Director, BioPharma R&D Strategy Analyst

AstraZeneca plc; Cambridge; On-site; GBP 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

AstraZeneca plc in Cambridge, UK, is seeking a Director, BioPharma R&D Strategy Analyst to connect R&D strategy with commercial forecasting and improve cross-functional decision-making. You will lead long-term projections for therapy areas and perform strategic analyses to guide portfolio prioritisation.

The role requires integrating scientific, clinical, and commercial insights, partnering with stakeholders across science, clinical development, business development, competitive intelligence,

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in a quantitative, scientific, or business-related field (Statistics, Economics, Mathematics, Engineering, Computer/Data Science).
• Hands-on model ownership or equivalent analytical leadership across short- and long-term horizons.
• Expertise in scenario-based forecasting and driver-based narratives for senior decision-making.
• Strong ability to integrate multiple data types into coherent, decision-grade forecasts.
• Experience in consultancy, investment banking, analytics, portfolio strategy or related decision-support roles.

Responsibilities

• Create long-term projections for disease areas to inform portfolio prioritisation and modality selection.
• Support R&D decision making when prioritising targets, indications, and asset opportunities.
• Integrate diverse data signals into projection models and assess risks and opportunities.
• Lead forecasting-adjacent analytics embedded in R&D strategy and portfolio reviews.
• Collaborate with R&D strategy, project teams, BD&L, finance, and CI to align assumptions.

Skills

Forecasting

Scenario analysis

Data integration

Analytics leadership

ML methods

Forecast governance

Consultancy experience

Education

Bachelor’s degree in quantitative/scientific/business field

Job description

Director, BioPharma R&D Strategy Analyst

Location: Cambridge, UK

Salary: Competitive

As a Director, BioPharma R&D Strategy Analystyou will be responsible for connecting R&D strategy with commercial forecasting to improve the quality and impact of cross-functional decision-making.

Working across R&D and Commercial in a multidisciplinary team environment, the Director will lead the development of long-term therapy area projections and strategic analyses that identify areas of high unmet need and inform portfolio prioritization.

This role requires the ability to integrate scientific, clinical, and commercial perspectives to support decision-making across disease area evolution, future treatment landscapes, and emerging technologies.

The Director will partner closely with stakeholders across science, clinical development, business development, competitive intelligence, and early commercial to generate pragmatic, scenario-based insights that shape strategy.

The role will also work closely with Commercial forecasting leads to ensure long-term views of disease area evolution remain current as assets progress.

About AstraZeneca

AstraZeneca is a global, science-led biopharmaceutical company and our innovative medicines are used by millions of patients worldwide. This is the place to make an impact. Here we ensure everyone can reach their full potential, perform at their best and make a valued contribution to the enterprise. Within Biopharmaceuticals R&D, we are empowered to be bold, take calculated risks and use our intelligence and courage to always follow the science.

Biopharmaceuticals Strategy, Business Development & Alliances, Competitive Intelligence Team

Our team is being built to sit at the center of Biopharmaceuticals R&D – driving our R&D strategy and addressing the unmet needs and future focus of AstraZeneca’s Biopharmaceuticals pipeline. We operate both internally and externally, leading collaboration and acquisition opportunities as well as partnering closely with external alliances.

What you'll do

BioPharma R&D Strategy Analyst (Core Accountability)

• Create high level long-term projections for R&I or CVRM disease areas using patient-based and market-based models to inform early portfolio prioritisation, target profile choices, and modality selection for pre-commercial assets and disease areas

• Support R&D decision making when selecting or prioritising new targets, modalities, indications, therapy areas, asset opportunities, external innovation, and partnering options

• Integrate primary research, epidemiology, competitive intelligence, translational and clinical insights, external landscape signals, scientific milestones, access dynamics, and real-world data into projection models

• Proactively identify and quantify key risks and opportunities through scenario and sensitivity analyses, competitor readouts, and deal-related value assumptions

• Partner closely with R&D strategy, project teams, business development and alliances, finance, and competitive intelligence to ensure alignment on assumptions and implications, and connect with Commercial forecasting teams.

Strategic analytics, innovation and capability leadership (Enablement)

• Provide leadership over forecasting-adjacent analytics, ensuring advanced analytics and insights are embedded into R&D strategy, portfolio reviews, and evidence planning

• Manage and prioritise external vendors supporting projections, analytics, competitive intelligence, and landscape assessment deliverables

• Partner with data analytics resources, Global IA&F, and R&D, BD&L and CI capability teams to ensure alignment with new tools, data sources, and modelling approaches

• Champion and identify new ways to embed AI and advanced automation into the practice of data analytics and projections to drive efficiency, scalability, and decision quality while maintaining strong judgement.

• Build future-ready approaches that combine internal data, external signals, and expert judgement to assess novel science, emerging competitors, partnership opportunities, and potential inflection points across the portfolio

Essential for the role

• Bachelor’s degree in a quantitative, scientific, or business-related field required (e.g., Statistics, Economics, Mathematics, Engineering, Computer/Data Science).

• strong experience in consultancy, investment banking, analytics, portfolio strategy, competitive intelligence, business development evaluation, or related decision-support roles, with meaningful exposure to early- and mid-stage R&D assets

• Hands-on model ownership experience or equivalent analytical leadership across short- and long-term horizons

• Expertise in scenario-based forecasting, sensitivity analysis, and driver-based narratives to support senior decision-making

• Strong capability integrating multiple data types (e.g., epidemiology, competitive intelligence, translational/clinical insights, external innovation signals, RWD/RWE, primary research) into coherent, decision-grade forecasts

• Working knowledge of advanced analytics/ML approaches (e.g., time series, causal inference, ensembles) and where they add value vs. traditional methods

• Demonstrated forecast governance and model risk discipline (traceable assumptions, documentation, and