Director, Culture and Capability

AstraZeneca • Gaithersburg, MD

3d • $148,366 - $185,458 • Hybrid

About The Position

At AstraZeneca, we are dedicated to being a Great Place to Work, where you are empowered to push the boundaries of science and unleash your entrepreneurial spirit. With an ambitious goal of delivering 20 new medicines by 2030, there is no better place to make a difference in medicine, for patients, and in society. In this role, you'll be the one making that change happen, partnering across functions to ensure our people and organisation successfully adopt new ways of working. You'll join a truly enterprise-wide effort that breaks down silos and unites diverse teams, with the freedom to take smart risks and shape how transformation lands across the business. 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. The Enterprise AI Transformation Office is a critical pillar of the new Enterprise AI (EAI) strategic business unit, ensuring we are set-up for success to deliver business impact through AI, by identifying and driving transformative opportunities and shaping and delivering the AI transformation across the enterprise. We set the EAI strategic and operational direction and lead cross-functional and enterprise-wide AI initiatives to deliver transformative value and ensure we are at our best in delivering life-saving medicines to patients.

Requirements

• Graduate degree (MBA, Masters, etc.)
• Minimum 3-5 years professional experience in leading strategic or transformational capability and change programs, with an emphasis on learning & development, communication and change management expertise
• Strong analytical and communication skills
• Effective interpersonal and relationship management skills with consultative approach and ability to interact and build trust
• Operational effectiveness, highly organized process with follow through
• Strong initiative to understand our core business goals and establish processes or programs to set direction, generate alignment and push forward
• Financial background and understanding of forecasts, budgets, financial activities and tools
• Resourceful, motivated, influential and proactive; able to prioritize in a fast-growing organization
• Experience in strategic planning processes and tools and/or project management tools

Nice To Haves

• Background/ experience in life sciences
• Understanding of the pharmaceutical business (including R&D, Operations, Commercial)
• Experience in leading and managing alliances or strategic partnerships
• Experience in translating business needs into a coordinated business proposal and plan for cross-functional senior leadership team
• Ability to develop creative and simple solutions to complex problems

Responsibilities

• Co-own the development and delivery of EAI capability building initiatives: Contribute to the design and execution of EAI learning and enablement activities, helping translate AI transformation objectives into practical capability-building programs that support mindset shift, skill development, and behavioral change.
• Design and deliver targeted learning journeys for selected EAI teams and cross-EAI upskilling programs, with a focus on EAI internal team development
• Develop and continuously evolve the AI capability framework (skills, roles, proficiency levels).
• Collaborate with AITO L&D on broader enterprise-wide AI learning programs.
• Partner with technical leads to translate EAI use cases into scalable training modules.
• Lead change management and stakeholder engagement activities: Support the delivery of change initiatives by helping manage stakeholder engagement, communication, and adoption of AI solutions.
• Build trust by listening to concerns, aligning diverse perspectives, and guiding people through uncertainty using structured change management approaches
• Engage with stakeholders to gather feedback, understand concerns, and support alignment
• Help track adoption metrics, KPIs, and feedback loops to monitor progress
• Coach leaders and product owners on change leadership and adoption tactics
• Shape and oversee EAI communication and engagement: Craft and communicate AI transformation narratives and orchestrate moments of connectivity that build clarity, trust, and momentum across the EAI organization and within specific EAI teams.
• Help develop and ensure consistent, transparent, and inspiring communication that aligns stakeholders around the “why,” “what,” and “how” of AI transformation.
• Assist in implementing EAI-wide communication and engagement plans aligned with the AITO delivery roadmap
• Partner with EAI Leadership Team members to orchestrate communication and engagement strategy within their respective teams, building on the EAI-wide plans
• Partner with Global Corporate Affairs to create and disseminate Enterprise-wide AI communication plans (town halls, digital, leadership toolkits).
• Tailor communication to different audiences, from senior leaders to frontline teams.
• Shape the culture and mindsets in line with the EAI transformation: Drive long-term behavioral shifts that foster the new EAI operating model and normalize AI as a core capability rather than a technical initiative
• Embed EAI culture principles into performance, talent, and recognition mechanisms
• Launch change campaigns that reinforce EAI culture, including experimentation and learning from failure
• Measure and track cultural indicators related to AI confidence and adoption
• Design a future-ready employee experience: Reimagine the employee lifecycle through the lens of AI transformation ensuring people feel confident, capable, and empowered in an AI-enabled environment.
• Build AI-integrated onboarding journeys that accelerate digital fluency and clarify human–AI role expectations.
• Create structured AI upskilling and career mobility pathways aligned to emerging AI-enabled roles and capabilities.
• Introduce digital enablement tools and just-in-time learning ecosystems embedded into daily workflows.
• Launch EAI signature initiatives (e.g., innovation labs, experimentation weeks) to foster engagement and performance

Benefits

• qualified retirement program [401(k) plan]
• paid vacation and holidays
• paid leaves
• health benefits including medical, prescription drug, dental, and vision coverage

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director