Global Ethics & Compliance Director (CVRM & Medical Affairs)

Our growth story at AZ is based on our core therapeutic areas of Oncology, Respiratory, Cardiovascular/Renal/Metabolics (CVRM), Vaccines, and Immunotherapy (V&I) and investment in China, Japan, and emerging markets.

Within our Biopharmaceuticals Business Unit, our global Respiratory, CVRM, V&I, and Medical teams are at the intersection of drug development, formulation and manufacturing, commercialization, and evolving standards of medicine in primary and specialty care; developing and driving our TA strategies to bring new medicines to patients across the globe. In addition to the challenge of different local regulatory regimes, our business is constantly evolving with new innovations in digital/AI, personalized medicine, patient support programs, and real-world evidence, to name a few.

A fast-paced, innovation-driven organization also means assessing and mitigating new and changing risks. In this role you will be helping the business navigate this evolving landscape, navigating risks such as anti-bribery and inappropriate inducement, data privacy, off-label promotion, fair competition and bioethics. The ability to learn on-the-fly, adapt, and generate simple and pragmatic solutions to complex challenges is critical, as is the ability to balance business needs with informed risk management. Demonstrating a proactive ‘Business Partnering’ mindset is key to establishing the credibility and trust required to exert influence and sustain the elements of our Compliance Framework.

The Role:

• Delivers strategic compliance advice and support, including partnering with the business to assess and effectively mitigate risk, educate and embed controls into business systems and processes and develop pragmatic solutions; Empowers the business as the “first line of defense” when it comes to being accountable for compliance and day-to-day risk management; Enables the business to take smart risks and be agile in a fast-paced and rapidly evolving environment

• Fosters our values-based culture, starting with “We do the right thing” while we “Follow the Science,” “Put patients first,” “Play to win,” and “Be entrepreneurial.”

• Builds and leverages strong relationships with leaders and management teams across different levels of the organization to drive learnings and influence decision-making; Constructively challenges the business where needed; Seen as an independent and credible advisor with a deep understanding of the business

• Partners with our Oncology and Rare Disease compliance, Global Assurance, Global Compliance Investigations, and Ethics and privacy Enablement and innovation center (EPIC) teams to execute our “second line of defense” accountabilities (e.g., monitoring, internal investigations, training and awareness, risk management) to support the continuous improvement of our global compliance program.

• Establishes diverse and deep networks across the business and support functions (e.g., HR, Legal, IT, Procurement, Global Business Services, Internal Audit, Media Relations) as an ambassador for our broader Ethics & Compliance strategy and champion of our Code of Ethics.

• Drives global compliance objectives while supporting market and business unit priorities; facilitates information sharing and learning globally; ensures implementation of global standards at the local level, including compliance with local regulatory and trade association codes.

• Supports awareness and communication activities using innovative and user-friendly resources to drive principles-based decision-making across the region;  Leverages new communication channels and tools, aligning with the central Knowledge Management and Innovation team within EPIC

• Drives simplification and efficiency across Units, but also across AZ; Early adopter and champion of digital ways of working

• Drives implementation of centrally-driven mandatory compliance training and supports development of business-relevant case studies and tools to assist business stakeholders in the application of global policies and standards, as well as local regulatory requirements.

• Supports awareness and communication activities using innovative and user-friendly resources to drive principles-based decision-making across the global BBU teams; Explores and adopts new communication channels and tools, aligning with the central Education & Engagement team priorities. 

• Independently interacts with leaders, management teams and across different levels of the organization to provide advice, share learnings and influence decision-making, including constructive challenge where needed.

• Serves as the primary point of contact for the global BBU CVRM & GMD teams and for assurance-related activities involving the