Senior Director, Global Oncology RWD Platform

AstraZeneca•Gaithersburg, MD

7d•Onsite

About The Position

AstraZeneca’s Evidence Generation to Publications (EG2P) team is building APOLLO (AZ Partnerships in Oncology Leveraging Real World Evidence), a global oncology real-world data (RWD) platform supporting oncology evidence generation. APOLLO brings together five data partners across 11 markets and three tumor types to support insight discovery, medical strategy, and publication-grade evidence generation. Reporting to the Head, NextGen Sciences, the Senior Director will serve as the platform’s scientific lead and guide its future direction and growth across geographies, tumor areas, and use cases. The role will shape the partner strategy and communicate the value and limitations of APOLLO to stakeholders across the Oncology Business Unit, senior leaders, and external experts. The Senior Director will lead the platform’s data strategy and roadmap, assess and develop data partnerships, and advance approaches to RWD collection and curation, including AI/NLP-enabled abstraction from unstructured electronic health record data. The role will lead through influence across a matrix team, mentor colleagues, and ensure activities comply with AstraZeneca standards, SOPs, and external regulations. This office-based position requires less than 10% travel.

Requirements

Advanced degree (MSc, PharmD, PhD, or equivalent) in epidemiology, outcomes research, statistics, health economics, or a related field.
10 or more years of experience in RWE or RWD in pharma, biotech, a data or analytics company, consulting, or academia, including building or governing RWD assets.
Deep expertise in real-world research methods, pharmacoepidemiology, and HEOR.
Judgment to define data structure and inclusion criteria for several use cases.
Oncology RWE experience across multiple tumor types.
Hands-on experience applying tools for curation and abstraction of unstructured EHR data.

Nice To Haves

PhD in a relevant discipline.
Track record of negotiating or managing external data partnerships.
Knowledge of current regulatory and HTA expectations for RWE.
Experience with dashboards or data visualization tools for non-technical users.
Demonstrated leadership and management experience, including effective problem and conflict resolution skills and a validated team focus.

Responsibilities

Set the APOLLO data strategy and roadmap, including future data sources, markets, tumor types, and supported evidence use cases.
Identify, assess, and conduct feasibility assessments of potential data partners and sources for fit with APOLLO’s strategy and intended uses.
Evaluate data structure, completeness, provenance, and suitability for regulatory-grade or publication-grade use.
Develop and negotiate global data partnerships, particularly in markets with limited oncology RWD, and work with global RWD leaders to create new data assets.
Assess and pilot new approaches to RWD collection and curation, including AI/NLP-enabled abstraction from unstructured EHR data, and define validation standards.
Communicate APOLLO’s value and limitations to Oncology Business Unit stakeholders, senior leaders, and external experts through guidance, dashboards, conferences, and publications.
Lead a matrix team across EG2P and the wider Oncology Business Unit, and mentor colleagues to develop RWE capabilities.
Work with the broader NextGen Sciences team to shape and communicate APOLLO’s future to AZ Oncology stakeholders.
Participate in Integrated Evidence Plan development to identify opportunities to use APOLLO.
Create and execute strategies for implementing APOLLO and ensuring timely, meaningful data availability for global oncology RWE needs.
Foster collaborative relationships with external experts to help shape future APOLLO initiatives.
Provide leadership and mentoring to develop individuals and teams in line with AstraZeneca’s performance development and lifelong learning culture.
Ensure medical and business activities comply with AstraZeneca standards, SOPs, and external regulations.