Axial Technology Deployment Lead - 24 Month FTC (Fixed Term Contract)

Biopharma Careers; Luton; On-site; GBP 150,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

AstraZeneca is seeking an experienced Senior Director to lead the Axial Technology Deployment efforts from Luton as part of a global ERP transformation (S/4HANA). You will ensure deployment, adoption and stabilisation across multiple releases in 2027–2028, coordinating with EMEA and Americas teams and external partners to scale deployments.

The role requires strategic leadership of cross-functional teams, robust programme governance and effective management of budgets and risk.

Qualifications

• Significant prior experience delivering in a Senior Director level role.
• Experience leading high-profile/value teams and/or projects.
• Background in pharma or other regulated industries.
• Strong budgeting and commercial/financial understanding.
• Excellent communication and relationship-building skills.
• Ability to plan, organizational change and problem solving in IT environments.
• Understanding of ERP landscapes (SAP/Oracle) and data integration.

Responsibilities

• Deliver technology components for the Axial Phase 2 regional deployments.
• Lead the Above Market Technology Deployment Project Managers and ensure delivery.
• Ensure GDPR and regional regulatory compliance across deployments.
• Plan and execute cutover and migration to the Axial technology stack.
• Coordinate with Accenture, Capgemini and SAP for deployment activities and success.
• Oversee post-go-live hypercare activities and stabilization.

Skills

Senior Director experience

Program leadership

Regulated industry

Budget management

Stakeholder management

ERP knowledge

Change management

Global collaboration

Communication skills

Tools

SAP

Oracle ERP

Job description

Axial Technology Deployment Lead - 24 Month FTC (Fixed Term Contract)

Luton

The Axial Programme (Global S/4HANA implementation)

We are one purpose-led global organisation. The enablers and innovators, ensuring that we can fulfil our mission to push the boundaries of science and discover and develop life-changing medicines. We take pride in working close to the cause, opening the locks to save lives, ultimately making a massive difference to the outside world.

AstraZeneca (AZ) is in a period of strong growth and our employees have a united purpose to make a difference to patients around the world who need both our medicines and the ongoing developments from our science. In this journey AZ must continue to work across borders and with partners and new colleagues in a fast and seamless way. The ambition, size and complexity of the organisation, coupled with the opportunities afforded by new technology, has led the Board to approve an Enterprise business transformation programme called Axial.

The Axial Programme will be powered by SAP S/4HANA system which will be implemented right across the organisation and will provide our business with standardised processes, enhanced financial management, common data and real time reporting, transforming the way we work through our entire supply chain – from bench to patient.

The new system will be used by more than 20,000 employees daily, is foundational to all AZ entities and is central to most core business processes. This is a once in a generation programme for AstraZeneca and will shape our ways of working globally for many years to come.

The Axial programme needs the best talent to work in it. Whether it’s the technical skills, business understanding or change leadership, we want to ensure we have the strongest team deployed throughout. We are aiming to deliver a world class change programme that leaves all employees with a fuller understanding of their role in the end‑to‑end nature of our global company. This programme will provide AZ with a competitive edge, to the benefit of our employees, customers and patients.

Introduction to role:

This Senior Director role will sit in the Axial Technology Deployment Leadership Team reporting indirectly to the VP Axial Technology.

The role will be accountable for the successful deployment, adoption, and stabilisation of all technology components within multiple Axial releases deployed during 2027 and 2028. The role will work primarily with the Axial EMEA and North America Technology deployment leads and teams to ensure the initial successful deployment of the Axial solution to multiple non-hub sites and prepare the program to scale up for the remaining AstraZeneca sites in the European, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and Americas regions which includes the US and Sweden Hubs as the next major deployments (overall accountability for those hubs sits outside this role). The role will also take ownership of post-hypercare deployment activities for already live sites (Mexico and APICOM).

In this role, you will work closely with Axial Deployment leads, Axial Above Market Teams, Global IT Business Technology Groups (BTGs) and Centres for Enablement (C4Es), local site technology leads, and the non-SAP team(s) to coordinate activities across all program workstreams. This role also works closely with Accenture, Capgemini and SAP to ensure contractual work and achievements are managed and successfully completed for these deployments.

