Data Science and AI Senior Project Manager

Job description:

In the data Science and Artificial Intelligence (DS&AI) Business Planning & Operations, we support DS&AI’s mission to use Data and AI to turn science into medicines more quickly, more cost-effectively and with higher success rate.

This is where you could come in. Working in Strategic Planning and Operations at AstraZeneca is fast-paced, dynamic and challenging. We are looking for people who want to seize the opportunity to take an exciting step in their personal development journey and play a fundamental part of delivering a world-class Data Science & AI organization.

This is an exciting opportunity for someone to join the DS&AI Business Planning & Operations Department within DS&AI function with a focus on delivery and deployment at scale for our key projects/services. We are looking for a senior project manager with Data Science and Artificial Intelligence expertise to manage projects/services from initiation to implementation within agreed constraints of time, budget and quality and responsible for both people and budget.

The candidate will shape solutions and ensure that business requirements are effectively captured and have a good knowledge of different supplier solutions that could support project, be responsible for risk management, benefits & value management, and as appropriate the candidate resolves or escalates identified risks and issues. The candidate will ensure that project teams adopt quality and compliance standards, policies, and procedures, supports project assurance activities and assist with the implementation of change management strategies.

Reporting directly to the DS&AI director of Delivery and Change, our DS&AI project Manager will have strong business acumen and extensive experience working with junior and senior stakeholders across AZ who wants to contribute towards embedding DS&AI in R&D.

Typical accountabilities:

• Leads the delivery and deployment at scale of DS&AI projects/programmes on time and on budget that meet the requirements of our customers.
• Agree project plans including activities, resources, costs, roles, responsibilities, and quality assurance.
• Follows project work plans and recommends revisions as appropriate to meet changing needs and requirements.
• Apply change management processes and tools to support the preparing, managing and sustaining of the change lifecycle.
• Drives the process that helps projects/services to determine tangible and intangible project value at the beginning and during the project/services lifespan.
• Ensure that business requirements are effectively captured and connected to DS&AI pillars.
• Integrates project milestones and decision-making into the relevant governance.
• Manages day-to-day operational aspects of a project and scope to ensure timely completion of project and meeting deadlines of project.
• Develop presentation materials (project status one pager or high-level reports) to be presented in the different steering committees (Portfolio Governance Board, Strategical Projects Board, and others on request).
• Establish the required metrics to assess and improve the overall performance in alignment with the Project Lead and with the Head of Operations,
• Manages relationships with key business stakeholders to ensure business requirements are effectively captured and committed to project objectives.
• Ensures that impact and changes resulting from projects/programmes are effectively communicated to the business.
• Builds and leads project teams, communicating roles and responsibilities whilst encouraging teamwork and collaboration amongst the team and business stakeholders.
• Effectively applies AZ methodology and enforces project standards.
• Ensures project documents are complete, current, and stored appropriately.
• Builds project/programme improvement plans and ensures that project teams provide input.
• Drives adoption and embed DS&AI solutions into clinical development and clinical practice.
• Resolves quality and compliance risks and issues, and when appropriate, escalate to Lead Project Manager
• Manages Steering Group expectations

Education, Qualifications, Skills and Experience

Essential

• Business degree or Life Science degree
• Extensive experience of at least 5 years in Program/ Project Management
• Proficiency of managing complex and multiple projects/programmes at the same time
• Well-developed organisational and interpersonal skills
•  Experience in Agile
• Professional Project Management qualifications (e.g.: SAFe product Owner, Product Manager, Scrum master)
• Experience of working in a global organisation with complex/geographical context
• Experience of managing ambiguity whilst navigating through it
• Experience of working with third party suppliers
• Data Science expertise
• Ability to interpret and communicate technical information into business language and in alignment with AstraZeneca business.
• Experience of working application of policies, procedures, and guidelines
• Experience of working with third party suppliers

Desirable

• Experience of projects/services financial Valuation
• Experience and/or expertise in IT projects.
• PMP/Prince2
• Good understanding of the theory and process of Change Management 
• Experience in running change impact assessments and providing insights and strategies based on analysis.