Business Operations Lead

AstraZeneca; City Of London; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading pharmaceutical company in London is seeking a Business Operations Lead to enhance operations within the Oncology unit. The role involves leading a high-performing team, collaborating with cross-functional leaders, and driving business transformation. Candidates should possess strong strategic vision, leadership skills, and experience in commercial operations. This role offers competitive salary and excellent benefits.

Benefits

Competitive Salary

Excellent Company Benefits

Qualifications

• Proven record of leadership skills in business operations.
• Experience in commercial analytics and channel effectiveness.
• Strong ability to influence senior stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Lead the Business Operations Team to achieve performance goals.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to enhance operational efficiency.
• Drive the implementation of key commercial business operations initiatives.

Skills

Strategic vision-setting

Core commercial processes understanding

GTM strategy design

Leadership skills

Executive-level communication

Project management capabilities

Job description

Position: Business Operations Lead
Location: London, UK
Competitive Salary & Excellent Company Benefits

AstraZeneca is seeking an exceptional Business Operations Lead to design, inspire and implement the operations priorities aligning the overarching Oncology Business Excellence (OBEX) and Oncology Business Unit (OBU) strategy. Based in London, you will Lead the Business Operations team to identify and implement opportunities for the organisation to meet or exceed performance objectives, maximize potential of new asset launches, enhance our go‑to‑market design, and optimise the operations that enable and drive performance. You will Partner with cross‑functional leaders to establish priorities for in‑line and pipeline assets – linking strategic direction with operational execution and also serve as a core member of the OBEX LT to build, inspire and implement business excellence strategies for the future.

What you’ll do

Lead the team to: design and execute key business operations; guide the oncology business unit (OBU) to evolve the go‑to‑market model; set direction and drive teams to leverage, and gain insight from, multi‑channel customer engagement.

You will partner with OBEX and cross functional teams, local and global, to identify opportunities for optimisation, automation & efficiencies across all OBU operations, as well as work with senior leaders, OBEX LT and cross functional teams to prepare the UK OBU for inline and pipeline performance.

As a people leader, you’ll help inspire and shape a high‑performing team, setting direction and guiding them to reach AZ’s and their personal ambitious goals. You’ll inspire and drive business transformation, representing operations at key leadership meetings. You’ll also collaborate with global teams to make the most of available resources and keep developing the skills and expertise within your Business Operations Team, helping everyone stay at the top of their game in a fast‑changing environment.

Key Responsibilities will include:

Leader of Business Operations Team

• Provides vision and effective leadership of the Business Operations team to direct, challenge, coach and support people and their activities
• Ensures the team is performance‑focused, inclusive, building strong cross‑functional collaborative relationships and delivering customer‑centric solutions
• Cultivates matrix working within a team and across the business
• Provides career development support and guidance to team members.
• Manage allocated budget

Business Partner

• Work with Heads of Franchise; Medical, Marketing, Sales and Access Leads and other relevant business leaders to establish organisational development priorities, map strategies to affect change, optimise processes to deliver on the ambitious goals
• Enhance GTM model and customer engagement channel use. Define and deliver engagement insights
• Responsible for engaging with Global and European Regional Teams to leverage initiatives, resources and tools to support local initiatives
• Works with OBEX Leadership Team to develop and deliver data & insights, enhance future fit organisational capabilities and improve performance
• Leverage, manage and inspire stakeholders throughout delivery

Driving Key Commercial Business Operations

• Deliver OBU Incentive scheme design, reporting and processing. Ensure accurate and timely payouts of FF incentive payments
• Overall accountability for direct leadership of the evolution and implementation of Key Account Management Process and Framework
• Provide commercial effectiveness insights (promotional and non‑promotional) to inform strategic design of segmentation and targeting across brand and field targets. Operationalise S&T through all relevant systems accurately and within agreed timelines
• Lead team to manage key strategic plan processes including but not limited to strategic plans, operational plans, launch planning

Essential Requirements

Strategic & Commercial Expertise

• Strategic vision‑setting and high‑level conceptual thinking
• Deep understanding of core commercial processes (e.g., Incentive Design, Segmentation, Targeting, commercial analytics, channel effectiveness etc)
• Expertise in Go‑To‑Market (GTM) strategy design and channel implementation
• Strong knowledge and experience in Launch Excellence & Operations
• Broad understanding of disease areas and commercial models in the pharmaceutical sector (Oncology Desirable)

Operational Excellence

• Expertise in key business operations management – technical and strategic
• Automation, optimisation and process design & implementation

Leadership & Project Management

• Strong proven record of direct and indirect leadership and organisational skills
• Proven ability to prioritise, lead through complexity, and deliver under pressure
• Adaptive project management capabilities

Communication & Influence

• Executive‑level communication skills (written and verbal)
• Ability to influence and engage senior stakeholders across functions, geographies, and cultures
• Skilled in conflict management and resolution

Interested? Apply now!

Closing Date for Applications: COB 7th November 2025

Date Posted

28-Oct-2025

Closing Date

07-Nov-2025

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.