Director, IT Business Partnering – Oncology Business Unit (OBU) IT Data

Act as the trusted business partner to senior commercial leaders, connecting business strategy to technology, data and product outcomes across a complex, highly interdependent commercial ecosystem. This is primarily an advisory and relationship-led role – shaping Business Unit (BU) implementation and adoption plans, influencing investment decisions, advocating for product value, and ensuring the voice of the business is heard without acting as a proxy for users or assuming Product Manager decision rights. The role requires the hands-on delivery instincts to track cross-program dependencies personally, negotiate priorities and trade-offs among senior stakeholders, escalate issues appropriately, and step into the detail when needed to bring people together, simplify ways of working and unblock progress. The role sits at the intersection of commercial business stakeholders, Product, Platform and Data teams and external partners, in a fast-moving, regulated Pharma commercial environment where multiple systems, vendors and programs must move in step. This is a hybrid position with a requirement to work in the office three days a week. Accountabilities: Strategic Business Partnership Act as the primary IT business partner for the commercial data & technology domain, building a trusted advisory relationship with senior commercial leaders. Translate business strategy and commercial priorities into a coherent business-unit implementation and adoption plan, aligning with product roadmaps and shaping investment decisions based on business value rather than technical convenience. Challenge and influence business thinking through a technology and data lens, bringing an outside-in perspective on what is possible and what is worth prioritising. Educate and bring commercial leadership along on technology capability, risk and trade-offs, so decisions are made with a shared understanding rather than in translation. Product & Platform Partnering Partner with IT Product Leads and Product Owners as an enabler and advocate: help shape and localise the product value story for the business unit, bring relevant business context and feedback into product discussions, and connect stakeholders with the right technical expertise without acting as a proxy for users or taking on product decision rights. Create the conditions – clear BU implementation and adoption plans, resolved dependencies and unblocked risks – that enable Product Managers and Product Owners to make strong decisions in their own domain, while preserving direct engagement between product teams and the user community. Build trusted working relationships with Product teams and the user community, ensuring business feedback is gathered directly from the appropriate users and translated into actionable context for product teams. Cross-Ecosystem Dependency Oversight Maintain a live, working view of dependencies across commercial ecosystem elements – data platforms, commercial applications, analytics, master data, and vendor/agency deliverables – enough to spot conflicts before they become business risk. Broker resolution between programs and Product teams when plans, timelines or resourcing conflict; establish clear issue-escalation paths and step into hands-on delivery detail when that is the fastest way to bring the right people together and unblock progress. Provide senior stakeholders and governance forums with a clear, current view of interdependencies, risk, escalations and trade-offs, framed in business terms, and use local presence and cross-functional influence to simplify operational ways of working across the OBU. Complex Stakeholder Management Manage multi-layered stakeholder relationships across commercial business leaders, technology, data, compliance/regulatory functions and external partners, translating fluently between commercial and technical language. Build credibility and trust at senior levels, including with stakeholders who have competing priorities or informal influence outside the direct reporting line. Represent business needs, risk and trade-offs candidly to leadership on both sides, balancing transparency with a solutions-first approach. Negotiation & Commercial Influence Negotiate priorities, trade-offs and investment decisions among senior commercial and technology stakeholders, securing alignment without formal authority over either side. Bring strong commercial acumen to business case and roadmap discussions, drawing on the realities of a Pharma commercial environment to make the business case land with senior leaders. What Success Looks Like First 6–12 Months Recognised as a trusted business partner by senior commercial leaders, sought out for advice before decisions are made rather than briefed after. A clear, business-owned technology and data roadmap in place for the commercial domain. Recognised by Product teams as someone who removes friction rather than adds process. Year 2 and Beyond Technology and data investments visibly linked to commercial business value, with the business partner seen as accountable for outcomes, not just advice. Strong, trust-based relationships across commercial, Product, Platform and Data stakeholder groups. Established as the go-to business partner for complex, multi-party decisions in the commercial ecosystem. Essential Skills/Experience Bachelor's degree in a relevant field. 7+ years of substantial experience in a client-facing IT business partnering, strategic consulting or technology advisory role, including strategic planning, roadmap development and business case development. Strong track record managing senior, cross-functional and at times conflicting stakeholders across business, IT and external partners, building trust and influence without direct authority. Experience partnering with and enabling Product Managers/Owners without owning pr