Location: Warsaw, Poland
Hybrid model of work: 3 days in office, 2 remote per week

Reporting to the Head of Business Planning and Operations, COO Biopharmaceuticals R&D, the Business Resilience Director plays a key role in ensuring that effective resilience is in place across Biopharmaceuticals R&D TAs, functions and sites and that key risks impacting  are identified, mitigated and monitored / reported. In the event of a BC incident or other issue impacting continuity of R&D Biopharmaceuticals on a cross R&D level, the Director will play a key role in coordinating the response and ensuring that appropriate structures are in place to manage and lead the response. 

The role combines both Risk Management & Business Continuity activities; the proportion of time spent on each will vary throughout the year depending on both internal AZ and external factors. It is anticipated that the role will grow in significance in the coming periods due to the forthcoming BEIS legislation and other reporting requirements likely to impact AZ and therefore Biopharma R&D.  

This is a global role, working across all Biopharma R&D sites and teams, in collaboration with heads of BPO and equivalent roles in Oncology R&D.  

Accountabilities:  

Business Continuity Planning  

Lead on the development and maintenance of effective BC Plans for Biopharma R&D coaching and supporting subject matter experts and functional business planning and operations groups on the creation of effective business continuity plans for key activities 

Design and maintain a plan to ensure that plans are up to date at critical periods and reflect changes to Biopharma R&D: 

Develop and run a plan of BC Exercises appropriate to the needs of Biopharma R&D including as required – full exercises/simulations, desktop exercises, scenario planning/response etc. Provide training, support and guidance to all Biopharma R&D as needed. Ensure those with critical roles in executing BC are aware of their responsibilities and appropriately trained  

Own and manage documentation library ensure that data is up to date at critical times of the year  

Play an active part in the AZ BC Network and ensure that Biopharma R&D BC aligns to AZ Global Business Continuity and Crisis Management standards. Provide input and support to enterprise BC activities as required  

Work with Enabling functions (IT, Procurement, HR, Finance, GPPM) to ensure plans are integrated across the enterprise  

Business Continuity / Incident response: 

Lead execution of BC Plans in the event of a major incident, supported by the COO and the Head of Biopharma Business planning and operations 

Co-ordinates response activities across Functions, and supports functions with localised BC/incident response as needed 

Represent Biopharma R&D on Enterprise Wide incident response teams   

Risk Management: 

Lead on Risk Management across Biopharma R&D 

Maintain the R&D Risk Register (collaborating with Oncology R&D counterpart and GPPM portfolio leads) capturing key risks, their impact and mitigation plans; ensure key risks are kept updated in global risk data base (OneGRC) 

Ensure a robust execution of a risk management cycle across R&D, and specifically for Biopharma R&D  

Provide insights, analysis and guidance on risks to  R&D Risk team; use analytical procedures to ensure risks are appropriately analysed and evaluated  

Provide education and guidance across Biopharma R&D to teams so that all staff have an understanding of risks and how we manage risk in Biopharma R&D. Update R&D Risk Management training as needed (periodic refresh)  

Play an active part in the AZ Enterprise Risk Network and follow AZ Global Risk Management Standards  

Lead on Biopharma R&D inputs into the Enterprise Risk Assessment cycle including: 

Quarterly updates  

Annual review and identification of emerging, key active and enduring risks  

Ensure Biopharma R&D risks are linked to key active risks at AZ enterprise level  

Stakeholder Management and other activities: 

As a leader within Biopharma R&D Business Planning and Operations, represent Business Continuity & Risk Management to stakeholders and establish and develop strong collaborative relationships including:  

With the Head of Biopharma R&D Business planning and operations, set the strategy for Business Continuity & Risk Management and lead on goals and objectives for BC and RM.  

As required ensure that Biopharma R&D BC and Risk Management are compliant with regulatory requirements (BEIS and others etc). Act as key contact for auditors (internal and external) and lead on preparation and delivery of all BC/RM audit requirements.  

Essential 

Willingness to be hands on updating plans, reviewing documentation, and arranging meetings/workshops as needed  

Highly organised, able to multi-task with strong project management skills  

Excellent communication and presentation skills  

Self-motivation and a commitment to teamwork. Able to influence outside direct reporting lines and work across matrix structures within Biopharma R&D and within wider AZ teams  

Cross boundary experience including building relationships remotely and cross-culturally  

Ability to work well in and across diverse global teams and processes within Biopharma R&D including with senior leaders within Biopharma R&D  

Flexible with an ability to respond to changes in plans, scope etc and ask the ‘so what’ to ensure the primary goal of an effective BCP for Biopharma R&D is achieved  

Ability to think and work calmly in a fast moving, complex incident response environment  

Strong networking skills and highly collaborative in approach  

Strong analytical skills  

Desirable

Experience of business continuity planning and/or risk management within an R&D organisation

Understanding of pharmaceutical R&D end to end

Date Posted

Closing Date

AstraZeneca embraces diversity and equality of opportunity.  We are committed to building an inclusive and diverse team representing all backgrounds, with as wide a range of perspectives as possible, and harnessing industry-leading skills.  We believe that the more inclusive we are, the better our work will be.  We welcome and consider applications to join our team from all qualified candidates, regardless of their characteristics.  We comply with all applicable laws and regulations on non-discrimination in employment (and recruitment), as well as work authorization and employment eligibility verification requirements.