Operational Excellence Director Jobs

Please note resumes most be submitted in English

At AstraZeneca, we pride ourselves on crafting a collaborative culture that champions knowledge-sharing, ambitious thinking and innovation – ultimately providing employees with the opportunity to work across teams, functions and even the globe.

 Recognizing the importance of individualized flexibility, our ways of working allow employees to balance personal and work commitments while ensuring we continue to create a strong culture of collaboration and teamwork by engaging face-to-face in our offices 3 days a week. Our head office and BlueSky Hub in downtown Toronto are purposely designed with collaboration in mind, providing space where teams can come together to strategize, brainstorm and connect on key projects.

 Our dedication to sustainability is also central to our culture and part of what makes AstraZeneca a great place to work. We know the health of people, the planet and our business are interconnected which is why we’re taking ambitious action to tackle some of the biggest challenges of our time, from climate change to access to healthcare and disease prevention.

Key Responsibilities:

This role will be responsible for providing support to the Operational Excellence Leader and will work closely with all R&D IT (including Operations Managers, Portfolio, Practices & Governance) Global IT (including Enterprise Technology Services, Strategy and Performance) and other functions as needed. A key accountability is to accelerate change and transformation initiatives, performance metrics and tracking, drive initiatives to improve ways of working, lead employee communication strategies and various initiatives to support R&D IT and OneIT.

We are seeking a passionate leader to orchestrate and complete in-Business Technology Group (BTG) processes to be completed for AZ IT, e.g., tier process, MTP, annual planning, IT strategy alignment and identifying/deploying ongoing business agility opportunities, and ensure these are embedded into the R&D IT BTG. They will partner with other BTG groups to learn/share and apply standard methodologies.

Typical Accountabilities:

• Prepare various communication materials, and lead R&D IT cross enterprise activities, pulse improvement plans
• Accelerate strategy enabling one R&D IT and One IT Culture - including project leading initiatives with ambiguity, complexity and cross functional collaborators – including preparing change management plans, communications and following through to execution
• Accountable for partnering with various colleagues to ensure a clear plan and track execution to drive initiatives including : pulse improvements, supporting MTP/LTP processes, improved processes and refreshing of R&D IT strategy etc
• Lead efforts to ensure Operational Health for R&D IT is running as efficiently as possible across global teams
• Partner with S&P and other team members to ensure various results are provided in advance of deadlines including scorecards, etc
• Lead various projects to drive improved ways of working within R&D IT

Education, Qualifications, Skills

• Strong leadership skills and ability to work well in a matrixed organization - A background of successfully leading change initiatives; a background in process/continuous improvement with a focus on metrics/KPIs
• PROSCI certified & PMP certified
• 5 years leading large-scale Operational Excellence initiatives with strong Organizational Change experience and Change Management expertise;
• Well-honed relationship building and negotiating skills; Partners well with colleagues to work through cross-functional issues at either a business unit, department level or organization level
• Minimum 7- 10 years combined experience in Information Systems, Project Management, Continuous Improvement leadership roles
• Experience in leading various change management efforts – ideally enterprise change experience
• Able to work virtually, in a global organization, develop and maintain networks across business and cultural boundaries
• Demonstrate ability to implement continuous process improvements focusing on operational efficiencies, internal and external customer relationships, engagement and motivating impactful teams
• Excellent project delivery skills with proven track record to define problem statements, business cases, measures and then implement to deliver benefits.
• Bachelor level degree in Information Technology, Math, Science, Engineering and/or Business. Master's level degree preferred.
• Effective collaboration skills with ability to get results and successfully manage through adversity
• Certified in Lean Six Sigma, Lean or Business Process Management
• Experience leading in a matrix, influencing in a matrix and leading culture change
• Ability to leverage data to analyze performance, develop insights and effectively partner with resources to optimize operational excellence

Great People want to Work with us! Find out why:

• GTAA Top Employer Award for 9 years
• View our YouTube channel
• Learn about our culture
• Learn more about working with us in Canada

Are you interested in working at AZ, apply today!

AstraZeneca is an equal opportunity employer that is committed to diversity and inclusion and providing a workplace that is free from discrimination. AstraZeneca is committed to accommodating persons with disabilities. Such accommodation is available on request in respect of all aspects of the recruitment, assessment and selection process and may be requested by emailing [email protected].