Associate Director, Digitalization Transformation, BPD Manufacturing Sciences

Role Summary 

The Associate Director of Digitalization Transformation will be responsible for shaping and executing the Digitalization strategy within Manufacturing Sciences, translating departmental priorities into a sequenced delivery plan. This pivotal role will seek to unlock the potential of our data, maximizing data automation and re-use. In collaboration with expert functions (e.g. DSM, APD) and transformation teams (e.g. BPD Data Automation Team., BDAT) this role will deliver high-impact, value-driven, data-centric solutions that transform our ways of working and ability to use data in a coordinated and scalable manner. 

The successful candidate will drive a multi-year Digitalization transformation roadmap, prioritizing and delivering digital tools aligned with business objectives. They will rapidly evaluate emerging technologies, coordinate requirements through PoC, pilot, and deployment, scale successful pilots, and ensure projects remain on track and within budget by tracking scope, risks, timelines, and budgets while escalating key decisions to the Digital Transformation Sponsor and relevant Transformation Teams. In addition, this role will spearhead function-wide digitalization change management, fostering a culture of continuous learning, promoting data-centric behaviors, and clearly communicating the vision and value of our data across the organization. 

As Manufacturing Science’s representative on cross-functional transformation teams (e.g. BDAT), this role will ensure functional priorities are incorporated into broader initiatives while providing visibility into key functional projects. This position also offers the opportunity to lead and/or participate in cross-functional projects, driving collaboration and delivering shared organizational objectives. 

Ideal candidates will be strategic leaders with a proven track record in implementing digitalization initiatives within the Manufacturing Sciences or related functional area. They will be passionate about digital transformation and skilled at guiding cross-functional teams to achieve measurable outcomes and meaningful change. They should be comfortable operating in a matrix, coordinating SMEs, and driving measurable outcomes and adoption. Experience in and understanding Manufacturing Sciences work and its role within BPD is key knowledge for this position as well as experience generating ideas for digitalization opportunities and successfully implementing them into practice are key attributes. 

Key Responsibilities 

• Develop, drive, and iteratively refine a functional specific Digitalization strategy aligned with business objectives and emerging trends. 

• Define and maintain the functional roadmap, ensuring prioritization and alignment with departmental transformation goals. 

• Collaborate with expert functions (e.g. DSM, APD) to manage end-to-end delivery of digitalisation projects, ensuring stakeholder engagement from requirements definition through PoC, pilot, and full production deployment. 

• Contribute directly to detailed design (e.g., data models, user flows, integration specifications) and hands-on execution activities (e.g., configuration, testing, validation) to ensure fit-for-purpose solutions 

• Lead and serve as a key contributor to functional matrix teams, fostering close collaboration with expert functions to deliver functional projects. 

• Accelerate adoption by creating training programmes, communication plans, and KPIs to measure impact and success. 

• Partner with leadership to assess, accelerate and scale delivery of the multi-year roadmap. 

• Provide input to leadership on capability needs, adapt functional capabilities (talent, technology, capacity); escalate risks, dependencies, and resourcing constraints 

• Represent Manufacturing Sciences in transformation teams (e.g., BDAT), ensuring functional requirements are met by actively influencing cross-functional decisions. Proactively share functional plans, provide regular updates on functional projects and escalate key decisions as needed.