Accountabilities:

• Successful delivery of all the technology components for the Axial Phase 2 regional non-hub deployments, alongside ensuring the successful deployment of any APICOM and Mexico post-hypercare deployments
• Other members of the Technology Leadership Team will be supporting this role and will be directly responsible to this role for ensuring their teams deliver against this overall delivery e.g. Design, Build, Testing
• Responsible for ensuring appropriate technology deliverables are in place supporting the wider Axial programme activities leading up to deployment
• Successful adoption of the Axial technology for each release at go‑live, as well as managing the technology Hypercare period post go‑live for respective deployments.
• Work closely with the EMEA and Americas deployment team to plan, prepare, and execute the scaled‑up technical delivery of Axial to respective sites in region

Further Accountabilities:

• Lead the Above Market Technology Deployment Project Managers for EMEA/Americas regional sites in scope.
• Ensure compliance with all General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and other regional regulatory requirements
• Managing execution of deployment plans for Technology, including track work and reporting status
• Plan and lead the activities relevant to the cutover and migration to the new Axial technology stack
• Ensure interim states relating to technology (Axial and Non-SAP in particular) are appropriately documented and understood ahead of cutover commencement (BAU updates of SOPs, documentation etc executed outside of Axial).
• Work closely with BTG’s to ensure proper process and technical integration with local systems
• Ensure local language requirements are addressed for all deployments
• Provide feedback for the update of the Deployment Playbook to be ready for scale‑up beyond Pioneer Sites
• Governance and Technology signoff of the Deployment Scope Summary (DSS) documents and ensuring all deliverables are appropriately created and signed off within agreed milestones and deliverable dates
• Manage Generation of contingency plans for each deployment, and tracking of interim states
• Coordinate with the Accenture Global Deployment Lead on Best Practice sharing across deployments, and update deployment model for future Axial releases

Essential Skills & Experience:

• Significant prior experience delivering in a Senior Director level role
• Managing high profile/value teams and/or projects
• Working in multi‑national companies within Pharma or other regulated industries
• Building and executing operational plans and contingency plans
• Deploying large project(s) within a complex global technology landscapeLeading third‑party suppliers and have strong network and consulting skills
• Driving and leading innovative solutions
• Demonstrated ability of managing and controlling large budgets and commercial/financial understanding
• High level awareness of developments in the Information Technology marketplace
• Superb communication and relationship building skills with validated ability to influence others to achieve objectives
• Advanced level of proficiency in planning, organizational change and problem solving and able to resolve issues of a highly complex and strategic nature
• Demonstrable ability to relate and respond to business needs in an IT environment

Desirable Skills:

• Deep understanding of ERP technology landscapes (SAP or Oracle) in global regulated organisations
• Data and Analytics platform experience, including integration with global ERP solutions
• Understanding of Change Management principles to support technology adoption success
• Experience working in multiple geographies with an understanding of cultural impacts on adoption approaches
• Previous experience of managing managers
• Experience of building and managing business contact networks

Why AstraZeneca?

At AstraZeneca, we dare to lead, applying our problem‑solving approach to identify and seek opportunities across the whole enterprise. Our spirit of experimentation is lived every day through our events like hackathons. We enable AstraZeneca to perform at its peak by delivering premier technology and data solutions. Our work unlocks the potential of science. We optimise and redefine AstraZeneca by improving efficiencies and finding new ways to drive productivity. From automation to data simplification.

When we put unexpected teams in the same room, we unleash bold thinking with the power to inspire life‑changing medicines. In‑person working gives us the platform we need to connect, work at pace and challenge perceptions. That’s why we work, on average, a minimum of three days per week from the office. But that doesn’t mean we’re not flexible. We balance the expectation of being in the office while respecting individual flexibility.

Join us in our unique and ambitious world.

Our mission is to build an inclusive and equitable environment. We want people to feel they belong at AstraZeneca and Alexion, starting with our recruitment process.

We welcome and consider applications from all qualified candidates, regardless of characteristics. We offer reasonable adjustments/accommodations to help all candidates to perform at their best. If you have a need for any adjustments/accommodations, please complete the section in the application form.