Senior Director, Operations IT – Strategy and Operational Excellence

AstraZeneca•Gaithersburg, MD

13d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Senior Director, Operations IT Strategy and Operational Excellence leads the strategy execution and performance engine for Operations IT, aligning technology priorities with Operations objectives to improve efficiency, quality, and delivery reliability. The role translates data and insight into investment choices, strengthens portfolio governance, and embeds practical, responsible AI to improve analysis, decision-making, and execution. It partners closely with senior leaders across Operations, Finance, and HR and supports the development of a digital, data-led enterprise. The position establishes performance governance and owns Operations IT OKRs, KPIs, and scorecards; helps shape strategy, capability roadmaps, and medium-term plans; and embeds effective operational standards and data integrity. It oversees end-to-end portfolio governance and value realization, including prioritization, delivery oversight, risk and dependency management, financial planning, and benefits tracking. The role also coordinates leadership communications, employee engagement, and initiatives to achieve defined outcomes. The position is based in an environment where employees work from the office an average minimum of three days per week, with flexibility respected. AstraZeneca describes a collaborative technology and science setting with modern data, AI, and cloud platforms and investment to scale ideas into outcomes. The annual base pay range is $189,232.80–$283,849.20 USD, with eligibility for incentives and benefits.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience.
Minimum of 10 years of industry experience.
Strong critical-thinking and structured problem-solving skills, including the ability to challenge assumptions, assess evidence, identify root causes, and reach sound conclusions.
Ability to interpret sophisticated financial, workforce, operational, and portfolio data and turn it into clear recommendations and actions.
Track record of driving measurable results and owning work from problem identification through execution and benefits realization.
Sound judgment in ambiguous situations, including evaluating trade-offs, prioritizing effectively, and making timely, evidence-based recommendations.
Hands-on use of AI and generative AI tools in everyday work, with practical examples of improving productivity, analysis, communication, or delivery.
Experience driving strategy alignment, governance, and high-quality delivery across complex enterprise initiatives.
Experience defining and tracking OKRs, KPIs, and scorecards aligned with enterprise and Operations priorities.
Experience applying analytics and benchmarking to deliver continuous improvement and capability optimization.
Experience partnering with senior leaders to develop strategy, strategic priorities, capability roadmaps, and medium-term plans.
Strong operational and portfolio governance experience, including data quality, risk management, financial planning, and benefits tracking.
Ability to influence without formal authority, challenge constructively, and secure cross-functional commitment to decisions and delivery.
Strong executive communication skills, including presenting complex information clearly, defending recommendations with evidence, and tailoring messages to different audiences.
Experience leading sustainability agendas, employee engagement, and organizational change across distributed teams.

Nice To Haves

Senior leadership experience in Operations technology in life sciences or similarly complex, regulated industries.
Familiarity with long-range digital technology strategies and OKR frameworks in large global enterprises.
Expertise with enterprise portfolio management, objectives and key results, and data visualization tools for transparent, decision-ready scorecards.
Track record of leading large-scale operating model changes and capability development across distributed teams.
Experience scaling sustainability programs and access-to-healthcare initiatives through education and engagement.
Experience embedding AI-enabled workflows or lightweight automation across teams with measurable productivity or quality improvements.

Responsibilities

Establish a disciplined performance rhythm across Operations IT, aligning governance and delivery for enterprise initiatives with clear roles, timelines, and quality standards.
Own OKRs, KPIs, and scorecards; assess performance, benchmark results, and translate insights into actions that improve productivity, cost, quality, and delivery.
Partner with the Operations IT leadership team to evolve strategy in alignment with Operations priorities, long-term technology ambitions, and the company’s Bold Ambition.
Structure ambiguous problems, assess options and trade-offs, and recommend evidence-based priorities.
Define strategic landmarks, maintain capability roadmaps, and facilitate medium-term planning and reporting using robust data and clear executive narratives.
Embed operational governance, standards, and processes, ensuring they are understood, adopted, and effective.
Maintain accurate and decision-ready operational data, including the Configuration Management Database and project portfolio information.
Simplify processes, remove unnecessary complexity, and address recurring issues through structured problem-solving.
Use approved AI tools in daily workflows for information synthesis, data analysis, communications, leadership materials, and appropriate task automation.
Coordinate leadership communications and partner engagement, deliver monthly Town Halls, and coordinate initiatives to achieve defined outcomes.
Lead employee engagement cycles as a Pulse Champion and translate insights into practical improvements.
Run end-to-end portfolio governance to drive strategic alignment, prioritization, and delivery to scope, time, and quality.
Maintain a single source of truth for portfolio health; manage risks, dependencies, and change; and provide consistent dashboards and decision-ready narratives.
Partner with Finance to set budgets, forecast and track spending, optimize investment allocation and benefits realization, and uphold financial controls and funding guardrails.
Use analysis to recommend where to invest, accelerate, simplify, reshape, or stop activity while balancing business value, risk, and capacity.