Working at Abbott

At Abbott, you can do work that matters, grow, and learn, care for yourself and your family, be your true self, and live a full life. You’ll also have access to:

• Career development with an international company where you can grow the career you dream of.

• Employees can qualify for free medical coverage in our Health Investment Plan (HIP) PPO medical plan in the next calendar year.

• An excellent retirement savings plan with a high employer contribution

• Tuition reimbursement, the Freedom 2 Save student debt program, and FreeU education benefit - an affordable and convenient path to getting a bachelor’s degree.

• A company recognized as a great place to work in dozens of countries worldwide and named one of the most admired companies in the world by Fortune.

• A company that is recognized as one of the best big companies to work for as well as the best place to work for diversity, working mothers, female executives, and scientists.

The Opportunity

This position works out of our Burlington, MA location in the Heart Failure Division. In Abbott’s Heart Failure (HF) business, we’re developing solutions to diagnose, monitor and manage heart failure, allowing people to restore their health and get on with their lives.

The individual is responsible for providing the direct supervision of employees in the Complaint Handling Group who evaluate, process and / or close complaint cases from customers. Supervision includes the assigning and monitoring of weekly caseloads to Product Surveillance Analysts, coaching and counseling team members, and conducting formal and informal performance evaluations. The incumbent is expected to understand all aspects of the complaint handling process, manage resources to meet division goals for complaint metrics, and identify opportunities for improvement and/or better efficiencies in our complaint handling processes. Incumbent is also responsible for monitoring and communicating metrics regarding the quality of the complaint evaluation and investigation documentation performed by their direct reports.

What You’ll Work On

• Gather and prepare trend information and recommend areas of focus. Assist in the development of the capital plan by identifying projects to improve processes, reduce costs, and maintain operations.

• Sets standards and monitors staff performance; provide performance feedback; write and conduct appraisals for employees, recommend merit increases and promotions, deliver rewards and sanctions. Manages assigned projects; work cross functionally to identify changes and necessary resources.

• Responsible for implementing and maintaining the effectiveness of the quality system. Regularly makes decisions which impact quality, time and/or cost; timely decisions are required regarding issues such as to proceed or abort, work OT, etc. Makes Decisions: Bases decisions on the overall good, rather than on benefit to a particular functional area, serves as a champion for specific projects and initiatives.

• Interact with peers in operations and within other cross-functional groups. Responds directly to on-site requests for information from internal and external regulatory agencies.

• Troubleshoots: Tracks and reviews daily indices (e.g., line outputs, labor efficiency, reject rates) and regulatory requirements to identity gaps between current and desired performance, applies standard problem-solving tools (e.g., fish bone diagrams, Pareto analysis), recommends and implements corrective action so that the impact of the problem is minimized. Interfaces with other areas to identify and solve problems.

• Recognizes Risk: Recognizes risk relative to procedures and takes appropriate action. Quantifies Risk: Identifies and quantifies the financial, quality, regulatory, and human considerations associated with decisions.

• Embraces Change: Adapts to and supports change in a timely, positive manner. Identifies and communicates need for change.

• Participates as a Team Member: Contributes to the creation of the team's mission, objectives, and strategies, accepts team decisions, and works toward their implementation.

• Participates as a Team Leader: Establishes and supports the norms and conditions for a work environment that supports team productivity, draws on the strengths of each team member, seeks input of team members, works cross functionally to resolve issues.,

• Improves Processes: Utilizes information from seminars, bench marking, focus groups, etc., to identify trends and generate recommendations for continuous process improvements in such areas as reduced costs, new technologies, and reject rates.

• Builds Relationships: Follows through on promises and commitments and maintains confidences.

• Manages Personal Effectiveness: Controls emotional reactions; copes with stress; is open to others' ideas; demonstrates an understanding and appreciation of differences in others; treats others as individuals with unique skills, interests and values; seeks to understand the goals and needs of others.

• Motivates Others: Promotes productivity and morale by treating others with respect and dignity. Listens to different points of view, taking ownership and responsibility for own actions. Displays consistency between words and actions; follows through on commitments; is available to answer questions. Provide constructive feedback on individual and team accomplishments in a timely and non-threatening manner.

• Confronts Issues: Raises issues that block the achievement of individual and team performance; voices opinions and concerns without waiting to be asked; communicates through areas of difference as well as areas of common issues, i.e., can talk about both sides of an issue.

• Solve Customer Problems: Lead teams to customer-oriented solutions that make business sense.

• Stays Current: Demonstrates awareness of the changing competitive, technological, health care, and regulatory environments, and demonstrates a perspective beyond one's own function.

• Plans Activity Structure: Makes plans to accomplish assigned daily activities and simple projects; establishes priorities so as to handle competing demands; optimizes use of available resources; estimates time and resources necessary to complete daily tasks or projects; establishes follow up systems.

• Influences Outcomes: Influences others to support a course of action and to incorporate quality concepts in all activities, appropriately uses authority, influences activities without reliance on formal authority, and communicates unpopular decisions in a realistic but favorable light.

• Makes Decisions: Makes timely decisions which consider the facts and data at hand; champions specific projects; knows when to delegate to teams or other levels.

• Adapts Information to Customer Needs: Adjusts communication style and medium (oral, written, or electronic) to meet the needs of the receiver (direct reports, peers, customers, managers); summarizes data and distills it down to relevant points to enhance understanding; uses appropriate level of language and detail for the receiver.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in related discipline or an equivalent combination of education and work experience  
• 4+ years of related work experience, Previous experience with complaint investigations and evaluations in a regulated environment required
• An understanding of the product use is helpful
• Must be able to effectively lead and manage a large staff of non-exempt employees including full-time and contract workers. 
• Excellent communication skills are required as there is frequent interaction with other functions in Division such as Customer Support, Medical Events Group, and Complaint Evaluations Group. 
• Must also be able to act autonomously, make decisions and give direction regarding the need to forward complaints for additional documentation, investigation and / or processing vs. processing complaint for closure.

Preferred Qualifications

• 2+ years supervisor role
• 2+ years Post-Marker Surveillance experience
• Must be able to effectively lead and manage employees including full-time and contract workers.
• Excellent communication skills are required as there is frequent interaction with other functions such as Customer Support, Field Team, Manufacturing and R&D.
• Must also be able to act autonomously, make decisions and give direction regarding the need to forward complaints for additional documentation, investigation and / or processing vs. processing complaint for closure

Apply Now

Learn more about our health and wellness benefits, which provide the security to help you and your family live full lives:  www.abbottbenefits.com

Follow your career aspirations to Abbott for diverse opportunities with a company that can help you build your future and live your best life. Abbott is an Equal Opportunity Employer, committed to employee diversity.

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