Lead Consultant - Data & AI (Delivery)

Job Title: Lead Consultant - Data & AI (Delivery)

Career level: E

Introduction to role:

Are you ready to make a difference in the world of digital transformation? At AstraZeneca, our Global IT organization is at the forefront of defining and performing digital and data strategies that support our ambitious goals. We aim to provide cures for cancer, transform lives affected by rare diseases, and improve the lives of billions with chronic conditions. Join IGNITE, a dynamic function within AstraZeneca IT, on an exciting journey to accelerate the adoption and value of technology and data. As an Agile Project Manager within Digital Services, you'll be instrumental in delivering agile projects and initiatives that drive our bold ambitions forward. Are you up for the challenge?

Accountabilities:

• Guide teams in agile principles (e.g., Scrum, Kanban, SAFe). Organize and facilitate sprint planning, stand-ups, reviews, and retrospectives. Remove team impediments.
• Coaching & Mentoring. Guide team members to enhance agile practices and performance. Foster collaboration, continuous improvement, and self-organization. Ensure open communication and transparency.
• Stake holder Management: Liaise between the team and key stake holders. Communicate project status, risks, and issues promptly. Manage expectations for timelines, deliverables, and priorities.
• Delivery Management: Ensure quality increments meet business goals. Help prioritize the product backlog with the Product Owner. Monitor progress, velocity, and agile metrics for planning and improvement.
• Risk & Issue Management. Identify, monitor, and manage risks, issues, and dependencies proactively. Enable timely issue of critical blockers.
• Continuous Improvement: Foster a learning culture and process enhancement. Conduct retrospectives to review successes and areas for improvement and assist in implementing agreed actions.
• Resource & Capacity Management. Help the team manage their workload and ensure optimal utilization without burnout. Work with other teams and managers to allocate resources as needed.
• Reporting & Documentation. Ensure necessary project documentation is maintained (e.g., sprint plans, definitions of done, lessons learned). Prepare and present regular progress reports to leadership/stake holders.
• Financial Due Diligence. Ensure that all finances are managed according to AZ best practices and guidelines and provide a clear financial status of the project.

Essential Skills/Experience:

Must Haves:

• Hands on experience as a Project Manager in an agile delivery environment
• Experience working in a global organization and across cultural boundaries
• Experience of Programme Increment Planning and in Agile delivery methodologies
• Proven IT delivery experience, working in a matrixed team, in the following areas: delivering, leading and controlling initiatives (developing and leading program level plans; co-ordinating and tracking deliverables and tasks; running budgets; risk and issue management and mitigation; ability to apply change management and generate status reports to support effective decisions and reporting to partners and review boards

Who you are:

• You are an excellent communicator; you have demonstrated skills interacting with leaders
• You are a skilled influencer with excellent relationship management skills
• You are curious, with an entrepreneurial attitude and the proven ability to shape innovative solutions
• You have well-developed organizational, interpersonal, written, and verbal comms skills
• You can work independently or within a team proactively in a fast-paced AGILE-SCRUM environment
• You take responsibility for the successful delivery of initiatives
• Good understanding of agile frameworks (Scrum, Kanban, Lean, SAFe, etc.)
• Experience with planning tools (Jira)
• Technical, Science or Business degree (or relevant working experience in these areas)

Don’t meet every single requirement? We encourage you to apply anyway. You might just be the right candidate for this, or other roles.

What you will get:

• Limitless growth and learning opportunities
• A collaborative and positive culture - join a diverse team of professionals that are as smart and driven as you.
• A chance to make an impact – your work will contribute directly to enabling the delivery of programs and solutions that are critical in our mission to develop life-changing medicines for patients
• Exciting experience working on the hottest technologies and leading platforms in a highly dynamic, highly skilled, and diverse global team

Desirable Skills/Experience:

NA

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.

At AstraZeneca, we connect across the entire business to power each function towards better patient outcomes. Our work is impactful and valuable as we drive disruptive transformation on our journey to becoming a digital and data-led enterprise. Collaborate with leading experts in our specialist communities where innovation meets large-scale impact. Here, we turn complex information into life-changing insights every day.

Ready to make your mark? Apply now to join us on this transformative journey!