Director, BioPharma R&D Strategy Analyst

ASTRAZENECA UK LIMITED; Cambridge; On-site; GBP 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

AstraZeneca is seeking a Director, BioPharma R&D Strategy Analyst to connect R&D strategy with commercial forecasting, informing portfolio prioritization and decision-making across disease areas. You will lead long-term projections, integrate diverse data sources, and drive scenario-based insights for senior leadership.

Based in the Cambridge area, this role partners with science, clinical development, BD&L, and CI to ensure robust, business-relevant guidance and governance.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in quantitative, scientific, or business field.
• Strong consultancy, analytics, portfolio strategy, or CI experience in pharma.
• Hands-on model ownership across short- and long-term horizons.
• Expertise in scenario-based forecasting and driver-based narratives.
• Ability to integrate diverse data (epidemiology, CI, RWD/RWE) into forecasts.
• Knowledge of time series, causal inference, and ML approaches.
• Excellent communication and cross-functional collaboration.

Responsibilities

• Create long-term projections for disease areas to inform portfolio prioritization.
• Support R&D decision making on targets, modalities, indications.
• Integrate primary research and external signals into projection models.
• Identify risks and opportunities via scenario analyses and readouts.
• Collaborate with R&D, BD&L, finance, CI to align assumptions.
• Lead enablement forecasting analytics and manage external vendors.

Skills

Forecasting

Strategic analytics

Data integration

AI/ML awareness

Portfolio strategy

Stakeholder management

Executive communication

R&D biology knowledge

Education

Bachelor's degree in a quantitative/scientific or business field

MBA / MS / PhD desired

Tools

R/Python

Excel

Modeling tools

Job description

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 oflong-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 prioritizing 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 IAF, 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
• 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 clear explanations)
• Strong understanding of drug development, disease area strategy, competitor dynamics, and key value drivers relevant to early-stage asset decision-making
• Exceptional communication: translates complex analysis into clear, executive-ready insights, options, and recommendations
• Ability to operate credibly across scientific, strategic, and external-facing discussions, including partnerships, alliances, and cross-functional governance forums
• Comfort using AI-enabled tools and digital workflows to accelerate insight generation, while applying appropriate challenge, ethics, and judgement

Desirable for the role

• Advanced degree preferred (e.g., MBA, MS, PhD in Statistics, Economics, Decision Sciences, Data Science, or related discipline).
• Experience in BioPharma R&D, early pipeline strategy, business development, alliance management, or competitive intelligence within R&I, CVRM and/or adjacent therapy areas
• Change leadership: builds adoption for new tools, processes, and ways of working across cross-functional stakeholders
• Experience evaluating external innovation, partnership opportunities, or acquisition targets using structured strategic and analytical frameworks
• Product mindset for forecasting: defines user needs, success metrics, and a roadmap for portfolio forecasting capabilities
• Model lifecycle practices (e.g., reproducibility, versioning, monitoring/drift awareness); familiarity with MLOps concepts
• Familiarity with multi-omics, biomarkers, translational medicine, or platform innovations that shape the future potential of early-stage assets
• Experience using generative AI, knowledge synthesis tools, or advanced visualisation techniques to accelerate strategic insight generation and communication

At AstraZeneca, we 're dedicated to being a Great Place to Work. Where you are empowered to push the boundaries of science and unleash your entrepreneurial spirit. There's no better place to make a difference to medicine, patients and society. An inclusive culture that champions diversity and collaboration, and always committed to lifelong learning, growth and development. We're on an exciting journey to pioneer the future of healthcare.