Senior Director RWE

The Senior Director, US Evidence – Respiratory & Immunology (Real-World Evidence) is a strategic leadership role within US Medical, responsible for shaping and delivering the Real-World Evidence (RWE) strategy for the R&I portfolio. Reporting to the Executive Director, US Evidence, this leader directs a team of RWE Directors aligned to R&I, designing and executing research studies that demonstrates product value, informs medical strategy, and addresses critical evidence gaps across the portfolio.

The role partners closely with the Senior Director, US Evidence – Implementation Science (Team Lead) to ensure RWE outputs translate into practice-changing interventions through coordinated IS deployment. The Senior Director also champions the responsible, problem-led adoption of AI-enabled technologies to accelerate RWE workflows and improve methodological rigor.

The Senior Director will build and retain a diverse, inclusive, and high-performing RWE team, providing mentorship and career development for Directors. The role requires high emotional intelligence and the ability to influence without authority in a complex matrix environment, with explicit accountability for breaking silos between RWE and Implementation Science.

Accountabilities:

• Lead the development and execution of the RWE component of US Evidence Plans for the R&I therapeutic area across the product lifecycle from pre-launch to maturity.

• Partner with the Global BPM R&I Evidence team to align US evidence priorities with the global evidence strategy, ensure coherence in data sources and methodologies across regions, and co-develop assets where mutual leverage is possible.

• Champion representativeness and health equity in study design and data selection, ensuring real-world evidence reflects the patient populations we serve.

• Direct rigorous observational studies, retrospective database analyses, target trial emulations, prospective registries, and pragmatic effectiveness studies in R&I populations.

• Build, mentor, and retain a diverse, high-performing team of RWE Directors; provide career development pathways and ensure psychological safety.

• Guide the generation of economic and clinical evidence supporting value propositions for payers, ACOs, IDNs, and policy makers, with explicit alignment to US reimbursement strategies and quality measure environments.

• Partner with the Global HEPE (Health Economics & Payer Evidence) team to align US RWE outputs with HTA submissions, economic models, and value dossiers; ensure US evidence needs are reflected in global development plans.

• Partner with the Senior Director, US Evidence – Cardiovascular, Renal & Metabolism (RWE) to chart new directions for the US Evidence organization, align RWE strategy and methods across TAs, and co-shape the function's strategic agenda.

• Partner with the Senior Director, US Evidence – Implementation Science (Team Lead) to ensure RWE outputs catalyze IS-led practice change interventions; serve as the RWE point of accountability for R&I evidence plans and co-own the evidence-to-practice translation cycle.

• Cultivate and manage strategic partnerships with academic consortia, real-world data vendors, learning health systems, patient advocacy organizations, and respiratory and immunology registries and quality-measure bodies (e.g., GOLD, GINA, CHEST, ACR, NCQA, PQA).

• Partner with Field Medical leadership and Clinical Account Directors to translate RWE outputs into actionable insights for MSL and CAD engagement with health systems, IDNs, payers, and population health stakeholders.

• Oversee the facilitation of Scientific Narrative development, led by Evidence Directors, to inform the integrated messaging approach across peer-reviewed publications, congress presentations, payer dossiers, and field team resources.

• Change Management. Lead the change management strategy for integrating AI/ML tools into evidence workflows, ensuring adoption is problem-led (not technology-led), grounded in validated methodologies, and governed by human-in-the-loop oversight.

• Practical Use Cases. Identify and operationalize practical AI use cases accelerating systematic literature reviews via NLP, automating data quality checks, enhancing signal detection in real-world datasets to increase speed and quality.

• Capability Building. Foster a culture of digital literacy across the team, providing training and resources to upskill team members on the evaluation, governance, and interpretation of AI-derived evidence.

• Serve as the primary RWE lead for the R&I Therapeutic Area, collaborating with Medical Directors, Field Medical, Global HEPE, Market Access, Biostatistics, Safety, Regulatory, Patient Advocacy, and Commercial Insights counterparts.

• Champion advanced methodologies (e.g., causal inference, comparative effectiveness, target trial emulation) and ensure adherence to data privacy (HIPAA), GCP, and internal SOPs.

• Manage the R&I RWE budget, allocate resources across the portfolio, and oversee vendor performance to ensure delivery on time and within scope.

Essential Skills:

• Education. Advanced degree (PhD, PharmD, MD, or relevant Master's) in Health Economics, Epidemiology, Outcomes Research, Health Services Research, Public Health, or a related field.

• Experience. 10+ years of relevant experience in the pharmaceutical industry, managed care, consulting, or academia, with a focus on RWE, HEPE, or HEOR.

• Leadership. Proven track record of leading and developing high-performing teams, including direct management of Director-level talent.

• Methodological Expertise. Deep proficiency in observational study design, real-world data sources (claims, EMR, registries, linked data), and causal inference methods.

• US Healthcare Knowledge. Comprehensive understanding of the US healthcare landscape, including quality measures, payer environments, and guideline development processes.

• AI Fluency. Able to evaluate model validity, explainability, and bias; able to govern and operationalize AI-augmented workflows in RWE.

• Communication. Exceptional ability to translate complex methodological concepts into clear strategic advice for non-technical senior stakeholders.

• Operational Acumen. Strong experience in budget management, vendor oversight, and project management within a regulated environment.

• Therapeutic Area. Direct experience in Respiratory & Immunology (e.g., asthma, COPD, severe eosinophilic disease, and immune-mediated conditions) is highly desirable.

• Publication Record. Strong history of peer-reviewed publications and congress presentations demonstrating scientific leadership.

Desirable Skills:

• Evidence Delivery. Successful execution of the RWE component of the Evidence Plan, meeting time, budget, and quality targets.

• Scientific Impact. Volume and impact of publications, guideline citations, and integration of RWE into medical and access strategies.

• Evidence-to-Practice Translation. Demonstrable handoff of RWE outputs into IS interventions through partnership with the IS Team Lead.

• AI-Enabled Capability. Measurable efficiency or quality gains from AI-augmented RWE workflows, validated through leadership review.

• Team Engagement. High engagement scores and retention rates within the RWE team.

• Stakeholder Satisfaction. Positive feedback from cross-functional partners on the strategic value and timeliness of RWE support.

• Compliance & Governance. No material compliance failures; robust governance demonstrated through clean audits.

Why AstraZeneca

AstraZeneca is a global, innovation-driven BioPharmaceuticals business that focuses on the discovery, development, and commercialization of prescription medicines for some of the world’s most serious diseases. But we’re more than one of the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies. 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. Always committed to lifelong learning, growth, and development.

This position is US-based, located in Wilmington, DE. Periodic travel (approximately 15–20%) will be required for internal meetings, collaboration with external partners, and attendance at major medical congresses.

AstraZeneca is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.

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Our mission is to build an inclusive environment where equal employment opportunities are available to all applicants and employees. In furtherance of that mission, we welcome and consider applications from all qualified candidates, regardless of their protected characteristics. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please complete the corresponding section in the application form.