Director, EUIT - Project Delivery

At AstraZeneca we turn ideas into life changing medicines. Working here means being ambitious, thinking big and working together to make the impossible a reality. We’re passionate about the potential of science to address the unmet needs of patients around the world. We commit to those areas where we believe we can really change the course of medicine and bring big new ideas to life.

Enabling Units IT delivers digital and technology solutions and services to multiple business areas including HR, Finance, Legal, Global Sustainability, Corporate Affairs and Global Business Services. The overall EU IT team is comprised of around 400 staff located in 7 major locations within AstraZeneca.

Our business relies on the most up-to-date software to turn ideas into life-changing medicines that benefit patients the world over. The Programme Delivery team within Enabling Units IT builds, develops, deploys and integrates that software – on time and budget – to the highest quality standards. Join us and you can directly contribute to our pioneering activities by providing our business functions with the best possible tools to deliver our strategy. As a Senior Project Manager, you’ll be part of a passionate and expert team of IT professionals that harnesses agile delivery, adheres to our right-first-time principles and makes ‘the best’ the benchmark.

We are looking for a hardworking Senior Project Manager with experience of planning, mobilizing, managing the full project life cycle and delivering transformational IT projects and programmes. It's likely you'll have several years commercial project management experience within a global business. The role will lead project teams from initiation to close, to drive delivery of value from our highest priority projects, working with senior stakeholders from across our business. Our Senior Project Managers are also expected to contribute to continued development of the project management capability through coaching, mentoring and by leading lean improvements in our project management practices.

The Senior Project Manager role will report to a Portfolio Lead in the Enabling Units IT Programme Delivery Team and can be based either from our Cambridge or Macclesfield offices. 

Accountabilities

• Agree and deliver plans for projects / programmes (or contribution in part to a larger project), including activities, resources, costs, roles, responsibilities and quality as defined in the IT Project Management Methodology (ADF). Ensure the project team adheres to required project management  standards. Establish programme governance and lead Decision Point reviews.

• Manage project or programme budgets, forecasts, tasks, schedules, risks, change management, and status to support effective decisions and project reporting to stakeholders and review boards.  Coordinate status and delivery of project workstreams.  Identify and manage dependencies between projects (intra-programme and across portfolio).

• Build a cohesive project team across AZ IT, including offshore, inhouse delivery teams in India and Mexico and provide the leadership necessary to maximize the team’s success.  Provide individual coaching and development of team members as needed.

• Manage relationships with key business stakeholders to ensure the effective capturing of business requirements and commitment to project/programme objectives.  Responsible for steering and stakeholder meetings, communication of status, issues and risks.

• Effectively collaborate with and manage Internal and External Suppliers to ensure delivery of agreed products and services while ensuring adherence to AZ project delivery standards

• Ensure effective risks, issue and change management processes are in place and effectively used.  Resolve problems and escalate as appropriate ensuring that all impacts and changes are approved and appropriately communicated to stakeholders and review boards.

• Ensure expected benefits realization is consistent with project deliverables and clearly understood by stakeholders and project team.

• Develop and assure service transition plans to ensure project delivered solutions are sustainable within a BAU operations environment, including controlled hand-over into operational support.

• Support continued development of a world-class project management capability and ensure that best practice is adopted and reinforced.

• Typical project cost up to $20M, with an internal project team of up to 12 people plus external support where required.

Education, Qualifications and Experience

• Proven project and progamme management skills, including:

  • experience in traditional and agile delivery methods, including familiarity with SAFe

  • setting up and managing project controls

  • negotiating governance requirements

  • managing and controlling project budgets and benefits delivery

  • external supplier management

  • problem solving

  • stakeholder management

• Significant (typically 5+ years) relevant experience as a PM across the whole project lifecycle

• Technical or business degree or relevant equivalent experience

• Experience leading and developing project teams with a diverse blend of skills and capabilities

• Broad understanding of IT systems and technology implemented within a business context

• Effective communication and consulting skills to work with a diverse range of stakeholders

• Excellent business acumen

Desirable

• Project / Programme Management certifications

• Experience working in a global organization where stakeholders and project team members are geographically dispersed

• Pharmaceutical industry experience and/or experience of delivery in a highly-regulated environment

• Lean & Six Sigma Skills

• Master’s degree

• Experience of collaboration platforms for project delivery – e.g. Jira, PPM tools, testing tools.