Partnership Director

We're building a connected, end-to-end Enterprise AI engine - uniting data foundations, AI technology, process reinvention, and business-facing AI to accelerate results across the whole value chain. Success depends on being exceptional connectors: you'll actively leverage existing capabilities, celebrate and promote reuse, export breakthrough ideas across geographies and functions, and obsess over scaling impact rather than building in isolation. If you thrive in high-collaboration environments where your role is to turn complex, cross-functional problems into reusable, enterprise-wide capabilities - and where the measure of success is adoption and scale, not just innovation - you'll have the platform (and sponsorship) to make it real.   

Introduction to Role 

This role sits at the intersection of external innovation, digital health, data strategy and AI ecosystem engagement. The Partnership Director will help translate strategic priorities and RWE requests into fit-for-purpose partnership options, ensuring that internal teams have a clear view of the available external partner landscape, data assets, capability maturity and transaction routes.   

You will be a senior operator in biotech & medtech ecosystems, with the judgement to distinguish signal from noise, the stakeholder range to align senior internal decision makers, and move from exploration to transaction and long-term partnership success. They will bring strong competence in multimodal AI and data driven healthcare, including an ability to assess how emerging AI capabilities, real-world datasets, platforms and partner operating models can support better decisions, better evidence generation and improved patient and healthcare system outcomes.   

Role Scope 

• The role scope includes partnership lifecycle responsibilities with end-to-end ownership from partner scouting, triage and internal alignment through transaction support, implementation, performance governance, renewal and potential expansion.  

• RWE and data partnerships, working with internal stakeholders to understand evidence needs, evaluate internal data assets, identify gaps, propose external partners and assess whether third-party datasets are fit-for-purpose.   

• Covering AI and digital health, including evaluating digital health, multimodal AI and data-enabled capabilities across biotech, health tech and platform ecosystems, with a focus on scalable, compliant and clinically significant use cases.   

• The role scope also involves external ecosystem engagement, developing relationships across start-ups, scale ups, academic institutions, accelerators, investors, government bodies and innovation agencies to source opportunities and build reputational equity.   

• In addition, the role scope includes internal business partnering, acting as a trusted adviser to therapeutic area, medical, commercial, market access, legal, procurement, data, privacy and compliance stakeholders.   

Key Accountabilities 

1. Originate and qualify strategic partnerships

Identify external partners across digital health, data, AI, RWE, biotech ecosystems that align to strategic priorities and unmet business needs.   

Build and maintain a dynamic view of the external landscape, including emerging companies, platforms, data providers, academic groups, innovation hubs, government initiatives and investor backed capabilities.   

Develop clear partner hypotheses, opportunity briefs and decision narratives that help internal stakeholders understand the strategic value, maturity, risks and potential routes to engagement.   

2. Drive internal alignment and decision support 

Lead cross-functional discussions from early exploration through decision making, ensuring the right internal stakeholders are engaged across commercial, medical, therapeutic areas, market access, RWE, data science, privacy, legal, procurement, compliance and finance.   

Translate complex external opportunities into concise recommendations, including options, trade-offs, risks, dependencies, decision criteria and proposed next steps.   

Create structured evaluation processes so partnership decisions are evidence-based, timely and aligned to enterprise priorities rather than driven by ad hoc opportunity flow.   

3. Support execution and mobilisation 

Work with business owners, procurement, legal, compliance and finance to support due diligence, contracting, operating model design, governance set-up and mobilisation of selected partnerships.   

Help define partnership objectives, success metrics, decision rights, resourcing requirements, implementation milestones and escalation routes.   

Ensure that handover from opportunity evaluation to delivery is disciplined, with clear ownership, implementation plans and partner accountability from day one.   

4. Manage partnerships through performance, renewal and expansion 

Own or support the ongoing relationship management of strategic partners, ensuring regular governance, issue resolution, performance tracking and benefit realisation.   

Lead renewal planning and reviews, including assessment of partner performance, strategic relevance, value delivered, contract terms and potential expansion opportunities.   

See opportunities to scale successful partnerships across markets, therapeutic areas or business units where there is a clear strategic and operational fit.   

5. Drive RWE and external data partner evaluation 

When RWE or evidence generation requests arise, work with internal stakeholders to clarify the decision need, target population, required variables, geographic scope, methodological constraints and intended use of the evidence.   

Propose externally available partners and data sources, evaluating whether they are fit-for-purpose. 

Partner with RWE, data science, medical and compliance teams to ensure proposed data partnerships are scientifically robust, ethically governed and commercially relevant.   

6. Build capability and thought leadership 

Contribute to internal capability building on digital health, RWE partnerships, data sourcing, multimodal AI, external innovation and partnership governance.   

Provide perspectives on the competitive, regulatory and technology landscape, including how multimodal AI and emerging data modalities may reshape evidence generation and care pathways.   

Mentor colleagues and help embed partnering practices, templates and governance approaches across the AI healthcare ecosystem.   

Essential Skills and Experience 

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience; advanced scientific, healthcare, business or data-related qualification preferred.   

• 5+ years of proven experience in digital health, life sciences, biotech, health tech, data partnerships, business development, innovation, RWE.   

• Proven track record in identifying, assessing, transacting and leading external partnerships in complex healthcare or life sciences environments.   

• Experience supporting business development, procurement, legal or contracting processes, including due diligence, governance design, negotiation support and renewal management.   

• Good understanding of RWE, external data assets and data partner evaluation, including fit-for-purpose data assessment, data quality, representativeness, linkage, privacy and governance considerations.   

• Good competence in multimodal AI and AI enabled healthcare applications, including the ability to assess opportunities involving structured clinical data, imaging, text, omics, digital biomarkers, sensors or platform-based evidence generation.   

• Experienced operator in biotech, health tech and digital health ecosystems, with credible networks across start-ups, scale-ups, academia, accelerators, venture/investor communities and innovation agencies.   

• Ability to influence senior stakeholders across multiple functions, cultures and geographies in a large, matrixed organisation.   

• Highly developed communication skills, with the ability to express complex technical, commercial and scientific ideas clearly and persuasively for different audiences.   

• Entrepreneurial, outcomes-focused and comfortable operating with ambiguity while maintaining high standards of integrity, governance and compliance.   

Preferred Skills and Experience 

• Experience with value-based partnerships, care pathway optimisation, digital therapeutics, diagnostics, remote monitoring, clinical workflow tools or data enabled patient support models.   

• Exposure to venture investment, corporate innovation, accelerator programmes, ecosystem strategy or start-up advisory activity.   

• Familiarity with Design Thinking, Lean start-up, agile delivery and digital product management in healthcare or life sciences.   

• Understanding of regulatory, privacy, data ethics, procurement and compliance considerations relevant to digital health, AI and RWE partnerships.   

• Knowledge of government pathways and engagement routes, including how public sector relationships, trade bodies, innovation programmes and policy environments can support partnership access and reputational equity.   

Leadership Behaviours 

• You are personable & a compassionate leader   

• You are someone who listens to understand rather than listens to respond   

• Acts as a strategic connector linking innovation from external sources with internal business need.   

• Balances entrepreneurial pace with enterprise rigor, governance and risk management.   

• Builds trust quickly with senior leaders, technical experts and external partners.   

Office Working Requirements 

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.     

Ready to make a difference? Apply now!   

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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.