Senior Director, Innovative Research Methods

Do you have expertise in, and curiosity for driving innovation in evidence generation in Oncology, including introduction of new research methods, data collection approaches or the application of Generative AI to improve operational efficiencies?

Apply your experience to changing the way cancer is treated at AstraZeneca, a company that follows the science and turns ideas into life changing medicines. Help to advance our incredible pipeline by applying expertise and accelerating our pathway to finding a cure.

The Next Gen Sciences (NGS) team is composed of highly functional individuals with strong research skills, operating globally across AstraZeneca’s brand and tumour areas to support the broader Evidence Generation to Publications (EG2P) and Global Medical Affairs organizations in the identification of novel approaches for evidence generation, including formation of global data assets, streamlining prospective data collection efforts, and identifying new paradigms for conducting research or generating impactful communication.

The Innovative Research Methods (IRM) function is a key component of the NGS team, driving a ‘seed to sprout’ approach for introducing new methods across the broader EG2P organization.

The Senior Director, IRM is responsible for setting the innovation agenda and identifying methods for downstream operationalization that will improve the quality and turnaround time for clinical studies conducted within EG2P, and the delivering impactful digital and patient-focused solutions that support research for the AstraZeneca oncology portfolio. This role will work collaboratively to identify new opportunities for introducing innovation into our new or ongoing Phase 3b/4 studies, externally sponsored research (ESR) or Early Access Programmes (EAPs).

• Be responsible for multiple initiatives within NGS and EG2P, and therefore must be comfortable with ambiguity and able to flex across different work streams, cross-functional teams and discussion topics.

• Conceive and pilot innovations related to the conduct of clinical studies, including recruitment, data collection, data management or analysis that enhance efficiencies or reduce burden across multiple tumour types, geographies and settings.

• Lead external academic partnerships, method co‑development (e.g., external control arms, EMR‑to‑EDC pipelines, synthetic arms, DCT design science), and cross‑AZ alignment with R&D Biostatistics, Data Science/ML, and Regulatory to ensure consistency and scientific rigor.

• Inform the development of plans and playbooks that clearly outline key steps for implementation of identified innovations within current work streams to increase adoption across study teams.

• Collaborate closely with internal global cross‑functional partners including broader Evidence Generation to Publications (EG2P) team, Oncology Medical Affairs leadership and global Medical teams to enable implementation of new / innovative approaches to data collection, generation or communication.

• Outline EG2P’s strategy for innovative digital health or Artificial Intelligence (AI) solutions for evidence generation (including use‑cases, risk taxonomy, validation frameworks, etc) and seek opportunities for innovation and simplification.

• Be a thought partner in optimising data collection in projects led by EG2P organization, such as Phase 3b/4 studies, ESRs, or where applicable, EAPs, including publication of position papers/guidance and contributions to industry standards.

• Lead discussions within broader AZ organization, including Research & Development, regarding trends in clinical research innovation.

• Provide leadership, mentor, feed forward to teams and individuals to upskill and develop future capabilities in line with AstraZeneca’s dedication to a culture of performance development and lifelong learning.

• Lead stewardship of method qualification, evidentiary standards, and regulatory engagement (e.g., dialogues on RWE/external controls, DCT acceptability), ensuring methods meet ICH/GCP and regional expectations before handoff to DIRA.

• MS, Pharm
  
  D or PhD in relevant…