Executive Director, Business Transformation

Executive Director, Business Transformation

Gaithersburg, Boston (USA) Cambridge (UK) Mississauga (Canada) Barcelona (Spain)

Do you have an organizational mindset and can do attitude that enables you to deliver positive outcomes on high impact and complex projects? Are you looking to join a growing team that will design and deliver value-driven change to an organization?

At AstraZeneca, we are proud of our ground-breaking pipeline and continue to look for new ways to bring the best medicines to patients. We are building and fostering high-performing collaborative teams across the organization to help us deliver on our ambition. There’s no better time to join our global, growing enterprise as we lead the way for patients, healthcare and broader society.

Our team sits at the center of the enterprise, identifying and driving transformative opportunities for the entire organization. We lead cross-functional and enterprise-wide initiative to deliver transformative value and ensure we are at our best in delivering life saving medicines to patients.

In this role, you will report to the Head of Business Transformation and be accountable for the strategic and operational design and delivery of organizational transformation and change management projects. You’ll play a pivotal role collaborating with teams across the enterprise, while driving operational excellence, owning process improvements, optimizing strategic planning, and implementing change plans for the successful adoption and integration of the transformation.

Proactively identify and shape new enterprise initiatives: Monitor internal and external environments to spot emerging trends, technologies, and inefficiencies, turning insights into actionable initiatives that drive future value. Build strong connection with functional leadership teams and act as a thought partner in shaping new cross-functional initiatives and opportunities.

• Stay ahead of industry shifts, market dynamics, and innovation trends.
• Provide structured overviews and updates on opportunities and strategic implications of emerging trends.
• Encourage curiosity and experimentation to uncover new ways of creating impact.

Drive strategic priorities and deliver impact for transformation: Actively define the desired outcome-based future state, articulate the purpose and driving factors behind the change, and ensure every initiative directly supports the organization’s long-term objectives.

• Build and oversee the business case for change, including quantitative and qualitative assessments for senior executive level presentations to make the case for investment.
• See the “big picture” and understand how different parts of the organization interconnect.
• Identify long-term opportunities and anticipate future challenges.

Lead and manage change through effective stakeholder engagement: Build trust by listening to concerns, aligning diverse perspectives, and guiding people through uncertainty using structured change management approaches.

• Quickly build trusted thought partnerships with senior and executive stakeholders.
• Apply proven change management frameworks (e.g., ADKAR, Kotter’s 8 Steps).
• Develop and manage stakeholder engagement plan, building trust and alignment at all levels of the organization.

Shape and communicate the change narratives: Translate complex transformation goals into clear, inspiring messages that motivate teams, reinforce progress, and sustain belief in the vision.

• Build and oversee communication and engagement plan in line with change management and delivery roadmap.
• Tailor communication to different audiences, from executives to frontline teams.
• Create consistent, compelling narratives to maintain momentum and buy‑in.

Drive execution through rigorous project and program management: Organize cross‑functional efforts, monitor progress against key milestones, and ensure that resources, risks, and dependencies are effectively managed to deliver measurable outcomes.

• Own and drive complex transformational programs and work streams.
• Apply appropriate project management methodologies (Agile, Lean,…