Senior Director, Oncology Global Programme Management (Cell Therapy)

AstraZeneca•Gaithersburg, MD

10d•$206,994 - $310,490•Hybrid

About The Position

The Senior Director, Oncology Global Project Management is a key leadership position, accountable for the project management of Global Project Teams (GPTs), working alongside Global Product, Scientific, Clinical Commercial Leaders to establish the brand strategy and deliver the approved project plans. You will be assigned to lead programmes of the highest complexity and priority and are regarded as key leaders within the GPT and GPPM organization. This is a critical and exciting opportunity to use your scientific knowledge and strategic expertise to lead and influence decisions that will have a direct impact on patients’ lives. Working at the highest levels, you will ensure the decisions we make position AstraZeneca for maximum return on investment and positive patient outcomes.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in a scientific or business related field
Minimum of 10 years of relevant experience with cross-functional drug development teams.
Extensive experience leading drug development projects including success in multiple roles/development phases/TAs related to drug development project or program management.
Track-record of expertly navigating governance processes to drive complex projects forward.
Successful track record of delivering complex/ high strategic business impact projects within agreed time, quality and cost.
Expert knowledge of project management tools and processes.
Experience of driving cross portfolio, above-asset DA or TA drug development projects.
Experience in developing Business Development business cases including pressure testing of proposed timelines, and where applicable, Due Diligence activities.
Skilled at building, motivating, leading and inspiring high performing teams.
Proven ability to develop and educate team members and mentor individuals within and outside own function.
Experience in project control, project reporting and ensuring high quality project data (milestone, cost, risk) in enterprise systems.
Track record of effective senior stakeholder management, demonstrating effective communication skills and strong ability to influence strategically using data.

Nice To Haves

Late stage drug development experience
Relevant therapeutic area expertise – CVRM and/or Respiratory & Immunology, and/or cell therapy experience.
Strong internal network with experience in AZ ways of working.
Track-record of building diverse, inclusive teams and delivering in multi-cultural environments.

Responsibilities

Provide program management leadership and excellence through active input into the project strategy ensuring alignment of the program strategy with operational reality
Lead development of drug project, cross-project, or portfolio strategies
Where applicable, work with alliance partners and run joint alliance forums and governance committee
Identify key business opportunities or needs for strategic shifts based on external and internal events
Partner with Business Development to provide strategic input to potential deal cases (investment & divestment)
Ensure appropriate linkages between project strategy and key internal processes (TA strategy, TA prioritization, corporate scorecard)
Lead project management of cross functional drug development teams and ensure delivery of strategic objectives
Create a shared sense of purpose, inspiring and energising others to build and maintain a cohesive High Performing Team.
Coach project teams and GPT towards successful issue resolution and decision making. Engage with critical stakeholders to address barriers or challenges facing team
Focus the GPT on the right activities at the right time. Coordinate the efforts of sub-teams to ensure delivery at multiple levels of the development team.
Design, implement, and optimize effective communication within and outside the team. Coordinate with corporate communications to lead the team’s external communication plan.
Ensure the team has a good information management system in line with AZ best practice. Ensure integrity of information management systems to connect to external parties. Drive continuous improvement in how the team approaches information management
Ensure data quality as per agreed standards and monitoring metrics
Identify development opportunities for team members
Lead team towards optimized governance decisions – e.g. evaluate multiple strategic options and drive team to value-maximizing drug development decisions
Provide guidance to both the team and senior management / governance bodies that allows efficient (timely and informed) decision making
Leverage broad influential network and ensures engagement at all levels prior to key decisions
Ensure that overall GPT deliverables, budgets, schedules, and performance standards are realistically set, governance approved and attained, and that the project effectively fulfils all information management and business reporting requirements
Direct project support staff in maintaining plans of the highest data quality, accountable for all integrated project management deliverables associated with the GPT
Accountable for all integrated Project Management deliverables associated with the program
Serve as a role model for cross-functional collaboration and effective conflict resolution
Lead by example in learning and innovation, seek opportunities to change paradigms and remove barriers within and outside the team
Apply extensive business insight to drive cross project learning, champion and embed better ways of working across the enterprise.
Proactively promote learning and knowledge sharing. Expected to mentor or supervise other project managers. May provide input for staff development, recruitment, succession planning and resource model. Help establish new company best practices
Share lessons learned and communicate those throughout the GPM community to drive adoption of knowledge beyond the GPT