Associate Director Strategic Alignment & Operations

At AstraZeneca, we pride ourselves on crafting a collaborative culture that champions knowledge-sharing, ambitious thinking and innovation – ultimately providing employees with the opportunity to work across teams, functions and even the globe.

Recognizing the importance of individualized flexibility, our ways of working allow employees to balance personal and work commitments while ensuring we continue to create a strong culture of collaboration and partnership by engaging face-to-face in our offices 3 days a week. Our head office is purposely designed with collaboration in mind, providing space where teams can come together to strategize, brainstorm and connect on key projects.

Our dedication to sustainability is also central to our culture and part of what makes AstraZeneca a great place to work. We know the health of people, the planet and our business are interconnected which is why we’re taking ambitious action to tackle some of the biggest challenges of our time, from climate change to access to healthcare and disease prevention.

Introduction to Role:

At AstraZeneca, we turn ideas into life-changing medicines. Working here means prioritizing outcomes, thinking ambitiously, and collaborating to achieve the extraordinary. We're passionate about the potential of science to address the unmet needs of patients around the world. US BBU Commercial Learning, a function of the Innovation and Business Excellence (IBEX) team, is dedicated to developing and delivering innovative, accessible, and tailored learning solutions to empower individuals and teams to drive growth and elevate capability as the US BBU leads the way in advancing healthcare solutions for patients. Our enterprise learning team leads the lifecycle of training for our US BBU commercial field roles from onboarding to ongoing commercial capability development, from bespoke team interventions to enterprise academies.

The Associate Director of Strategic Alignment and Operations is a position that plays a crucial role in driving the growth and success of the business. As a key member of the Commercial Learning Team, this role will report to the Director of Strategic Alignment and Operations of Commercial Learning and is accountable to collaborate closely with key global and local teams across the enterprise to deploy strategic initiatives to optimize operations and drive efficiency in the Commercial Learning function and across the organization. The incumbent is responsible for developing and implementing operational strategies to optimize efficiency, drive growth, and achieve organizational goals. This role requires strong analytical, problem-solving, and leadership skills, as well as a deep understanding of operations management principles.

Accountabilities:

Strategic Planning and Leadership:

• Lead the development and execution of a comprehensive strategic plan for governance, learning, and development initiatives in the US BBU to ensure operational effectiveness.
• Work closely with leadership to align commercial learning goals and fiscal management with the overall strategic direction of the organization.
• Provide consultation and direction to stakeholder teams, learning consultants, and vendors for simplification and efficiency.
• Develop and implement strategies associated with budget oversight, compliance, certification protocol, vacancy management, planning, automation, execution excellence, and commercial learning communications.

Partner Engagement Collaboration:

• Build and maintain strong relationships with key partners across departments (i.e., Innovation and Business Excellence LT, Compliance, Market Access, Business Units, Global Business Services, US BBU HR, Talent & Development CoE).
• Collaborate with partners to understand their learning needs, priorities, and ignite partnerships for learning initiatives.
• Facilitate cross-functional collaboration to ensure alignment of learning programs with organizational goals.
• Experience with Vendor Management.

Curriculum Development and Program Management:

• Support the design, development, and implementation of learning programs, courses, assessments, and resources.
• Manage the delivery of learning initiatives, including scheduling, logistics, resource allocation, and communication.
• Support content governance review, content management, nomenclature, and all supporting learning technology systems for deployment.
• Own role-based compliance processes, assessments, protocols, and record-keeping.
• Governance and Evaluation:
• Identify and lead governance objectives identified annually.
• Manage first-line monitoring reporting and analytics for required training in the US BBU.
• Use evaluation findings to drive continuous improvement and optimize learning outcomes.
• Lead change management efforts related to learning initiatives, ensuring smooth transition and adoption as it relates to governance protocols.
• Ensure all learning initiatives deploy with a measurement strategy.
• Manage budget planning and oversight within governance expectations.

Crucial Skills/Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree
• Minimum 3-5 years of experience in cross-functional support activities
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with demonstrated ability to collaborate effectively with diverse teams
• Proficiency in data analysis and experience with relevant software and tools
• Strong leadership abilities and the ability to motivate change and influence others
• Strong demonstrated competencies in managing complexity, organizational savvy, optimizing work processes, and situational adaptability

Desirable Skills/Experience:

• Experience using Learning Management Systems (LMS)
• Proficiency in managing activities in Coupa and DLOP
• Background in the Pharmaceutical industry
• Experience leading a team

AstraZeneca is an equal opportunity employer that is committed to diversity and inclusion and providing a workplace that is free from discrimination. AstraZeneca is committed to accommodating persons with disabilities. Such accommodation is available on request in respect of all aspects of the recruitment, assessment and selection process and may be requested by emailing AZCHumanResources@astrazeneca.com.

#LI-Hybrid

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.