Senior Business Partner, M&A IT

Senior Business Partner, M&A IT



Do you have expertise in, and passion for, Business Development and leading IT for Business Development deals (acquisitions, divestitures, alliances, or collaborations)? Would you like to apply your expertise to impact the success of these deals in a company that follows the science and turns ideas into life changing medicines? Then AstraZeneca might be the one for you!

Enabling Units IT strives to deliver phenomenal solutions and services to multiple business functions including HR, Finance, Business Development/Mergers-and-Acquisitions, Global Sustainability and Corporate Affairs. The team is comprised of over 330 team members located in 9 locations across Europe, North America, and Asia.

What you'll do

The M&A IT Senior Business Partner will work closely with Business Development Operations (BDO), Corporate Development, R&D BD, and IT Business Technology Groups, bringing industry knowledge, business understanding and strong digital/technology acumen to bear in support of our deals (acquisitions, divestments, and collaborations) and to help improve our IT capability. The role combines in-depth understanding of AstraZeneca, business development strategy and domain knowledge from R&D through to Commercialization along with and relevant technical expertise to drive 'Best in Class' IT M&A and Alliance activity.



This role requires a hybrid set of technical, business domain, and leadership skills. You are expected to perform as a leader-doer with the ability to inspire and motivate an agile and diverse team of professionals in a complex matrix organization and lead cross functional project teams. The role is expected to partner with other IT functions across AZ (Infrastructure, R&D, Commercial, Operations, EU) in the delivery of these programs. This role is a mix of delivering 'Best in Class' IT and building a relationship of trust with our stakeholders, anchored by strong technical and domain expertise and continuous learning and development.



Accountabilities of the role include:

* Build strong strategic relationships with complex customer groups and senior stakeholders, develop a deep understanding of the short-term and long-term business direction

* Develop and maintain a stakeholder management plan, conduct continuous stakeholder analysis, and work cross-functionally to align on strategy and plans

* Assess and prioritize Business Development requirements in line with IT strategy, and influencing IT strategy where appropriate

* Drive M&A IT project/program (s) with potential to lead x-functional IT teams

* Facilitate accurate IT demand forecasting, planning, and delivery collaboratively with other supporting IT team roles

* Lead business impact assessments, identifying risks and issues that may affect current and future business units and roles, and create business readiness plan

* Lead high-level investigations on requirements specifications and feasibility studies, developing a range of options aligned to business and IT strategy

* Partner with key stakeholders on the development of detailed business cases for new IT solutions

* Proactively identify opportunities for IT to deliver innovative technology solutions to provide competitive advantage

* Present and gain buy-in from senior leaders for IT initiatives, leveraging domain knowledge to gain credibility, trust, and commitment

* Develop performance metrics and business scorecards to define and monitor delivery of value, diligence in completion and adherence to scorecard reporting



Essential for the role

* 10+ years of relevant experience

* Degree or relevant business qualification - Technical or Business degree; Master's degree preferred

* Deep knowledge and understanding of the business domains within Bio-pharma, with extensive knowledge of scientific and/or R&D/Commercialization processes

* Strong verbal and written communication / facilitation skills with the ability to work collaboratively with others to achieve objectives

* Strong influencing, networking and team working skills

* Proven experience in M&A IT or Alliance & Integration IT projects

* Ability to work well in and across diverse global teams

* Ability to partner and work in a matrix organization

* Proficiency in planning, change management and problem solving to resolve issues of a highly complex and strategic nature

* Project Management - proven skills and experience delivering, managing and controlling large projects /programmes

* Proven ability to interpret and communicate technical and scientific information

* Comfortable working across multiple domains and with ambiguity, has good judgement and can "get stuff done" without an over-reliance on process

* A self-starter with high levels of drive, energy, resilience



Desirable for the role

* Involvement in pharma IT and/or R&D/Commercial/Operations networks and organizations

* Experience of working with onshore and offshore suppliers

* Demonstrated understanding of quality and compliance

* Programme/Project Management certifications preferred

* Experience of coaching and developing others

* Agile development methodologies