Overview

Introduction to role

Lead our enterprise-wide sustainability digital strategy and accelerate our Sustainability agenda! This role is pivotal in supporting the company’s Sustainability strategy, Ambition Zero Carbon (AZC), and Operations 2030 goals identifying strategic opportunities to use digital, data, automation, and AI solutions.

As a Senior Director, the role encompasses end-to-end strategic leadership of complex digital portfolios with significant investment and organizational impact. It requires influencing enterprise-wide priorities, managing specialised and multi-disciplinary teams, and owning large, multi-year budgets with measurable ROI expectations. The role will also require partnering with the IT sustainability leader to realise these opportunities.

Accountabilities

  • Digital Opportunity Identification: Proactively identify high-impact sustainability opportunities where digital, technology and AI can lead to their realisation to support sustainability objectives. Partner and support IT to develop and implement the digital solutions from ideation through to enterprise-wide deployment, ensuring measurable value delivery and continuous improvement.
  • System Ownership: Oversee the operation, integration, and ongoing development of sustainability systems such as the AZ SHE System and Workiva. Lead and support system owners, championing these platforms as central to our data transparency, compliance, and digital sustainability goals. By aligning system capabilities with business needs, ensure continuous improvement and impactful contribution to our overall sustainability ambitions.
  • Enterprise Strategy Leadership: Define and lead a comprehensive sustainability digital strategy that navigates across domains (e.g. GS&SHE, Manufacturing, PT&D, Procurement, Health Equity etc), ensuring enterprise integration and alignment with AZ’s long-term business and sustainability priorities.
  • Digital Roadmap Ownership: in partnership with IT, shape and drive a digital roadmap that enhances operational efficiency, sustainability metrics, and insight accessibility, ensuring measurable impact on enterprise sustainability outcomes.
  • Executive Influence: Collaborate and engage with EVP and VP-level stakeholders across the enterprise, influencing cross-functional decision-making and guiding digital transformation that aligns with strategic business and sustainability objectives.
  • People Leadership: Lead and mentor a high-performing team of sustainability product owners, system owners and data professionals. Foster a culture of innovation, inclusion, and digital-first transformation.
  • Governance & Data Management: Drive a data-driven approach to sustainability, leading efforts in governance, analytics, and transparent reporting. Ensure digital solutions adhere to compliance and global standards.
  • Change Management: Build digital capability across the sustainability function and enterprise by promoting digital literacy, developing new ways of working, and leading transformation programs.
  • Strategic Decision-Making: Make enterprise-impacting decisions that support long-term sustainability and business transformation. Serve as an escalation point for global digital sustainability issues.
  • Stakeholder Management: Engage effectively with functions such as Supply Chain, Manufacturing, R&D, Procurement, and Finance to align digital sustainability efforts and ensure cross-functional success.

Essential Skills/Experience

  • Bachelor’s degree required; preferred in engineering, science, sustainability, or business-related field or equivalent experience.
  • Extensive experience in sustainability within a global pharmaceutical or other regulated industries.
  • Extensive experience in Life cycle Assessment and Scope 3 emissions reporting and other critical processes for business decarbonisation.
  • Proven ability to lead enterprise-wide transformation projects with sustainability impact.
  • Strategic thinker with experience in setting and executing long-term sustainability strategies.
  • Expertise in building strong executive stakeholder relationships and influencing at the VP/EVP level.
  • Demonstrated capability in managing large, complex, multi-year budgets with ROI accountability.
  • Good knowledge of digital platforms, data governance, AI, automation, and analytics.
  • Experience leading and mentoring multi-disciplinary, global teams.
  • Strong conceptual, analytical, and problem-solving abilities.
  • Deep understanding of sustainability challenges and digital opportunities in the pharma value chain.
  • Commitment to continuous learning, digital upskilling, and sustainability innovation.