a bold, data-driven communications strategy that drives measurable business outcomes and stakeholder influence. The AVP operationalizes the communications function through scalable frameworks, measurement systems, and strategic planning processes while challenging the team to think differently about how we communicate. This role oversees creative output for Lilly's owned enterprise channels, partnering closely with the Lilly Social Media Center of Excellence to translate marketing best practices into compelling corporate storytelling.

The AVP ensures our content strategy is informed by trust data, audience insights, and reputational intelligence. The ideal candidate is a forward-thinking, operationally minded leader with a passion for creativity, a strong understanding of modern communications disciplines, and a vision to transform insights into action.

• Lead development of a multi-year communications strategy that is visionary and actionable, grounded in enterprise goals and measurable outcomes.

• Challenge conventional thinking and introduce innovative approaches—from emerging platforms to new storytelling formats.

• Drive creative excellence across owned enterprise channels, ensuring content is strategically informed, audience-centric, and optimized for impact.

• Leverage trust data, audience research, and reputational insights to guide creative strategy and content development.

• Partner with the Lilly Social Media Center of Excellence to adopt marketing innovations and translate learnings into corporate communications.

• Oversee the team of creatives responsible for enterprise storytelling, pushing for breakthrough work aligned with data-driven insights.

• Facilitate priority setting among communications leadership, balancing strategic ambition with operational realities.

• Identify white space opportunities where Lilly can lead in the communications profession.

Measurement & Insights

• Build and lead an industry-leading measurement program connecting communications activities to business outcomes and stakeholder behavior.

• Translate data into actionable insights that inform strategy and optimize creative output.

• Drive understanding of key audiences—who we need to reach, where they are, what they trust, and how to engage them.

• Strengthen team data literacy, ensuring insights drive decisions across all communications.

• Operationalize the communications function through scalable planning, collaboration, and resource allocation processes.

• Standardize frameworks that enhance efficiency without stifling creativity or agility.

• Oversee budget planning, contract negotiations, and agency management to optimize spending.

• Lead a team of project managers aligned to business priorities.

• Drive cross-team collaboration and milestone tracking that connects the dots across communications disciplines.

• Implement AI-driven tools and platforms that capture efficiencies and enhance creative capabilities.

• Lead strategic agenda creation for leadership and all-staff meetings.

• Foster a culture of innovation, collaboration, and creative excellence.

• Develop talent through opportunities to experiment with new approaches.

• Elevate the team's profile through speaking engagements and awards.

• Create an environment where data informs creativity and creativity is measured for impact.

• Bachelor's degree in journalism, communications, public relations, or marketing.

• Minimum 12 years of communications experience, with time spent in a global, matrixed organization.

• Qualified…