Data Business Partner

Do you want to be part of an inclusive team that works to develop innovative therapies for patients? Every day, we are driven to develop and deliver innovative and effective new medicines to patients and physicians. If you want to be part of this exciting work, you belong at Astellas!

Astellas Pharma Inc. is a pharmaceutical company conducting business in more than 70 countries around the world. We are committed to turning innovative science into medical solutions that bring value and hope to patients and their families. Keeping our focus on addressing unmet medical needs and conducting our business with ethics and integrity enables us to improve the health of people throughout the world. For more information on Astellas, please visit our website at www.astellas.com .

This position is based in Northbrook, Illinois. Hybrid work from certain states may be permitted in accordance with Astellas’ Responsible Flexibility Guidelines. Candidates interested in hybrid work are encouraged to apply.

Purpose

As a Data Business Partner , you will perform a critical role within the Commercial Insights Data Strategy team with assumed accountability for facilitating seamless coordination among the three Data Strategy Pillars: Data Sourcing, Data Stewardship, and Data Platforms to ensure projects are driven forward and the right teams and people are informed of the impacts and consulted on the requirements. Your pivotal responsibility lies in fostering effective communication, collaboration, and alignment between the pillars to propel the Commercial Insights Data Strategy towards success. This is a global role that is expected to build trusted partnerships with global, regional, and affiliate groups from various areas of the company (with co-colleagues within Commercial Insights and outside such as Medical Affairs, Information Systems (DX), Finance, Procurement, Legal, Ethics & Compliance, HR, etc.) as well as with external vendors/suppliers.

Essential Job Responsibilities

• Responsible for the triage, coordination, and prioritization of new demands/requirements, initiatives, roadmaps, and necessary operational activities between the three Data Strategy Pillars (Data Sourcing, Data Stewardship, and Data Platforms).
• Coordinate and facilitate change and communication to necessary Commercial business stakeholders (global, regional, affiliates, other Commercial Insights teams such as Global Reporting, BAMA, other global Commercial functional areas such as Omnichannel department, etc.)
• Work effectively with other functional areas outside of Commercial such as Medical Affairs, Finance, Procurement, Legal, Ethics & Compliance, etc. in various business strategic and operational activities.
• Partner with Information Systems (DX) organization and external suppliers/vendors in support of activities and projects that may potentially involve one or more of the Data Strategy pillars.
• Effectively represent the Data Strategy (DS) team and/or support the DS pillar(s) in operational and project portfolio planning with other business groups within and outside of Commercial as well as with technical delivery road mapping with DX teams.
• Function as a key member of the newly proposed Commercial Data Governance Council (DGC) which is a group of individuals that defines and operationalizes Commercial data governance. Also operate as a bridge between CDGC and the newly proposed Data Governance Working Group (DGWG) - this is a group of individuals that will facilitate work across siloes, bringing together people with relevant skillsets to focus on operationalizing the Data Governance Framework. Within this space, the Data Business Partner will:
• Act as a liaison between the Data Governance Council and the Data Governance Working Group, ensuring effective communication, collaboration, and alignment between the two groups.
• Coordinate the Data Governance Council and Working Group sessions, ensuring agendas are set, materials are prepared, and action items are tracked and followed up on.
• Support the working group to identify and mitigate risks, prioritize and address issues, challenges, and conflicts related to data governance, facilitating resolution and escalation as needed.
• Support the council and working group in developing and maintaining metrics and reporting mechanisms to track the effectiveness and progress of data governance initiatives (e.g. data quality) providing regular updates to the Data Governance Council and other relevant stakeholders
• Continuously assess and improve data governance processes, frameworks, and practices based on industry best practices, emerging trends, and feedback from stakeholders.
• Contribute to the development and refinement of the organization’s data governance framework, policies, and procedures, in collaboration with the Data Governance Council and other stakeholders.
• Support the implementation of data governance policies and procedures across the organization, working closely with the Data Governance Council, Data Stewards, and other relevant teams
• Work with Data Strategy leaders to promote awareness and understanding of data governance principles, benefits, and best practices across Commercial Insights and the wider organization.
• Within the newly formed GrowthX Hub, support the Data Foundation Pod in triaging new projects to determine appropriate ownership and/or engagement from the Value Teams within and outside of the Data Foundation Pod, necessary Capability teams, and potentially other Hub groups. Leverage the responsibility of coordination across the Data Strategy pillars to seamlessly bring forth the new demands to GrowthX Hub.
  
