Head of Commercial IT Rare Disease Unit

Some opportunities happen only once in a lifetime - like a job where you have the chance to change lives. At Alexion, people living with rare and devastating diseases are our Guiding Star. We are driven to continuously innovate and create meaningful value in all we do to help patients and families fully live their best lives. We value the uniqueness and diversity of our employees and recognize that nurturing the diverse perspectives and strengths of our people translates into innovative breakthroughs for patients.

This is what you will do:

The Head of Commercial IT is a senior member of the Alexion IT leadership team reporting directly to the Vice President, Head of Information Technology Rare Disease Unit with functional accountability to the SVP, US Commercial and the SVP, International Commercial and General Manager, Alexion Japan. You will be responsible for partnering on business strategy, driving process and technology across all phases of the Global Commercial business processes and product franchises - from digital services & marketing through central, regional and market based commercial business operations. The individual must be an exceptionally strong collaborator, adept at strategy design, while generating and contributing innovative thoughts and ideas enabled by digital platforms that build meaningful value for the function and the enterprise!

You will be responsible for:

• Serve as the IT Leader and focal point to build a business partnership and drive strategy and business solutions for the Commercial business areas: US-International-Japan Commercial. In addition, establish a close and effective partnership with Global Marketing and Market Access, Medical and business operations team leaders to enhance synergies and improve data-digital deliverables.
• Build, lead and empower an impactful Global Commercial IT team ensuring high level of execution that is fully aligned to Commercial outcomes.
• Partner with global commercial teams to drive and handle technology demand in accordance with commercial priorities, funding and prioritization.
• Accountable for delivery of IT systems that support global Commercial function. Direct involvement in translating strategy and architecture into specific business solutions, user experience and outcomes.
• Acts as escalation point related to all IT matters for the Global Commercial landscape.
• Applying a pragmatic approach in creating architectural artifacts to support the value realization across enterprise initiatives, cross-pharma efforts, and global commercial strategic investments; Build and maintain roadmaps for these strategic capabilities and align them to corresponding solution roadmaps projected over 3-year time horizons aligned with the IT investment portfolio.
• Apply sophisticated business intelligence and advanced analytics capability to drive business insights (Patient ID, KOL focus, targeted education opportunities), benchmark external knowledge to proactively evaluate changes in the environment, and influence technology solutions specifically related to commercial business processes.
• Establish an IT governance function to prioritize programs across the Commercial IT portfolio.
• Serve as thought and solutions leader for the Commercial function as it relates to systems and capabilities.
• Supervise the authoring of documentation such as requirements specifications, data models, test plans, and other system lifecycle deliverables – with specific focus upon agile methodologies appropriate for the constantly evolving nature of the Global Commercial model(s).
• Partner with IT and Commercial business leaders to clarify requirements and ensure appropriate project results and requirements.
• Vendor Management - drive team to understand and evaluate the existing and potential items in the portfolio of work to align with business priorities and drive the execution of IT projects in collaboration with suppliers, business partners, team and management.
• Anticipate, understand and communicate the implications of technical decisions on the business, application, and project timelines and influence decisions accordingly.
• Provide insight into the art of the possible and next generation possibilities to create innovation opportunities across the Commercial pipeline.
• Define, lead, and implement technical work, software integration, and data integration activities.
• Analyze and tackle sophisticated technical problems, including advanced data analysis using multiple technologies.

You will need to have:

• 15+ years of progressive levels of pharmaceutical or biotech experience, with a focus on direct Global Commercial practice innovating, collaborating and driving global teams.
• Proven ability to influence very Senior Leaders and the direction of the business and be a trusted advisor.
• Demonstrated ability to act as a technology "thought Leader" and sell new insights / concepts into the business.
• Recognized both internally and externally for thought leadership in Digital and IT.
• Ability to identify and remediate risks (financial, people, activities)
• Ability to shape IT strategy.
• Strong people management and employee engagement
• Evidence of leading, developing and delivering innovative solutions
• Experience of defining the business strategies and influencing the vision of senior leaders.
• Experience leading high value cases & mobilizing high value investments.
• Strong interpersonal and written/verbal communication skills.

We would prefer for you to have:

• A Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Business Administration or related field. An advanced degree is preferred.
• Self-motivated and directed and driven by opportunity and customer expectations.
• Writes and presents effectively; adjusts to fit the audience and the message; strongly gets a message across.
• Results oriented and success driven with a desire to impact a growing and highly successful company.
• Deep knowledge of software development life cycle, spanning the entire lifecycle from project initiation to deployment, support and retirement.
• Architectural and application development experience.
• Leadership abilities to achieve results through others.
• Proven ability to influence peers.
• Demonstrated depth and breadth of knowledge and experience with current IT technologies.
• Ability to work well in and across diverse global teams.

Expectation of working in the office 3 days a week: When we put unexpected teams in the same room, we unleash bold thinking with the power to inspire life-changing medicines. In-person working give 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. 

AstraZeneca requires all US employees to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 but will consider requests for reasonable accommodations as required by applicable law.

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.