Director, R&D IT - Development & Late TA Project Management
AstraZeneca

Job Title: Director, R&D IT - Development & Late TA Project Management

Introduction to role:

Are you ready to lead complex, cross-functional programs that accelerate how life-changing medicines reach patients? In this role, you will orchestrate high-impact delivery across late-stage development, turning strategy into outcomes that matter in clinics and across the business. You will connect scientific priorities with robust technology delivery, ensuring clarity of goals, speed of execution, and measurable benefits.

You will partner with senior leaders, product owners, engineers and external partners to shape intent, translate it into actionable roadmaps and drive disciplined execution. Can you align diverse stakeholders, anticipate risks, and create the conditions for teams to do their best work? Your leadership will empower teams to deliver with pace and purpose-so patients feel the impact sooner.

Accountabilities:

• Program Leadership: Set direction and lead multi-project delivery from inception through benefits realization, ensuring clear scope, ownership and decision-making.
  
• Stakeholder Partnership: Build strong relationships with senior business leaders; align on objectives, secure commitment and maintain a shared view of progress, risks and value.
  
• Benefits Realization: Define, track and deliver user and business benefits; tie outcomes to project milestones and hold teams accountable for value.
  
• Risk and Issue Management: Establish proactive risk practices; remove blockers early, resolve issues decisively and escalate with data and options.
  
• Planning and Governance: Oversee integrated plans across scope, schedule, cost, quality and resources; apply the Adaptive Delivery Framework; run decision point reviews and steering forums.
  
• Change and Scope Control: Manage change with discipline; assess impacts, gain approvals and communicate crisply to stakeholders and review boards.
  
• Financial Stewardship: Own budgets and forecasts; ensure investment transparency and enable informed trade-offs based on value and risk.
  
• Team Building and Coaching: Build a cohesive, high-performing delivery team; set high standards, coach leaders and foster psychological safety and accountability.
  
• Integration Delivery: Ensure end-to-end integration across platforms and partners to realize program objectives and seamless user experiences.
  
• Supplier and Partner Management: Align internal and external suppliers to outcomes; hold vendors to standards and deliverables while nurturing productive partnerships.
  

Works collaboratively with:

AZ Senior/executive stakeholders to ensure understanding and commitment to programme objectives, and development and refinement of deliverables Key business stakeholders (eg. Business leads/product owners) to ensure the effective capturing of business user stories and commitment to project/programme objectives Ensure e2e delivery of key integrations, to realise the project/programme objectives and benefits Internal and external suppliers to ensure delivery of agreed products and services while ensuring adherence to AZ project/programme delivery standards

Essential Skills/Experience:

• 7+ years of proven relevant experience as an IT Project/Programme
  
• Technical or Business Degree or proven relevant experience
  
• Manage and coordinate interdependencies for projects/programmes
  
• Manage relationships with senior business stakeholders to ensure the effective capturing of business requirements and commitment to project/programme objectives. Responsible for stakeholder meetings, communication of status, issues, risks in strong partnership with Business Relationship Manager.
  
• Own delivery of the user benefits for projects/programmes, working closely with business stakeholders and delivery teams to ensure expectations are met.
  
• Build a cohesive project/programme team and provide the necessary leadership to maximize the team's success.
  
• Ensure expected benefits realization is consistent with project deliverables and clearly understood by stakeholders and project team.
  
• Drive effective risks & issues management, ensuring processes are in place and effectively used. Ensure problems resolved and escalate as appropriate.
  
• Oversee, drive and approve plans for projects/programmes, including activities, resources, costs, roles, responsibilities and quality as defined in the IT Project Management Methodology (Adative Delivery Framework - ADF).
  
• Own project/programme improvement plans and oversee execution of remediation plans.
  
• Manage changes to project/programme scope, ensuring that all impacts and changes are approved and appropriately communicated to stakeholders and review boards.
  
• Manage and coordinate project/programme budgets, forecasts, tasks, schedules, risks, change management, and status to support effective decisions and project reporting to stakeholders and review boards.
  
• Ensure the project team adheres to all standards including ADF, quality, and compliance, as well as processes, defined technical capabilities, and architecture best practices. Establish program governance and lead Decision Point reviews, member Steering Committee meetings.
  

Desirable Skills/Experience:

• Extensive experience leading large, cross-functional programs in a global, regulated environment, ideally within R&D or late-stage development contexts
  
• Demonstrated mastery of adaptive, hybrid delivery at scale, including Agile and waterfall methods, portfolio governance and stage-gate decision forums
  
• Proven success delivering complex integrations across platforms, vendors and data domains, with strong architecture and quality awareness
  
• Expertise in budget ownership and vendor management for multi-million, multi-year programs
  
• Strong grasp of compliance and validation expectations relevant to scientific and clinical environments
  
• Ability to translate strategic ambitions into measurable roadmaps, benefits frameworks and outcome-based metrics
  
• Exceptional communication, influencing and storytelling skills with executive stakeholders
  
• Growth mindset with a track record of building, coaching and retaining high-performing teams
  
• Familiarity with data, analytics and AI-enabled delivery and how to safely unlock value in enterprise settings
  

The annual base pay for this position ranges from 153,018.40 - 229,527.60 USD Annual (80% - 120%). Hourly and salaried non-exempt employees will also be paid overtime pay when working qualifying overtime hours. Base pay offered may vary depending on multiple individualized factors, including market location, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. In addition, our positions offer a short-term incentive bonus opportunity; eligibility to participate in our equity-based long-term incentive program (salaried roles), to receive a retirement contribution (hourly roles), and commission payment eligibility (sales roles). Benefits offered included a qualified retirement program [401(k) plan]; paid vacation and holidays; paid leaves; and, health benefits including medical, prescription drug, dental, and vision coverage in accordance with the terms and conditions of the applicable plans. Additional details of participation in these benefit plans will be provided if an employee receives an offer of employment. If hired, employee will be in an "at-will position" and the Company reserves the right to modify base pay (as well as any other discretionary payment or compensation program) at any time, including for reasons related to individual performance, Company or individual department/team performance, and market factors.

When we put unexpected teams in the same room, we unleash bold thinking with the power to inspire life-changing medicines. In-person working gives us the platform we need to connect, work at pace and challenge perceptions. That's why we work, on average, a minimum of three days per week from the office. But that doesn't mean we're not flexible. We balance the expectation of being in the office while respecting individual flexibility. Join us in our unique and ambitious world.

Why AstraZeneca:

Here, your leadership turns technology and data into momentum for science-accelerating trials, simplifying complexity and creating clarity where it matters most. You will work alongside diverse experts who combine entrepreneurial drive with scientific rigor, experimenting with modern engineering practices and learning fast through real-world delivery. With significant backing to scale what works, we bring unexpected teams together to spark bold ideas and convert them into tangible impact for patients. We value kindness alongside ambition, set high standards and give you the ownership and support to shape how breakthroughs get delivered.

Call to Action:

If you are ready to lead programs that move medicines to patients faster while growing your impact as a transformation leader, send your CV and take the next decisive step today!

Date Posted
03-Feb-2026

Closing Date
19-Feb-2026
Our mission is to build an inclusive environment where equal employment opportunities are available to all applicants and employees. In furtherance of that mission, we welcome and consider applications from all qualified candidates, regardless of their protected characteristics. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please complete the corresponding section in the application form.

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