Associate Director, R&D Finance

The Assoc.Director, R&D Finance will provide finance partnering support to the Ophtalmology and Neurology Therapeutic Areas Leader and his/her respective Global Program Teams (GPTs), providing financial advice, ensuring financial rigor and challenging financial performance. Working with multiple GPTs, you will be accountable for the robust evaluation of projects by providing high quality financial input to product investment decisions and expert financial analysis on financial performance and its risks.

During project investment decisions you will guide ALXN leaders on the financial impact of development plan decisions. This includes briefing key stakeholders at or in advance of Development Review Committee Meetings and Late-Stage Portfolio Committee (LSPC) investment decisions.

The role will also serve as the finance business partner for the Product Development and Clinical Supply (PDCS) organization. In this capacity, you will partner with the PDCS SVP Head and his/her leadership team to provide wide financial suppport and insight at a portfolio level, including portfolio analytics, supporting manpower and headcount forecasting, preparing presentations for monthly actuals and support with process improvement that should drive financial efficiency. This will include partnering with teams leading large complex research and manufacturing programs managed through partnerships and collaborations with external vendors and across other Astra Zeneca Business Units.

Finally, the role will provide Finance leadership subject matter expertise on the annual Long-Term Plan and Portfolio Prioritization as well as for the Middle Term Plan and quarterly forecasting exercises.

We are seeking an individual with a solid record of contributions leading to improved financial performance, heightened productivity, and enhanced internal controls.  The role will require interactions and collaboration throughout the Alexion/AstraZeneca organization including Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A), Global Financial Services, and senior R&D leadership. The role will require a high level of learning agility, resilience to support the current transformation of projects that are in progress within the organization while supporting the delivery of the day-to-day activities and the ability to work across diverse business areas in R&D and Manufacturing environments.  It will require the ability to navigate in a complex matrixed business model, operate with a high degree of autonomy and influence decisions with greater impact.

You will be responsible for:

• This position will have a broad range of responsibilities including delivering solid financial controlling support, business partnering, financial analysis, insights generation, trade off recommendations, and resource allocation decision support.  This individual will play a pivotal role in  management reporting for senior leadership, and quarterly/annual forecasting and planning processes. 

Principal Responsibilities

• Deliver monthly financial reporting and analysis including Senior Management reports and financial summaries.
• Drive business insight and influence decision making through monthly program reports including content, format, & distribution so to add value to business partners including stakeholder understanding and value of the reports.
• Serve as the finance lead for forecasting and budget planning for the Ophtalmology and Neurology Therapeutic Areas. You will be part of the Leadership Team.
• Serve as the finance lead for forecasting and budget planning for the Product Develop and Clinical Supply (PDCS) organization. You will be part of the Leadership Team.
• Work closely with cross functional teams and R&D business leaders to identify and implement opportunities for efficiencies.
• Support project to drive Pipeline insights through a stronger connection between operational data (patient, site, and country data) and financial performance.  Leverage this data to improve clinical trial budgeting in partnership with key R&D functions.  
• Prepare ad hoc reporting and analyses for key metrics and special projects.
• Leadership of the R&D 10-year strategic forecasting process and portfolio prioritization, including subject matter expert on valuation methodology and modeling.

Behavioral Characteristics

• Strong communication skills with the ability to work with and influence cross-functional management
• High sense of urgency and ability to identify creative solutions to advanced, time sensitive problems by balancing achievement of process objectives with practical considerations
• Strong customer service focus, with a drive to ensure that we exceed the expectations of our customers
• Strong ability to implement best practices in back-office operations; commitment to driving competitive advantage while managing costs, improving quality, and managing risks
• Commitment to delivering quality results and overcoming obstacles and challenges in a time-sensitive environment
• Ability to juggle and prioritize multiple work streams while remaining calm and effective under pressure

You will need to have:

• 8+ years’ experience in Finance/Controlling position
• Experience in Pharmaceutical/Biotechnology industry
• Interpersonal skills with ability to work with others as well as independently
• Strong competences in accounting
• Good Computer skill (MS Excel, Power Point, SAP)
• Knowledge of a consolidation and financial planning systems (BPC, Hyperion, COGNOS, Anaplan)
• Fluency in English both written and oral mandatory
• The duties of this role are generally conducted in an office environment. As is typical of an office-based role, employees must be able, with or without an accommodation to use a computer; engage in communications via phone, video, and electronic messaging; engage in problem solving and non-linear thought, analysis, and dialogue; collaborate with others; maintain general availability during standard business hours.

We would prefer for you to have:

• Experience in R&D Finance roles in medium or big size companies is a strong plus
• Master’s Degree in accounting, finance or business administration or CPA preferred

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 authorisation and employment eligibility verification requirements.