EUIT Operational Excellence Lead

Introduction to role

The Operational Excellence Lead will work across Enabling Units IT (EUIT) and support the VP & Leadership Team (LT) on their journey towards excellence and becoming a high-performing team. This role ensures progress across key initiatives and portfolio maturity, supporting performance reporting, portfolio transparency, leadership communications, continuous improvement, optimization, and strategy. You will design and map processes including operational health, cross-functional planning, IT and Enabling Functions’ business unit strategy alignment, and identifying ongoing opportunities. Additionally, you will handle a regular cadence of monthly, quarterly, and annual activities to drive quality, change, efficiency, and effectiveness across services and processes.

Accountabilities

Enabling Units IT Performance

• Work closely with the Strategy, Performance & Quality (SPQ) team to drive strategy alignment, governance, and delivery on time and in quality for pan-AZ IT initiatives and processes.
• Support identification, management, tracking, and contribution to AZ IT Objective Key Results (OKRs)/ Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).
• Collaborate with the EUIT Leadership Team to ensure that capabilities are optimized, and optimization targets are set and met.

Enabling Units IT Strategy

• Develop and track key EUIT strategic priorities and milestones, ensuring alignment to Enabling Units business units’ strategy and priorities.
• Collaborate with Finance and SPQ Business Partners to facilitate the production of Mid Term Planning (MTP) and Rolling Business Update (RBU) reports including data gathering, analysis, and narrative.
• Gather and ensure Capability Roadmaps are maintained and shared appropriately.

Enabling Units IT Operations

• Facilitate the delivery of quarterly All Hands, Senior Leaders, and ‘Ask the LT’ meetings.
• Coordinate the monthly EUIT Business Partners forum.
• Facilitate weekly LT forum, bi-annual face-to-face, and monthly strategy meetings.
• Coordinate, develop, and deploy leadership communications and stakeholder engagement.
• Celebrate and socialize key achievements of our people and initiatives.
• Coordinate with the LT to ensure flawless execution of initiatives and ensure outcomes are clearly measured and realized.

Enabling Units IT Transformation
• Build an effective network with the EUIT IT HRBP and FBP to manage headcount, OSPs, and effectively manage approvals data.
• Be the Pulse Champion for EUIT supported by a network of others across the organization, socializing results and agreeing on areas of focus and improvement.

Necessary Skills/Experience

• Educated to degree level standard or equivalent
• Experience working with senior leaders, including VP level, to support strategic business performance optimization
• Effective networker able to form effective working relationships at different levels and with different stakeholder groups to address specific issues and/or deliver specific outcomes.
• Good understanding of deploying OKRs/KPIs metrics for enhanced performance and using benchmarking for effective target-setting
• Strong understanding of budgeting and finance concepts and processes, including Mid Term Planning (MTP)
• Effective strategic thinking and problem-solving skills
• Ability to influence and challenge at a senior level and communicate complex issues in a simple and effective way
• Excellent organization and facilitation skills
• Ability to handle multiple concurrent workstreams and prioritize effectively
• Strong presentation skills to present data and information in a simple and engaging format
• Effective analytical skills to identify opportunities for performance improvement
• Knowledge of digital trends and ways of working

At AstraZeneca, our work has a direct impact on patients by transforming our ability to develop life-changing medicines. We empower the business to perform at its peak by combining cutting-edge science with leading digital technology platforms. Join us at a crucial stage of our journey in becoming a digital and data-led enterprise. Here you can innovate, take ownership, experiment with leading-edge technology, and tackle challenges that might never have been addressed before. Our dynamic environment offers countless opportunities to learn, grow, and make a meaningful impact.

Ready to make a difference? Apply now!

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.