Director, ETS - Global Software Asset Management

Director, Enterprise Technology Services (ETS) Software Asset Management

Location: Macclesfield UK

Salary: Competitive + Excellent Benefits

AstraZeneca is a global, innovation-driven biopharmaceutical business that focuses on the discovery, development and commercialisation of prescription medicines for some of the world’s most serious diseases. But we’re more than one of the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies. At AstraZeneca, we’re proud to have a unique workplace culture that inspires innovation and collaboration. Here, employees are empowered to express diverse perspectives – and are made to feel valued, energised and rewarded for their ideas and creativity.

The AstraZeneca IT function has undergone significant transformation to improve performance and perception of IT and is now focusing on being digital to deliver business value, alongside delivering a great experience and overall service excellence as part of our IT Strategy. AstraZeneca’s Workplace & Enterprise Services (WES) function is committed to delivering excellent service and technologies to ensure our IT services meet current and future business needs.

The Service Asset & Configuration Management (SACM) function within Workplace & Enterprise Services is accountable for Hardware and Software Asset and Lifecycle Management and the Configuration Management Database that underpins IT Service Management for AstraZeneca.

The Software Asset Management Director is the global leader of AstraZeneca’s Software Asset Management (SAM) capability. The role is accountable for the strategy, policy, processes, controls, tooling and team that govern AstraZeneca’s software estate – from request and procurement, through entitlement, deployment and usage, to true-up and retirement. The role ensures that AstraZeneca remains license-compliant, audit-ready and is consistently extracting maximum value from its enterprise software investments.

Reporting to the Director, Service Asset, Configuration Management (SACM), this role works within a globally distributed team (UK and the Global Technology Centre, Chennai), partners with Procurement, Legal, Cyber Security, Enterprise Architecture and the Business-aligned Technology Groups (BTGs), and represents AstraZeneca with strategic software publishers and SAM tooling partners.

Typical Accountabilities:

Strategy, governance and compliance

• Ownership and accountability for global Software Asset Management – strategy, policy, processes, standards, governance, reporting and compliance across all of AstraZeneca.
• Audit responsibility as the named control owner for software licence compliance, ensuring AstraZeneca is audit-ready at all times, with risks tracked, communicated and managed.
• Lead vendor software licence audits (e.g. Microsoft, Oracle, SAP, IBM, Salesforce, Adobe, ServiceNow, VMware) and internal compliance assessments, owning remediation through to closure.
• Define and govern the end-to-end software lifecycle covering request, procurement, entitlement, deployment, usage, true-up, reallocation and retirement, including the AZ Software Store experience.

Value, Optimisation and FinOps

• Drive measurable cost optimisation and value realisation from AstraZeneca’s strategic enterprise agreements, partnering with Procurement and Finance to inform renewals, true-ups and rationalisation.
• Monitor and report consumption against entitlement, identifying gaps, surplus and reharvest opportunities, and feeding insight into the MTP and BTG investment cycles.
• Champion software economic decision-making across BTGs and ETS, providing data-led recommendations on standards, alternatives and consolidation.

Tooling, data and integration

• Own the SAM tooling roadmap (Flexera FNMS, ServiceNow SAM, App Portal and adjacent capabilities), including vendor relationship management and customer success.
• Ensure integrity of SAM data – entitlements, contracts, installations and usage – and its integration with the CMDB and HAM as the single source of truth for software.
• Drive automation and self-service in the software request, fulfilment and reclamation processes to improve customer experience and reduce manual effort.

Stakeholder engagement and partnership

• Engages senior stakeholders across Procurement, Legal, Cyber Security, Enterprise Architecture, the BTGs and Finance to ensure SAM standards are effective and embedded.
• Manages strategic software publisher and SAM partner relationships to influence roadmaps, secure favourable commercial outcomes and unlock new capability for AstraZeneca.
• Promotes the advocacy for Software Asset Management and Software License Compliance across AstraZeneca, raising awareness and embedding the right behaviours.

Leadership

• Lead and continuously develop a strong, globally distributed team across the UK and the Global Technology Centre (Chennai), building capability, succession and engagement.
• Be a key member of the WES – SACM Leadership Team ensuring the team continues to develop and grow and that strategies are aligned and executed effectively.
• Responsible for definition of successful business cases interlocking investment with the MTP to drive transformation of AstraZeneca’s software governance capability.

Education, Qualifications and Experience:

Essential:

• Significant IT experience leading global Software Asset Management or comparable IT governance / compliance functions.
• Demonstrable track record of leading software vendor license audits and large-scale internal compliance programmes.
• Deep knowledge of enterprise software publishers and license models – e.g. Microsoft, Oracle, SAP, IBM, Salesforce, Adobe, ServiceNow, VMware.
• Hands-on experience of SAM tooling (Flexera FNMS, ServiceNow SAM, App Portal) and integration with ITSM and CMDB.
• Experience leading large global teams and multi-million dollar software portfolios and budgets.
• Experience of dealing with Internal Audit, Risk and Compliance functions.

Desirable:

• Experience working in the Biopharmaceutical / Life Sciences industry.
• Recognised SAM / ITAM certifications – e.g. IAITAM CSAM, CITAM, ITIL, ISO/IEC 19770.
• Experience of FinOps / IT cost optimisation disciplines applied to software.
• Experience working across cultures and time zones, including a Global Technology Centre operating model.
• SDLC, Agile and Scrum methodologies.

Next Steps:

Are you already imagining yourself joining our team? Good, because we can’t wait to hear from you! 

Where can I find out more?

Our Social Media, Follow AstraZeneca on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/1603/

Follow AstraZeneca on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/astrazenecacareers/

Follow AstraZeneca on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/astrazeneca_careers/?hl=en

When we put unexpected teams in the same room, we unleash bold thinking with the power to inspire life-changing medicines. In-person working gives us the platform we need to connect, work at pace and challenge perceptions. That’s why we work, on average, a minimum of three days per week from the office. But that doesn't mean we’re not flexible. We balance the expectation of being in the office while respecting individual flexibility. Join us in our unique and ambitious world.

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Date Posted

05-May-2026

Closing Date

18-May-2026

Our mission is to build an inclusive and equitable environment. We want people to feel they belong at AstraZeneca and Alexion, starting with our recruitment process. We welcome and consider applications from all qualified candidates, regardless of characteristics. We offer reasonable adjustments/accommodations to help all candidates to perform at their best. If you have a need for any adjustments/accommodations, please complete the section in the application form.

AstraZeneca embraces diversity and equality of opportunity. We are committed to building an inclusive and diverse team representing all backgrounds, with as wide a range of perspectives as possible, and harnessing industry-leading skills. We believe that the more inclusive we are, the better our work will be. We welcome and consider applications to join our team from all qualified candidates, regardless of their characteristics. We comply with all applicable laws and regulations on non-discrimination in employment (and recruitment), as well as work authorisation and employment eligibility verification requirements.