Director, Business Planning & Operations

AstraZeneca - Gaithersburg, MD

Full-time - Senior

Gaithersburg, MD

Chemical Manufacturing

About the position

The Director of Business Planning and Operations (BPO) at AstraZeneca serves as the chief of staff and business planning lead for the Vaccine and Immune Therapies (V&I) clinical operations function. This role is responsible for developing the yearly business plan, including budget planning, scorecard management, and strategic goal setting. The position also involves operational business processes such as risk management, capacity management, and business reporting, while collaborating with functional leadership to align objectives with corporate strategies.

Responsibilities

• Partner with functional leadership to devise multi-year strategic plans and align yearly functional scorecards and objectives with broader corporate strategies.
• Orchestrate the development of annual functional capacity and budget proposals.
• Assist functional leaders in the continuous management of budgets, including regular reporting and analysis.
• Coordinate the functional risk reporting and mitigation strategies.
• Supervise and communicate progress on scorecards and objectives.
• Keep the capacity and demand plans up-to-date in line with evolving business requirements.
• Act as a key member of the V&I clinical operations leadership teams and organize leadership team meetings.
• Drive effective communication and employee engagement through various channels, including townhalls and meetings.
• Manage and interpret function performance metrics to support informed decision-making.
• Contribute a functional perspective to the BPO peer community to shape strategy and decision-making across BioPharmaceuticals Clinical Operations.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Science, Business Administration, Engineering, or a related field.
• Proven expertise in developing strategic plans with the ability to operationalize these plans into actionable steps.
• A minimum of 5 years experience managing operational processes within a complex matrix organization.
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple tasks and responsibilities simultaneously, maintaining high quality and attention to detail.
• Exceptional communication skills, with proficiency in articulating complex ideas effectively to diverse audiences.
• Strong influencing skills, with experience in persuading peers and senior leaders across organizational boundaries.
• Proven leadership in guiding cross-functional project teams towards successful outcomes.
• Adept at navigating ambiguity and adapting to evolving business needs with a solution-oriented mindset.
• Solid experience in leading cross-functional projects with a history of positive impact and delivering results.