Director of Data/AI/Digital Intelligence

Besins Healthcare; Dubai; On-site; AED 1,200,000 - 1,800,000; Full time

Job summary

Besins Healthcare in Dubai seeks a transformational leader to design and run enterprise data and AI foundations. You will build governance, architecture, platforms, and operating models to turn fragmented information into a strategic business asset, partnering with Research, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Commercial Operations and Finance to drive decisions and productivity through data and AI.

The role requires 12+ years in data/analytics/AI leadership, experience with data governance, AI

Qualifications

• 12+ years in data/analytics/AI leadership roles.
• Experience implementing data governance programs.
• Experience with agentic AI and scaling AI in large organizations.
• Pharma/healthcare/regulatory exposure appreciated.

Responsibilities

• Build the Enterprise Data Foundation with governance, architecture, and platforms.
• Lead Enterprise AI Foundation including AI governance and platform strategy.
• Define agent orchestration and operating models for enterprise AI agents.
• Recruit, develop talent and establish governance forums.
• Drive adoption of data & AI across Research, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Commercial Ops and Finance.

Skills

Data governance

Data architecture

AI governance

Enterprise AI platform

Agentic AI

Leadership

Job description

Director of Data/AI/Digital Intelligence

Location: Dubai (UAE)

Reporting to: Head of IT

Context

Besins Healthcare is a fast-paced, fast-growing, international pharmaceutical company (~1,800 employees, €800M€ revenue) entering a critical phase of enterprise-wide transformation.

Our ambition is to establish data and artificial intelligence as core enterprise capabilities that drive innovation, operational excellence, regulatory compliance, and competitive advantage.

To support this ambition, we are creating a highly visible leadership role with major influence on the future direction of the company: Director of Data, AI & Digital Intelligence.

This role will be responsible for building and operating the company's enterprise-wide Data & AI capability, establishing the foundations required to transform fragmented information assets into a strategic business platform.

The Director of Data, AI & Digital Intelligence will lead two critical strategic programs:

• Enterprise Data Foundation – Building the governance, architecture, platforms, and operating model required to manage data as a corporate asset.
• Enterprise AI Foundation – Establishing the governance, platforms, and operating framework required to scale Artificial Intelligence and Agentic AI safely across the enterprise.

Role Mission

The role is responsible for creating a trusted, scalable and governed digital intelligence ecosystem that allows every business area—from Research & Development to Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Commercial Operations and Finance—to leverage data and AI effectively.

Success will be measured not only by technology delivery but by the organization's ability to make better decisions, improve productivity, and accelerate innovation through data and AI.

The Director of Data, AI & Digital Intelligence will build and lead a multidisciplinary organization covering AI & Data Governance, Architecture and Engineering, recruiting and developing talents, defining operating models, establishing governance forums, and managing strategic partners while driving adoption across business functions.

Key Responsibilities

Build the Enterprise Data Foundation

The organization currently operates multiple applications and data repositories with varying levels of consistency, ownership, and quality.

The priority of the role is to establish a unified enterprise data capability.

• Data Governance – Design and implement a comprehensive data governance framework covering data ownership, stewardship, quality management, lifecycle management, policies and controls, but also metadata and access management.

• objective is to ensure clear accountability for enterprise information assets and establish trusted data across all business functions.

• Data Architecture – Define the target enterprise data architecture and long-term roadmap, including enterprise data models, master data strategy, reference data management, information architecture, metadata architecture, and data integration and lifecycle architecture. The architecture must enable both operational reporting and future AI capabilities.

• Enterprise Data Lakehouse – Lead the design and deployment of an enterprise-wide data platform that becomes the foundation for analytics and AI. The platform should integrate ERP, Manufacturing, Quality, Supply Chai, Commercial, Scientific and laboratory data. The solution must provide a trusted single source of truth while supporting large-scale analytics and advanced AI use cases.

• Data Catalogue – Establish an enterprise-wide capability that enables employees to discover available data, understand data lineage, identify data ownership, assess quality and trustworthiness, request access, and share certified data assets. The long-term objective is to establish a true enterprise data marketplace where reusable data products can be consumed throughout the organization.

Build the Enterprise AI Foundation

The company's ambition is to move beyond isolated AI experiments and create a scalable enterprise AI capability.

The Director of Data, AI & Digital Intelligence will define the foundations required to industrialize AI across the business.

• AI Governance – Establish a comprehensive AI governance framework covering Responsible and Ethical AI, Risk management, Explainability & Auditability, AI lifecycle management, Model validation, and Regulatory compliance. The framework must provide sufficient control without limiting innovation.

• Enterprise AI Platform – Define and implement the company's enterprise AI platform strategy. This platform should support Large Language Models (LLMs), Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG), Knowledge repositories, Model management, Prompt management, AI monitoring & security controls. The platform should serve as the common foundation for all AI initiatives.

• Agentic AI Strategy - Define the vision, architecture, and operating model required to deploy AI agents across the company (Scientific, Supply Chain, Commercial, Corporate productivity…assistants). The objective is to create reusable enterprise capabilities rather than isolated solutions.

• Enterprise Agent Orchestrator – Define and deliver the architecture that governs interactions between multiple AI agents. The agent orchestrator will become a central pillar of the future AI operating model.

Experience & Profile

Required Experience

• 12+ years of experience in Data, Analytics, AI, or Digital leadership roles.
• Experience implementing Data Governance programs.
• Experience with Agentic AI.
• Experience scaling AI in large organizations.

The successful candidate must be equally comfortable engaging with executive leadership, business stakeholders, architects, engineers, and external partners.

A previous experience in Pharmaceutical, healthcare, life sciences, or regulated industry experience would be highly appreciated.