Senior Director Compliance and Legal Services

AstraZeneca • Wilmington, DE

1d • $183,342 - $275,014

About The Position

The Senior Director, Compliance and Legal Services will lead the global build-out and maturation of a cohesive service portfolio within GBS spanning Compliance, Privacy, Legal Operations, and eDiscovery. Reporting to the Head of GBS Operations & Enabling Functions Services, the role supports strategy development, serves as the GBS Business Partner for the Legal and Compliance function, and drives execution through governance, service management, transformation, and continuous improvement. The role brings advanced digital skills and pragmatic service-delivery experience to a highly regulated environment.

The Senior Director partners with Global Compliance, Legal, Privacy, and IT to deliver reliable, high-quality, cost-effective services that are technology-first, data-driven, and automation-enabled. The role requires leadership through influence, senior stakeholder engagement, and the ability to translate insight into measurable outcomes. Initial portfolio scope includes eDiscovery and Legal Hold Services, Compliance Services, and Privacy Operations, including data subject request operations.

The position leads the Compliance & Legal Services team and portfolio. Responsibilities include setting strategy and roadmaps; identifying and realizing growth opportunities; deploying and optimizing digital platforms and analytics; owning service management and the service lifecycle; managing vendors and partners; and improving customer experience through design thinking and feedback. The role also champions data integrity, adoption, change management, and measurable value realization.

Requirements

• 12–15+ years of experience in Global Business Services/shared services, legal operations, compliance/privacy operations, or closely related multidisciplinary environments, with leadership of global teams.
• Proven track record transforming services and processes at enterprise scale in complex, regulated environments.
• Demonstrated experience running services with significant legal and/or compliance obligations, such as privacy operations, SOX controls, records retention, legal hold, or eDiscovery.
• Experience driving technology-enabled operating models using CLM/matter management, privacy management platforms, eDiscovery/forensics tools, workflow orchestration, analytics, and automation (RPA/IPA); exposure to AI/GenAI with appropriate guardrails.
• Strong senior-level engagement skills and ability to influence and partner with Group Compliance, Legal, Privacy, IT, and business leadership.
• Ability to translate high-level goals into operational plans, operating models, and measurable roadmaps.
• Strong financial management, budgeting, and benefits-tracking skills; P&L ownership experience.
• Knowledge of ERP systems such as Workday or Oracle; ITSM platforms such as ServiceNow; CLM and matter management systems; privacy/GRC tooling; eDiscovery platforms; analytics/BI; and automation tools.
• Proven ability to lead through influence in a matrix, build high-performing teams, and drive adoption and change across functions and cultures.
• Experience negotiating and managing global vendors and ALSPs with outcome-based contracts and clear performance frameworks.
• Familiarity with SOX, GDPR and global privacy laws, records management, eDiscovery standards, and internal controls; strong risk and control orientation.
• Success leading complex transformations, transitions, and global rollouts with formal change management.
• Executive presence, clear and concise communication, and ability to convey complex topics to diverse audiences.

Nice To Haves

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Law, Finance, Information Management, or a related field; MBA or JD/LLM highly preferred.
• Relevant certifications such as CIPP/E, CIPM, IAPP, CCEP, ACEDS, or Lean Six Sigma.
• Experience in life sciences, healthcare, or another highly regulated industry.
• Hands-on experience operationalizing analytics and AI/GenAI use cases in legal/compliance contexts with robust governance and privacy-by-design.

Responsibilities

• Lead and manage the Compliance & Legal Services portfolio within GBS, initially covering eDiscovery and Legal Hold Services, Compliance Services, and Privacy Operations.
• Define and drive the vision, strategy, and roadmap for Compliance, Privacy, Legal Operations, and eDiscovery services in alignment with GBS and enterprise strategy.
• Use external trends in legal technology, privacy technology, and eDiscovery to improve service models and accelerate time to value.
• Set objectives, outcomes, and success measures to guide investment and prioritization.
• Identify and qualify growth opportunities, translate insights into actionable plans and business cases, and track value and benefits realization.
• Partner with GBS Transformation and IT to deploy and optimize matter management, workflow and orchestration platforms, privacy management suites, eDiscovery and legal hold tools, analytics, RPA/IPA, and GenAI-assisted capabilities with appropriate guardrails.
• Champion data integrity, metadata standards, and analytics-driven decision-making.
• Lead change management to secure adoption and value from technology and service changes.
• Own the end-to-end service catalogue, including SLAs, KPIs, and OLA alignment with partnering teams.
• Define service tiers and pricing principles, manage demand intake and triage, and oversee the service lifecycle from onboarding to retirement.
• Ensure mature incident, change, and problem management.
• Manage vendors and partners across legal technology, eDiscovery vendors, ALSPs, and BPOs.
• Build a customer-centric mindset using design thinking to improve stakeholder experience, adoption, and engagement.
• Define moments that matter, measure customer sentiment through CSAT/NPS, and close feedback loops with visible improvements.
• Partner with Global Compliance, Legal, Privacy, and IT to deliver reliable, high-quality, cost-effective services.
• Lead the Compliance & Legal Services team and drive adoption and change across functions and cultures.

Benefits

• Short-term incentive bonus opportunity.
• Eligibility to participate in an equity-based long-term incentive program for salaried roles.
• Retirement contribution for hourly roles.
• Commission payment eligibility for sales roles.
• 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: Senior
• Education Level: No Education Listed