Confidential mandate
Adviser to Chief Executive — Pharmaceutical GCC Establishment
Planned Hiring / New
A global pharmaceutical enterprise seeks a senior adviser to guide its India GCC proposition, governance and capability sequence before committing significant capital to a Hyderabad build-out.
The mandate
The enterprise has not resolved whether its India centre should aggregate transactions, own global digital products or become a regulated science-capability hub. Each business unit proposes work, but no common logic governs sequencing, accountability or enterprise value.
The adviser commits three days per month to sponsor coaching, capability review and GCC Steering Committee attendance. Questions affecting the board investment case receive acknowledgement within one working day and a written position within four.
The ten-month term spans business-case approval through the first leadership appointments. A two-month renewal may be granted by the enterprise CEO after committee review; the adviser has no line authority, hiring vote, budget signature or executive responsibility.
The retainer may accompany no more than two other GCC appointments. Any work with competing pharmaceutical groups, Hyderabad site developers, recruitment providers or vendors bidding for the setup must be declared and segregated.
Why the board wants this voice
Global functions advocate for their own scope and underestimate shared dependencies. The executive team has built country operations but not a multidisciplinary global capability centre. An external operator can press for value ownership before headcount and real estate make the design hard to reverse.
What you will own
- Test each proposed capability for global ownership potential rather than wage arbitrage alone.
- Challenge the sequencing of data, pharmacovigilance, clinical, commercial, finance and digital-product work.
- Press sponsors to name decision rights retained globally and those genuinely delegated to India.
- Shape principles for quality oversight, regulated records and cross-border accountability.
- Examine the leadership pyramid and talent proposition for scarce scientific and product roles.
- Guide steering discussion on captive, partner and build-operate-transfer boundaries.
- Advise the CEO on investment gates before lease, vendor and hiring commitments become irreversible.
Candidate qualifications
- 22–28 years in pharmaceutical operations, digital, shared services or GCC leadership.
- Direct experience establishing or materially expanding a multi-function India capability centre.
- Knowledge of regulated pharmaceutical processes, quality accountability and scientific talent markets.
- Evidence of moving a centre from transactional delivery to global product or process ownership.
- Board-level experience adjudicating location, governance and phased-investment choices.
- Independence from likely property, recruitment and implementation suppliers.
Non-negotiables
- Three Hyderabad days monthly through first leadership appointments.
- No placement, property or implementation commission linked to setup recommendations.
- Disclosure of competing pharmaceutical and GCC-services engagements.
- Clear separation between advisory influence and management's hiring, contracting and compliance authority.
- 49 words maximum. Which India GCC did you establish or reshape, and which capability achieved genuine global ownership?
- 49 words maximum. What pharmaceutical, property, recruitment or implementation relationships require disclosure for this setup?
- 49 words maximum. Can you reserve three monthly Hyderabad days through business-case approval and initial leadership selection?
This mandate is confidential. The client is named only under a mutual NDA, and your own record is never listed, sold or shown to a company under your name until you release it for this specific mandate.