Director, Data Project Leadership

Director, Data Project Leadership

Central Cambridge, UK

Competitive salary and benefits

Introduction to role

The Director, Data Project Leadership plans and delivers priority enterprise data initiatives, turning strategy into high quality execution that delivers measurable value. This role runs day-to-day programme delivery, governance and benefits tracking for an assigned portfolio, partnering with platform, domain and compliance teams to deliver secure, scalable capabilities that are adopted across the business. Operating within Enterprise Data Programmes, the role contributes to the Data Project Leadership pillar and works closely with peers in Data Change Management and Data Automation. The Director owns delivery decisions within the portfolio, with clear escalation to the Senior Director for portfolio-level prioritisation and cross-platform trade-offs. Ready to shape how data powers the next generation of medicines?

Accountabilities

Lead delivery for a defined subset of the enterprise data portfolio, planning and executing enterprise data projects and capabilities from pilot through scale, maintaining scope, schedule and budget discipline while keeping value realisation at the centre. Operate portfolio governance for assigned programmes, ensuring transparent decision making, timely escalation and “compliance by design” in partnership with Compliance, Data Privacy, Quality and GxP where applicable, and ensure delivery adheres to AstraZeneca standards and relevant external regulations. Direct cross-functional delivery teams of project and programme managers, business analysts, product owners and vendors within agreed operating models, managing partner performance, commercials and integrated plans. Identify and manage dependencies with enterprise platforms and domain product teams, maintaining risk, issue and change logs, driving resolution and escalating material items to the Senior Director.

Provide strategic leadership within the assigned portfolio by translating enterprise data strategy and Senior Director direction into executable delivery plans with codified stage and quality gates. Prepare directional proposals and business cases with clear benefits hypotheses, resource needs and milestones for governance approval. Monitor internal and industry practices to recommend pragmatic delivery approaches that balance speed, quality, risk and cost, proposing trade-offs and mitigation plans for decision. Drive programme execution and governance by building and managing detailed workplans, budgets, critical paths and release calendars; tracking progress; managing variance; and implementing recovery plans where needed.

Chair working-level governance forums and prepare content for senior governance, ensuring artefacts are audit ready and decisions and actions are documented. Track costs and benefits against agreed baselines and implement robust risk, issue, change control and quality management processes. Run readiness reviews and post-implementation evaluations to ensure work is conducted in line with AstraZeneca standards and relevant external regulations. Coordinate with adjacent programmes, enterprise platforms and domain product teams to align milestones, manage interdependencies, avoid delivery conflicts, remove blockers and escalate promptly when cross-portfolio decisions are required.

Drive value realisation and adoption by defining success metrics for assigned initiatives from pilot through scale, tracking benefits such as adoption, cycle time, quality and compliance, productivity and cost avoidance, and triggering course corrections where needed. Partner with the Data Change Management pillar to ensure stakeholder mapping, communications and readiness plans are executed, supporting post go-live reinforcement and embedding agreed behaviours. Work with Finance to plan and track budgets and benefits, providing clear reporting and forecasts to the Senior Director and governance forums.

Collaborate closely with Data Automation to identify opportunities where automation improves delivery speed, quality or compliance, such as policy as code or continuous assurance. Integrate agreed automation patterns and controls into delivery plans, aligning programme milestones with automation pilots and transitions to steady-state operations in partnership with platform and domain teams. Ensure support models and monitoring are in place so that automated controls remain effective over time. Want to lead programmes that combine cutting-edge technology with meaningful patient impact?

Essential Skills/Experience

• Degree in a business, scientific or technical field, or equivalent experience.

• Proven leadership of complex data/technology programmes in a global, matrixed environment, delivering to time, cost and quality.

• Strong programme governance discipline (planning, stage/quality gates, risk/issue/dependency management, change control) with audit-ready artefacts.

• Benefits-led delivery: ability to define success metrics and track benefits from pilot through scale in partnership with Finance and Change.

• Ability to translate between technical topics (platforms, data products, standards, controls, specific and prioritised data domains) and business outcomes; clear written and verbal communication.

• Stakeholder management and influencing across functions and levels; experience preparing materials for senior governance and managing escalations.

• Coordination of cross-functional teams and vendor partners to agreed performance and commercial terms.

• Experience working with Change Management and/or L&D to drive adoption and sustained use of new capabilities.

Desirable Skills/Experience

• Experience in pharmaceutical R&D or other highly regulated industries.

• Knowledge of data management, analytics, AI enabled delivery and related compliance (privacy, security, GxP where applicable).

• Familiarity with behavioural science informed adoption techniques and change frameworks (e.g., Prosci/ADKAR).

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.

AstraZeneca offers the chance to disrupt an industry while working on technology that directly supports life-changing medicines. Here data, analytics, AI and modern engineering come together with science to unlock new possibilities for patients. The environment is dynamic and hands-on: experiment with leading-edge platforms, shape new ways of working at scale, learn continuously through collaboration with diverse experts, hackathons and external partnerships, and see the impact of decisions across a truly global enterprise backed by strong investment in digital transformation.

If this role matches your experience and ambition, apply now to help lead the next wave of data-driven transformation at AstraZeneca.

#EAI

Date Posted

04-May-2026

Closing Date

18-May-2026

Our mission is to build an inclusive and equitable environment. We want people to feel they belong at AstraZeneca and Alexion, starting with our recruitment process. We welcome and consider applications from all qualified candidates, regardless of characteristics. We offer reasonable adjustments/accommodations to help all candidates to perform at their best. If you have a need for any adjustments/accommodations, please complete the section in the application form.