Job Summary

The External Innovation function which is comprised of the C360, Search and Evaluate and Corporate Business Development teams collectively manage Lillys ecosystem of partnerships, investments, and acquisitions that accelerate our access to innovative therapies and technologies. The newly established Salesforce CRM platform serves as the source of truth for historical and current partnering conversations and thereby enables line of site across Search Evaluate, Corporate Business Development, and venture teams. The System Custodian will work with the System Owner as well as strategic stakeholders to enable the practical functionality and utility of the system to meet the primary needs of the system users. The system owner and custodian will have the primary accountability for platform governance, cross-team coordination, and alignment with broader External Innovation program objectives. Operating at the intersection of business needs and technical operations, the System Custodian ensures that platform capabilities evolve to serve the changing priorities of External Innovation stakeholders while maintaining system health, data integrity, and operational continuity.

The System Custodian works closely with the System Owner (Salesforce SME and technical authority) to translate business requirements into platform direction, drive strategic platform roadmap prioritization, maintain operational oversite and governance as well as coordinate across SE, CBD, C360 and venture teams to maximize platform value.

Responsibilities

- Platform Governance Roadmap Authority: Define and maintain governance frameworks, decision-making protocols, and prioritization criteria for platform enhancements, configuration changes, and technical debt; partner with the System Owner to evaluate and approve releases and major system changes in alignment with External Innovation strategy.
- Cross-Functional Stakeholder Coordination: Coordinate platform priorities and release schedules across Catalyze360, Search Evaluate, and Corporate Business Development teams; resolve competing stakeholder needs and ensure platform direction reflects the broader External Innovation portfolio.




- Stakeholder Engagement Communication: Maintain structured engagement with External Innovation teams and subject matter experts to surface evolving business needs, communicate platform capabilities and constraints, and translate feedback into actionable platform guidance.
- Platform Operations Data Integrity: Collaborate with Salesforce administration to define and prioritize configuration changes, reporting enhancements, and system optimizations; establish and enforce data quality standards, metadata governance, and information architecture protocols to ensure reliability for downstream analysis and decision-making.
- Platform Health, Adoption Continuous Improvement: Monitor adoption trends, platform health metrics, and user satisfaction; identify and escalate risks to uptime, data quality, or regulatory compliance; track business outcomes and drive continuous improvement based on stakeholder feedback and lessons learned.
- Knowledge Transfer Internal Capability Building: Lead structured knowledge transfer initiatives to document platform architecture, governance decisions, and operational runbooks; build internal Lilly ownership and reduce dependency on external vendors and professional services over time.
- Business Value Realization: Define and track key performance indicators for platform adoption, user experience, and business impact; identify opportunities to increase platform value and communicate progress against strategic objectives to leadership stakeholders.

Basic Qualifications/Requirements

- Bachelors degree in Life Science, Information Systems, Computer Science, or a related field; Masters degree preferred.
- 7+ years of experience in platform operations, systems governance, or technology-enabled business operations,



with at least 3 years managing a Salesforce instance in a post-implementation or operational phase.
- Demonstrated experience translating business requirements from cross-functional stakeholders across multiple business units into documented Salesforce configuration specifications, workflows, or governance policies.
- Proven ability to manage multiple concurrent platform projects to defined timelines and success metrics in a matrixed, international organization.
- Clear written and verbal communication skills, with experience producing documentation and presenting platform guidance to both technical teams and non-technical leadership audiences.

Additional Skills/Preferences

- Salesforce Administrator certification or equivalent hands-on configuration experience, including familiarity with data governance frameworks, metadata management, and platform roadmap prioritization.
- Experience in pharmaceutical, biotech, or life sciences RD operations, with exposure to external innovation strategies or business development partnerships.
- Background managing vendor relationships and professional services engagements, including scope definition, delivery accountability, and agile or iterative implementation methodologies.
- Demonstrated ability to lead without direct authority - building credibility across organizational levels, influencing peer groups, and driving alignment in ambiguous or fast-changing environments.
- Self-directed and adaptable, with a track record of translating unclear requirements into actionable direction through structured stakeholder engagement and a continuous improvement mindset.

Additional Information

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📌 Consultant Sales Force CRM System Custodian (Bengaluru)
🏢 Eli Lilly
📍 Bengaluru