Senior Director, Evidence Statistics, Real World Science & Analytics

Location: Barcelona - Spain (3 days working from the office and 2 days working from home)

Introduction to the role

BioPharmaceuticals Medical (BPM) strives for the best patient outcomes by providing healthcare decision-makers around the world with the evidence and confidence they need on AstraZeneca therapies, as well as supporting our internal stakeholders with medical insights and expertise. BPM provides medical leadership across the enterprise, including in support of life cycle planning and post-launch evidence generation. BPM aims to lead AstraZeneca in advancing its scientific leadership, being a great place to work, and keeping patients at the core of everything we do. 

The Senior Director, Evidence Statistics will play a key role in delivering statistical and methodological expertise to enable evidence generation activities, as well as developing and championing associated AI and analytic tools across the organization. The Senior Director will lead a high-functioning Global statistics team that enables the design, governance, interpretation and reporting of evidence generation studies across therapeutic areas. This role will be accountable for maintaining and maximizing the value of leading statistics expertise to support primary and secondary data studies. The Senior Director will also contribute to the Global Evidence organization’s efforts to identify, build, acquire, and embed AI tools and technologies that increase the efficiency and impact of evidence generation studies.  

We are looking for a leader to nurture and maximize the impact of industry-leading statistical expertise for the benefit of patients around the world. The Senior Director will utilize their established technical leadership and the expertise of their team to drive impact across multi-disciplinary teams that include medical leads, epidemiologists, data scientists and other cross-functional partners to generate insights and evidence that informs clinical practice. 

Accountabilities 

• Lead, develop, and inspire a high-performing team of statisticians supporting real-world evidence generation across therapeutic areas. 

• Provide strategic and operational leadership for statistical input into evidence generation plans, study design, sample size estimation, study governance, interpretation, and dissemination. 

• Partner effectively with therapeutic area evidence leaders and key stakeholders across Medical, Market Access, HEOR, Data Science, and R&D to align statistical approaches with study objectives and evidence needs.  

• Builds strong cross-functional collaboration with partner teams, such as Real World Data Science and the Real World Data Office 

• Set clear roles, expectations, and accountabilities for team members, ensuring effective deployment of statistical expertise across the portfolio. 

• Advance the use of innovative and fit-for-purpose statistical approaches to address complex evidence questions, including comparative effectiveness, causal inference, and value demonstration. 

• Maintain deep awareness of emerging methodologies, related AI advancements, regulatory expectations, and external best practice in the design, analysis, and interpretation of real-world evidence. 

• Lead continuous improvement and capability-building initiatives that strengthen quality, consistency, efficiency, and methodological excellence across the statistics function. 

• Represent the function externally through engagement with scientific experts, professional societies, collaborators, and other external partners to bring in and shape leading practice. 

• Ensure appropriate statistical support, prioritization, and resourcing across the portfolio to deliver high-quality evidence to agreed timelines. 

• Coach, mentor, and develop statistical talent, building both technical depth and leadership capability within the team. 

• Drive the development and adoption of tools, standards, and ways of working that improve the efficiency, reproducibility, and impact of evidence generation, including appropriate AI-enabled and digital approaches. 

Essential Requirements 

• Advanced degree in Statistics, Biostatistics, or a related quantitative discipline such as Epidemiology, Health Outcomes, Health Informatics, Data Science, or Health Economics; or equivalent combination of education and relevant experience. 

• Substantial experience in the design, analysis, interpretation, and reporting of clinical and/or real-world studies within the pharmaceutical industry, healthcare consulting, CRO, or academic settings. Typically, this would include approximately 8–10+ years of relevant experience depending on educational background. 

• Strong experience in real-world evidence generation, observational research, and data analytics, including study design, analysis planning, and interpretation. 

• Proven ability to lead and influence across complex, matrixed, global organizations and to build strong partnerships internally and externally. 

• Strong strategic leadership, portfolio planning, prioritization, and decision-making skills. 

• Demonstrated ability to solve complex scientific and operational challenges with sound judgment, innovation, and a strong focus on quality. 

• Experience leading, developing, and retaining high-performing scientific teams, including direct line management responsibility. 

• Excellent communication, influencing, and stakeholder engagement skills, with the ability to translate complex methodology for technical and non-technical audiences. 

• Deep understanding of statistical and epidemiologic methods relevant to real-world evidence, including confounding adjustment, causal inference, longitudinal data analysis, and comparative effectiveness research. 

Highly Desired 

• Extensive knowledge of real-world data sources and their strengths, limitations, and fit-for-purpose use in observational research and evidence generation. 

• Experience evaluating, developing, or implementing advanced analytics, automation, or AI-enabled tools that improve evidence generation workflows or analytic capability. 

• Experience working with large-scale healthcare data sources from a variety of countries, including claims, electronic health records, registries, or linked real-world datasets. 

• Experience with modern real-world evidence analytic platforms, reproducible analytics environments, or scalable statistical workflows 

• Track record of scientific publication, external presentation, or thought leadership in real-world evidence, observational research, or applied statistics. 

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.