Director, R&D IT Operational Excellence

This is an in-office role based in Barcelona, ES, with a requirement to work a minimum of three days per week on-site. Remote or travel flexibility is not available.

Role Purpose

The Director, R&D IT Operational Excellence is a senior leadership role responsible for enabling the effective operation and performance of an assigned R&D IT organisation.

The role acts as a Chief of Staff and trusted operational partner to an R&D IT Leadership Team member, connecting strategy to execution and ensuring priorities are translated into clear plans, decisions and actions. The Director provides the LT member with the insight, organisational coordination and operational leadership required to run their organisation effectively, anticipating issues and resolving them wherever possible before escalation.

The role owns and influences operational governance, performance, workforce and capacity planning, financial stewardship, executive reporting and continuous improvement across the assigned portfolio.

A significant focus is expected on SAFe Agile maturity and the practical application of Generative AI, Agentic AI and automation to simplify how R&D IT operates. This includes systematically identifying manual, repetitive activities, particularly reporting, status collation, governance preparation and management information, that can be eliminated, automated or transformed through AI.

Key Accountabilities

Chief of Staff & Leadership Enablement

• Act as the Chief of Staff and trusted operational partner to an R&D IT LT member, helping translate their strategy and priorities into execution across their organisation.

• Anticipate emerging priorities, risks and organisational issues, coordinating appropriate responses and resolving operational matters before they require LT intervention.

• Orchestrate leadership team agendas, operating cadences, decisions and actions, ensuring effective follow-through and accountability.

• Coordinate cross-cutting requests across the organisation, including strategic planning, executive briefings, workforce activities, supplier matters and urgent business requests.

• Develop high-quality executive narratives, presentations, decision papers and briefing materials, while actively seeking to automate rather than institutionalise manual slide and report production.

• Build strong relationships across R&D IT, Finance, HR, Strategy, Quality, Portfolio and wider business stakeholders to accelerate decisions and execution.

Operational Excellence, GenAI & Automation

• Continuously identify opportunities to simplify, eliminate or automate operational work across the organisation.

• Apply Generative AI and Agentic AI to transform operational processes, moving away from manually assembling reports, presentations and status updates towards automated insight generation and decision support.

• Identify high-value AI opportunities, develop use cases with technology teams and champion adoption across the organisation.

• Use AI and automation to improve areas including operational reporting, governance preparation, action tracking, portfolio insights, workforce information and executive briefing preparation.

• Establish measurable benefits for AI and automation initiatives, including reduction in manual effort, faster decision cycles and improved quality and consistency.

SAFe Agile & Delivery Maturity

• Bring deep, practical knowledge of SAFe Agile and use it to improve delivery maturity across multiple product and delivery teams.

• Partner with Product, Technology and Delivery leaders to strengthen planning, prioritisation, flow, dependency management, execution and delivery predictability.

• Assess Agile maturity and identify practical interventions that improve outcomes across teams and Agile Release Trains.

• Constructively challenge Agile practices that have become overly process-driven, helping teams distinguish genuine Agile maturity from process or ceremony compliance.

• Use delivery metrics and evidence to identify systemic constraints and drive continuous improvement.

• Influence consistent ways of working across teams while recognising where flexibility is required to achieve better outcomes.

Performance, Governance & Executive Insight

• Establish effective operational health measures, OKRs, KPIs and governance mechanisms for the assigned organisation.

• Translate complex operational, financial, workforce, portfolio and delivery data into concise insights and decisions for senior leadership.

• Drive leadership and business reviews, ensuring attention is focused on decisions, risks and interventions rather than reporting for reporting's sake.

• Support annual and multi-year planning, strategic roadmaps and investment prioritisation.

• Drive effective risk, dependency and action management across the organisation.

Workforce, Financial & Business Operations

• Partner with leaders on workforce, capacity and organisational planning, aligning skills and resources with strategic priorities.

• Provide oversight of employee and external workforce demand, utilisation and future capability requirements, including AI and digital skills.

• Partner with Finance and leadership on budgets, business cases, investment decisions, financial performance and value realisation.

• Support supplier and OSP governance and identify opportunities to improve value, efficiency and capability.

• Bring together financial, workforce, portfolio and delivery information to provide the LT member with an integrated view of organisational health.

Essential Experience

• Strong experience in Operational Excellence, Chief of Staff, Business Operations, Strategy, Technology Operations or organisational transformation within a complex global organisation.

• Demonstrable experience operating alongside senior executives or leadership teams, with the confidence to act independently and constructively challenge.

• Deep practical experience of SAFe Agile, including how SAFe operates across teams, products, Agile Release Trains and portfolios.

• Demonstrable experience influencing Agile maturity across multiple delivery teams, rather than simply participating in Agile delivery.

• Practical experience applying Generative AI, Agentic AI and automation to business or technology operations.

• Evidence of identifying opportunities to reduce manual effort through AI and automation, ideally within reporting, governance, portfolio or management-information processes.

• Experience developing executive insights, dashboards, OKRs, KPIs and performance narratives.

• Experience of strategic planning, workforce/capacity management and financial or investment governance.

• Strong analytical skills with the ability to turn complex information into clear recommendations and decisions.

Preferred Experience

• Experience supporting Digital, Data, AI, Technology, Product or R&D organisations.

• Experience in pharmaceutical, biotechnology, healthcare or another regulated industry.

• Experience with tools such as Jira, Power BI, ServiceNow and AirFocus, alongside modern GenAI and productivity technologies.

• Experience with supplier governance and outsourced service providers.

• Experience introducing new ways of working or technology capabilities across large matrix organisations.

What Success Looks Like

• The R&D IT LT member has a highly effective operational engine around them, enabling greater focus on strategic leadership and business outcomes.

• Leadership priorities translate consistently into actions, ownership and measurable outcomes.

• Manual preparation of reports, governance packs and management information is significantly reduced through GenAI and automation.

• Agile maturity, planning discipline and delivery predictability improve across multiple teams.

• Leadership receives fewer reports but better insight, with clearer identification of risks, dependencies and decisions required.

• Workforce, financial, portfolio and delivery information provides an integrated picture of organisational health.

• Problems are anticipated and resolved at the appropriate level rather than routinely escalating to the LT member.

Date Posted

Closing Date

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 authorization and employment eligibility verification requirements.