Director, AI/Digital Product Governance

AstraZeneca • Mississauga, ON

54d • Hybrid

About The Position

Join AstraZeneca, a global leader in biopharmaceuticals, where science and patient care drive our mission to develop life-changing medicines. As part of our Regulatory Technology & Excellence function, we are seeking a visionary Director, AI/Digital Product Governance to join our multifaceted Regulatory Digital team. This role is pivotal in crafting the future of our digital products, ensuring alignment with business goals and delivering outstanding value to users. If you have a deep understanding of digital product management and a knack for translating business needs into technical requirements, this is your chance to create a significant impact.
Recognizing the importance of individualized flexibility, our ways of working allow employees to balance personal and work commitments while ensuring we continue to create a strong culture of collaboration and teamwork by engaging face-to-face in our offices 3 days a week. Our head office is purposely designed with collaboration in mind, providing space where teams can come together to strategize, brainstorm and connect on key projects.
Introduction:
Director level role assumes accountability for executing the annual digital strategy refresh process as well as leading and evolving Regulatory Technology Governance Committee (RTGC) capabilities to ensure successful Digital strategy delivery and benefits achievement. The role also has product ownership accountability to build and drive product-specific roadmaps and deliverables.
Accountabilities
This position requires a unique blend of strategic thinking and tactical execution—balancing portfolio-level governance and oversight with deep product management expertise. The role will have responsibility for ensuring an effective digital strategy refresh annually, an effective governance model/framework is operational to support digital strategy achievement and an effective Regulatory technology portfolio management capability exists. This role will also also parther with the Senior Director, Regulatory Digital Strategy as well as with the Regulatory Technology & Operational Excellence, Executive Director to support additional transformation related activities as needed.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree or higher in a business or information sciences discipline, and/or relevant experience in the bio-pharmaceutical industry
• 5+ years of experience and proven technical competence in developing and deploying solutions in support of data and information management
• 3+ years progressive experience in portfolio management and governance implementation
• Demonstrated ability to identify opportunities and to lead change through innovation – seeking continuous improvement based on strong awareness of external practice.
• Proven experience as a Product Owner, Product Manager, or similar role in a digital product development environment (Life Sciences experience is a plus)
• Strong influencing, negotiation and communication skills
• Strong knowledge of data strategy, governance and standards

Nice To Haves

• Demonstrated ability in leveraging AI and GenAI to drive business value
• Experience working in Agile/Scrum environments, with a track record of successfully delivering digital products
• A broad understanding of regulatory and drug development activities and the challenges associated with critical business and compliance activities.

Responsibilities

• Drive delivery of Regulatory’s annual digital strategy refresh by establishing an effective program structure, engaging the right stakeholders, addressing cross-workstream dependencies, mitigating/resolving issues and overseeing on time delivery of a refreshed strategy and 3-yr delivery roadmap supported by annual benefit glidepath targets. This role will also challenge and deliver thought-leadership to shape business visions, strategy and roadmaps.
• Define and implement an effective digital governance structure through the maturation of an existing Reg. Tech. Governance Council (RTGC) to include development of effective meeting structures, content and agendas; stakeholder pre-meeting engagement; timly pre-read materials, etc.
• Implement a robust Regulatory Technology portfolio oversight capability to be employed by the RTGC and approved program delivery teams. This will include establishing investment guiding principles; a portfolio prioritization framework; a multi-year portfolio benefits profile to support future-year funding requirements; program-level governance/decision authority; RTGC inflight portfolio monitoring approach; and all tools/process required to ensure successful program-level and portfolio-level oversight delivery.
• Partnering with the function’s leadership team to support additional transformation activities
• Develop and articulate clear product visions and strategies that align with the business' overall objectives and the broader digital portfolio strategy
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams including Regulatory, R&D, Operations, Marketing Companies, and IT to drive product development from concept to launch
• Create and prioritize product backlogs, ensuring that features deliver the strongest tangible value and align with strategic goals
• Define and communicate detailed user stories and acceptance criteria to guide development teams
• Oversee the product development lifecycle, including planning (sprints and resources), reviews, and retrospectives, ensuring timely delivery of high-quality products that deliver expected value
• Support rollout and implementation of digital products, identifying training approaches tailored to teams and user groups
• Manage dependencies in and across releases to complete release phases and milestones
• Drive continuous improvement of digital products to maintain business relevance and maximize ongoing business value
• Advocate for end-users by conducting user research, usability testing, and gathering feedback to inform product enhancements
• Work closely with key business SMEs, process owners, and training experts to ensure effective user training and preparation for impacts to existing business processes
• Leverage data analytics and market research to make informed product decisions and measure the impact of new features and enhancements
• Establish key performance indicators (KPIs) and metrics to track product success, portfolio benefits achievement, and drive continuous improvement
• Conduct regular product and portfolio performance reviews and present findings to stakeholders, making data-driven recommendations for future iterations
• Analyze user behavior and engagement metrics to identify opportunities for improvement and optimize the user experience
• Engage with stakeholders across the organization to gather insights and feedback, ensuring the product roadmap and digital strategy reflect business priorities and user needs
• Keep abreast of industry trends, competitive landscape, and emerging technologies to inform product decisions and maintain a competitive edge
• Identify opportunities and lead change through innovation, seeking continuous improvement based on strong awareness of external practice

Benefits

• annual Variable Pay Bonus/Short Term Incentive opportunity
• eligibility to participate in our equity-based long-term incentive program (if applicable to role)
• competitive Flex Benefits & Retirement Savings Program
• 4 weeks’ paid vacation
• annual Personal Days

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director
• Number of Employees: 5,001-10,000 employees