  

Champion the adoption of Agile methodology in both project delivery and continuous integrations and continuous delivery (CI/CD) of efficient and scalable data management, reporting, and analytics solutions

Qualifications

Required:

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer or Information/Data Science, Information Systems, or STEM field.
• Excellent organizational, project planning and business change management skills with a strong attention to detail and ability to effectively manage cross-functional projects, utilizing project/program management tools such as (but not limited to): MS Azure DevOps, MS Project, or equivalent.
• Demonstrated ability to understand business requirements as well as underlying infrastructure applications, systems, and processes. Proven experience in process mapping, process improvement, and problem-solving skills with demonstrated ability in taking initiative to proactively evaluate existing strategies and processes and recommend best-fit solutions when appropriate.
• Strong communication, facilitation, presentation, and influencing skills to effectively interact to a diverse audience and gain impact with senior-level decision makers.
• Ability to work effectively in a team environment, collaborating with diverse groups of stakeholders, including business and technical colleagues from various areas and in various roles within the company, across multiple cultures and regions, facilitating effective collaboration in diverse environments.
• Self-directed with strong attention to detail and must be able to multi-task in a fast-paced environment with flexibility to adapt to changing requirements, technologies, and shifting priorities.
• Solid stakeholder, resource, and external supplier/vendor management skills.
• Proven skills in assisting to build, implement, stabilize, and measure a comprehensive Data Governance Framework model which includes concepts and/or modules such as (but not limited to): data quality control, referential data management, etc.
• Adept in System Development Life Cycle methodologies.
• Good understanding of external data sourcing process (e.g., data purchase request, review/approval, contracting, etc.) and the necessary TPA (third party agreements) and MSA (multi service agreements) that are relevant for externally sourced data.
• Good understanding of data stewardship and governance concepts (e.g., data ingestion, reference data management, data transformations, reporting/BI, archiving) and the governance framework that support it utilizing tools such as (but not limited to): Monte Carlo, Collibra, Informatica, etc.
• Exposure to and/or good understanding of Data Warehousing/Data Lakehouse platforms and technologies (e.g., AWS S3/RedShift, SQL, etc.)
• Familiarity with the following business applications: SAP, Veeva solutions in MDM (Network) and CRM, or equivalent.
• Familiarity with Business Intelligence (BI) tools such as Qlik, Tableau, or equivalent.
• Extensive computer proficiency in other Microsoft products: Excel, VBA, Macros, Access, Visio, PowerPoint, Teams, SharePoint, etc.
  
  

Preferred

• Master’s Degree in Computer or Information/Data Science, Information Systems, or STEM field
• Certifications in appropriate area(s) such as PMP, Agile methodologies, etc.
• Strong knowledge of Agile methodologies and frameworks such as Scrum, Kanban, etc. Adept in project management delivery tools such as: MS Azure DevOps, MS Project, or equivalent.
• Pharmaceutical or BioPharma experience with good understanding of secondary data sources commonly used (e.g., script level, patient longitudinal, promotional, omnichannel data, etc.)
• Subject Matter Expertise: possess a strong understanding of data architecture/engineering/operations/ reporting within Life Sciences/ Pharma industry across Commercial, Medical (R&D), and Finance domains.
  
  

Work Environment

• At Astellas we recognize the importance of work/life balance, and we are proud to offer a hybrid working solution allowing time to connect with colleagues at the office with the flexibility to also work from home. We believe this will optimize the most productive work environment for all employees to succeed and deliver. Hybrid work from certain locations may be permitted in accordance with Astellas’ Responsible Flexibility Guidelines.
  
  

Benefits

• Medical, Dental and Vision Insurance
• Generous Paid Time Off options, including Vacation and Sick time, plus national holidays including year-end shut down
• 401(k) match and annual company contribution
• Company paid life insurance
• Annual Corporate Bonus and Quarterly Sales Incentive for eligible positions
• Long Term Incentive Plan for eligible positions
• Referral bonus program
  
  

\

Category Commercial Insights

Astellas is committed to equality of opportunity in all aspects of employment.

EOE including Disability/Protected Veterans