Director, R&D IT Operational Excellence

Director R&D IT Operational Excellence

Mississauga Ontario

IT

Hybrid Work- on average 3 days/week from office

The Director R&D IT OperationalExcellenceis a senior leadership role responsible for driving governance operational performance workforce strategy financial stewardship organizational effectivenessand changeadoption across R&D IT.

As a member of the Operational Excellence organization this rolepartners with Capability Portfolio Finance HR Strategy and Quality leaders to ensure disciplined execution of strategic priorities effective decision-making transparent performance management and alignment to enterpriseobjectives.

The role serves as the operational leader for assigned R&D IT capability portfolios overseeing governance planning workforce and capacity management performance reporting financial oversight and continuous improvement. The Director connects strategy to execution byestablishingscalable data-driven operating models that improve organizational effectiveness and support AstraZenecas digital data and AI ambitions.

What youll do

Operational Excellence & Governance

• Lead operational excellence activities across assigned R&D IT capability portfolios ensuring alignment to organizationalobjectivesand enterprise governance standards.

• Partner with senior leaders toidentifyand assessoperational inefficienciesprioritizedrive processstandardization andoptimization automation and AI-enabled improvements that increase organizational effectiveness consistency scalability and employee productivity.

• Partner with R&D IT Operations Leads tofacilitateprocess standardization across functional areas fostering a collaborative one-team approach.

• Drive operational discipline through governance reviews compliance monitoring risk management and corrective action planning.Provide regular reporting against targets broken down by functional area and partner with stakeholders to course-correct where needed.

• Lead operational cadences includingbut not limited to conductingbusiness reviews governance forums operational reviews and planning activities including defining agenda and recapping decisions and meeting minutes.

• Build strong partnerships across Finance HR SP&Q Operational Excellence Enterprise Functions and broader R&D organizations.

• Influence stakeholders across a complex matrix environment to achieve organizationalobjectivesand drive sustainable outcomes.

Performance Management & Executive Reporting

• Own development and maintenance ofbusiness R&D andcapabilityscorecards frameworks and executive performance reporting.Provide narrative and speaking-note support for senior stakeholders including presentation materials for executive-level review and quarterly performance storytelling.

• Establishreviewandmaintainoperational health indicators&dashboardsKPIs OKRs and executive reporting mechanisms.

• Translate complex operational financial workforce portfolio and AI adoption data into concise actionable insights for senior leadership.

• Establish&leverageexistingreporting frameworks that improve organizational visibility accountability and decision-making.

• Supportsannual and multi-year planning activities including Mid-Term Planning (MTP) Long-Term Planning (LTP) business planning cycles strategic roadmaps and investment prioritization.

Workforce Strategy Capacity & Resource Management

• Supportworkforce planning activities across assigned portfolios ensuring workforce capacity aligns with strategic priorities and deliveryobjectives.

• Oversee organizational headcount governance including permanent employees and Outside Service Providers (OSPs).

• Monitor workforceutilization organizational capacity AI and digital skill demand trends and future capability requirements to proactivelyidentifyworkforce risks and opportunities.

• Lead workforce readiness initiatives focused on AI literacy digital capability development and adoption of emerging technologies across R&D IT

• Support long-term sustainabilitygoals including but not limited to reducing our carbon footprint.

Financial Stewardship & Business Operations

• Supportcapability leaders and business partners inbusiness case development investment planning value realization assessments and funding prioritization decisions.

• Lead operational oversight of budget performanceagainst plan financial governance processes investment tracking resource-related expendituresand recommend corrective actions where necessary.

• Ensure compliance with AstraZeneca financial policies governance standards and planning requirements.

Essential for the role

• Bachelors degree in Business Information Technology Life Sciences Engineering or related discipline.

• 5-7 yearsexperience in operational excellencegovernance business operations organizational effectiveness rolesfinancial management and performance reporting

• R&D Clinical experience

• Experiencein seniorstakeholder managementanddeveloping executive-level dashboards KPIs scorecards and operational reporting

• Experience measuring business outcomes and organizational value derived from digital automation and AI investments.

• Experience leading cross-functional continuous improvement and organizational transformation initiatives.

• Strong analytical and data-driven decision-making skills.

• Excellent written verbal facilitation and executive communication skills.

Desirable for the role

• Experience supporting Digital Data AI Technology R&D or Product organizations.

• Pharmaceutical biotechnology healthcare or regulated industry experience.

• Experience with strategic planning cycles investment governance and business case development.

• Knowledge of Lean Operational Excellence Continuous Improvement Agile or equivalent methodologies.

• Understanding of GDPR and data privacy

• Understanding of SDTM delivery

• Experience with workforce planning supplier governance and outsourced service provider management.

• Experience leading AI adoption Generative AI initiatives Copilot deployments intelligent automation programs or workforce AI transformation efforts.

• ExperienceleveragingServiceNowPower BIJiraAirFocus.

• Experience withemployee engagement or survey programs.

• Familiarity with technology adoption and enablement programs in large matrix organizations.

• A can-do attitude and eagerness to build experience across employee engagement learning & development and the broader business of R&D.

• Confidence in building relationships across the business and constructively challenging behaviors.

• Independence and ability to lead a small cross-functional team.