LocationThis position is based at our Wilmington, DE office location and follows AstraZeneca's hybrid working model, with employees expected to work onsite a minimum of three days per week on average in their assigned location. Remote work is not offered. Candidates must possess the legal right to work in the relevant country; work visa eligibility and/or sponsorship requirements will be considered in accordance with local regulations.
Introduction to RoleAstraZeneca is seeking an
Associate Director, Strategic Field Operations Planning to shape how complex field-facing priorities are translated into disciplined, scalable commercial operations execution. This role sits at the intersection of Sales Force Operations, Commercial Operations, field leadership, compliance, technology, analytics, consultant groups, and third-party partners-bringing the strategic oversight, operating discipline, and stakeholder influence required to enable field readiness in a highly regulated environment. This function reports directly into the Senior Director, Field Operations.
This opportunity is ideal for a seasoned commercial operations, sales operations, field enablement, or consulting professional who can bring structure to ambiguity, influence senior stakeholders, and build governance models that improve execution quality, reduce operational risk, and strengthen alignment across field-facing initiatives.
AccountabilitiesAs Associate Director, Strategic Field Operations Planning, you will:
- Set the operating approach for strategic field operations initiatives by aligning business priorities, governance routines, stakeholder expectations, decision points, ownership, and execution milestones across the commercial organization.
- Provide strategic oversight for complex operational workstreams spanning field readiness, credentialing and licensing, consultant-led delivery, vendor coordination, business requirements, and cross-functional execution.
- Direct and influence external consultant groups and third-party partners, including credentialing and licensing providers, CRM partners, speaker programming partners, analytics partners, and Contract Medical Organizations where applicable, to ensure priorities are clear, risks are visible, and outcomes meet commercial, compliance, and quality expectations.
- Influence alignment across Commercial Operations, Legal, Compliance, IT, Human Resources, Sales Leadership, Insights & Analytics, and external partners to resolve barriers, accelerate decisions, and maintain momentum on field-facing priorities.
- Design and embed governance frameworks, decision rights, escalation pathways, operating rhythms, documentation standards, and business rules that increase transparency, accountability, and execution confidence.
- Translate enterprise and department calendars into practical operating plans that enable proactive planning, coordinated execution, and clear accountability across recurring Strategic Field Operations activities.
- Anticipate workflow risks, interdependency gaps, process constraints, and execution barriers; drive timely escalation and resolution to protect field readiness, operating quality, compliance discipline, and stakeholder confidence.
- Develop executive-ready communications, leadership summaries, decision materials, and stakeholder updates that create visibility into business impact, risks, dependencies, recommendations, and next steps.
Essential Requirements- Bachelor's degree in business, life sciences, operations, project management, healthcare administration, or related field.
- 3+ years of experience in project management, commercial operations, healthcare operations, field operations, vendor management, or another relevant operational role.
- Experience shaping and leading complex operational initiatives with multiple stakeholders, dependencies, risks, decision points, execution milestones, and business outcomes.
- Experience working with credentialing and licensing vendors, healthcare operations vendors, provider/customer onboarding processes, or other third-party service providers.
- Demonstrated ability to lead through influence across matrixed teams, including internal stakeholders, external vendors, and consultant groups, with strong communication, organization, facilitation, and stakeholder management skills.
Preferred Requirements- 5+ years of experience in commercial operations, sales operations, field enablement, healthcare operations, vendor management, consultant-led operational delivery, or strategic operations planning.
- Previous experience working with vendor or Contract Organizations, supporting life sciences.
- Experience managing credentialing, licensing, certification, onboarding, provider network, customer eligibility, or healthcare compliance-related workstreams.
- Experience working in pharmaceutical, biotechnology, life sciences, healthcare, medical affairs, commercial operations, or consulting environments.
- Experience influencing, directing, or holding consultant groups accountable for work executed on behalf of the business.
- Experience partnering with Legal, Compliance, Commercial Operations, Sales Leadership, IT, CRM, speaker programming, analytics, or field enablement partners.
- Experience creating governance frameworks, operating rhythms, escalation pathways, stakeholder communications, strategic decision materials, executive-ready updates, process documentation, or scalable commercial operating models.
