Director Information Technology - Data, AI & Innovation

Summary of Position

Curium is seeking a strategic, transformational, and collaborative leader to build and lead a technical team and develop a strategy around data, analytics, automation, and artificial intelligence (AI) for a fast-paced international pharma company. 

As the Data, AI & Innovation Director, you will have responsibility for operational teams and managed service providers, and you will work to build a strategy and capability leveraging data, automation, and AI to take the business forward. You will also collaborate with application teams to develop strategies and capabilities that use analytics, automation, and AI to drive business efficiency and growth.  

Work Schedule: M - F 8am - 5pm

Essential Functions

Strategic and Innovation Leadership:

• Be part of the senior IT leadership team in North America with overall responsibility for delivering operational excellence around data, automation, and the use of AI tools
• Identify, evaluate, and prioritize high value AI, automation, and advanced analytics use cases
• Serve as a thought leader on emerging trends in AI, visualizations, and data platforms, ensuring responsible and ethical adoption
• Translate innovation concepts into clear business cases, success metric, and delivery roadmaps

Product and Solution Enablement:

• Ensure solutions are designed with operational readiness, governance, and long-term maintainability in mind
• Promote agile methodologies to strengthen the product lifecycle.
• Partner with operational teams to cultivate a DevOps model to ensure strong development and operational support.
• Establish and implement an operating model to identify optimal solutions for diverse use cases and scenarios aligned with the long-term strategic objectives.
• Maintain/Manage the budget for the program.
• Manage third party service providers and contractors

Cross Functional Partnerships and Culture:

• Develop partnerships with functional business leaders to ensure that capabilities and systems are aligned with Curium’s business objectives, compliance and reporting requirements 
• Works with enterprise architect to develop long term roadmap and strategy around which solutions should be global and which are better served regionally (within North America)
• Provide leadership and guidance to develop and grow your team with a culture of collaboration, integrity and trust
• Communicate complex data concepts clearly to executive and non-technical audiences. 
• Must maintain operational compliance with US and international regulatory agencies and guidelines (i.e. FDA, DEA, EU, HC, TGA, PIC/S, ISO, USP, NRC, cGMP, etc.).

Governance and Value Realization:

• Establish guardrails for responsible AI, data privacy, security, and compliance
• Define KPIs and success measures to ensure AI initiatives deliver tangible value
• Monitor performance and continuously optimize deployed solutions

Requirements

Must have Experience / Skills:

• Bachelor's Degree in business or IT related field
• Minimum 12 years of relevant work experience, with a minimum of 5 years in IT leadership
• Strong oral and written presentation skills
• Experience working with data lakes, analytical tools, automation capabilities, and AI 
• Forward looking mindset with the ability to deliver a data and automation roadmap and strategy
• Experience with a global company in the implementation of large application or data projects
• Ability to elicit cooperation from a wide variety of stakeholders including senior management as well as a user base consisting of business, operations, and scientific users
• Ability to present alternatives in a balanced way taking into consideration business requirements and technical solutions
• Experience in driving projects respecting the requirements and input of leadership such as Steering Committee, Project Leadership, Senior IT Management, and Business leaders
• Ability to actively listen and act on the outputs provided
• Ability to travel within the US and internationally  
• Flexibility to work in an environment with shifting priorities, demands and timelines through analytical and problem-solving capabilities
• Strong business acumen with the ability to align technical innovation to strategic outcomes
• Experience leading and influencing cross functional teams in complex organizations

Nice to have Experience / Skills:

• MBA or related Masters
• SDLC knowledge including Agile development techniques
• Experience working with Microsoft Fabric, Power BI, Copilot Studio, and Power Automate
• Industry certifications or training in areas such as master data management, analytics, and project management
• Experience with pharma national and international regulatory guidelines such as Electronic Records and Electronic Signatures and Data Integrity, cGMP, FDA 21 CFR Part 11/210/211, EU Annex 11, MHRA and GAMP5 guidelines
• Additional languages a Plus

Working Conditions:

• This position will work in typical office conditions with extensive time using computer equipment.
• Close attention to detail required.
• Willingness to work in a team-based environment.
• May be required to sit or stand for long periods of 8+ hours a day while performing duties.  
• Must possess good hand-eye coordination; close attention to detail is required.
• Willingness to complete safety training within allotted timeframes, and work in a team-based environment.
• The position deals with many deadlines. Must be able to work outside of regular work hours, including off shift, weekend, and holiday work as business needs require.