Introduction to role

At AstraZeneca, we turn ideas into life-changing medicines. Working here means being entrepreneurial, thinking big, and collaborating to make the impossible a reality. We are inspired by challenges that seem insurmountable. Here, we witness the impact of our collective ideas and expertise, and the power of science to deliver them.

The Contract Administration Director for AZ Global Business Services (GBS) will lead two sub-teams: Contract Enablement & Business Operations and Contract Guidance. These teams support the business with their contracting needs, covering activities like PO creation, supplier setup, budget management, and navigating the organization for support with external experts, vendors, or academia. The role involves using Service Now technology to direct and inform all AZ functions, focusing on areas of greatest need and complexity within our R&D function. Contracting Services handles a wide array of contracting matters typical for the life sciences industry, including impact assessments, academic alliances, master services agreements, consultancy agreements, vendor services contracts for global clinical trials, product development, pre-clinical pharmaceutical research, general IT contracts, manufacturing and supply agreements, and confidential disclosure agreements.

As a leader within Contracting Services, the Contract Administration Director is accountable for partnering with business stakeholders and clients across AZ to scale up the enterprise service. The role holder will provide leadership for team leads, support multiple areas of the organization, and drive expansion. They will offer guidance and a positive framework for issue resolution, culture, and environment, including career progression and personal development. Additionally, the Contract Administration Director will sit on the Contracting Services Leadership Team, a cross-functional team responsible for establishing and managing contracting services for the AZ global enterprise.

The role involves ensuring successful delivery of a service team, reporting against critical metrics, growing the service across the organization, handling critical issues where solutions are new or unknown, resolving issues, seeking clarity for the future, and holding others accountable. Fostering a culture of knowledge-sharing and collaborative working with counterparts across the organization is key for this role. The work will involve overseas travel with team members in Kuala Lumpur, Guadalajara, and Lisbon.

Accountabilities

People Management

- Lead the team to drive service excellence with diverse customers and tailored services.

- Recruit and onboard the team to an appropriate structure fit for purpose globally.

- Lead a team and cultivate a positive team culture.

- Measure team performance by monitoring the timely completion of deliverables and important performance indicators.

- Manage resource capacity and planning to ensure appropriate staffing of function.

- Own all aspects of performance and career development of all direct reports and their staff.

- Manage indirect reports and relations with GFS, GDO, and internal teams.

- Manage project-related reports from vendor teams.

Continuous Improvement

- Lead the team to deliver standardization, simplification, and automation where possible.

- Define and uphold a governance model and process to ensure compliance with policies and standards across AZ globally.

- Consider opportunities for growth and lead the scoping of new opportunities.

- Drive the scaling-up agenda, working with the Expansion Lead to scope and define the required service.

- Model the best solution considering location and recharge model.

- Ensure the team excels by working with existing structures and adhering to GBS standards.

Essential Skills/Experience

- Bachelor’s Degree (general business, managed health care, legal or finance subject areas are preferred) or equivalent experience.

- Experience in a Contract to Pay / Accounts Payable / budget management or similar type of role.

- Experience leading and managing a globally distributed team.

- Able to manage multiple priorities, work to deadlines and turnaround times, work well under pressure, and adapt to ever-changing scenarios.

- Strong attention to detail, communication, organizational, and problem-solving skills.

- Capable of working independently but also taking instruction and direction from others.

- High ethical standards, trustworthy, operating with absolute discretion.

- Proactive and consultative customer service skills with the ability to identify customer needs and respond creatively.

Desirable Skills/Experience

- Previous contract development or related experience in the pharmaceutical/biotech or related industry is preferred.

- Experience working within academia or with collaborations within the pharmaceutical industry.

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.

AstraZeneca offers meaningful work that makes a bigger impact. As part of our globally distributed team, you can apply your skills to genuinely impact patients' lives. Join us at an exciting time of growth through innovation. Shape this journey by reimagining how we work; at every turn we're innovating and taking intelligent risks. We do this to steer the enterprise forward—powering every function to run faster, more efficiently, and achieve more.

Ready to make a difference? Apply now!

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.