Enterprise Innovation Manager Barcelona

MISSION

Enterprise Innovation Directorate (Madrid & Barcelona) drives, orchestrates, and scales innovation by connecting science, technology, and talent with AstraZeneca’s priorities and the Marketing Company in Oncology and BioPharma. Works with the Madrid Innovation Hub and the Barcelona Global Hub, maximizing the ecosystem (startups, hospitals, universities, technology centers, and corporations) and supporting the Science & Innovation pillar in Barcelona to execute tactics, align stakeholders, and measure impact.

Role: The Enterprise Innovation Manager holds end-to-end responsibility for implementing the Enterprise Innovation strategy, translating the Director’s priorities into actionable plans, portfolios, and tangible outcomes for the Madrid Innovation Hub and the Barcelona Global Hub. With senior accountability, the role leads cross-functional execution without direct line authority, establishes operational governance (roadmaps, cadences, KPIs/OKRs, reporting), and coordinates partnerships and initiatives across the innovation, science, and entrepreneurship ecosystem (startups, hospitals, universities, technology centers, and corporations), while overseeing administration and compliance (SOWs, POs, contracts, MSAs/NDAs). In Barcelona, the Manager follows through on the Global Hub’s Science & Innovation strategy and ensures tactical execution, contributing to the maximization of value from science and innovation initiatives and collaborations by defining success metrics, tracking impact, and scaling what proves effective.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Supporting health-innovation ecosystem activities and partnerships

• Ecosystem Support: Facilitate interactions with startups, hospitals, universities, technology centers, and corporations. Coordinate logistics for innovation activities, challenges, and sector events (e.g., MWC, open innovation challenges…). Identify new opportunities aligned with Hub team priorities.
• Leverage Ecosystem Activities: Capitalize on Hub initiatives by generating connections, opportunities and transferable learnings. Capture insights and best practices to create value for the bioregion and for the country.
• Ensure Value and Impact: Contribute as a senior expert to deliver on objectives, metrics, and expected benefits. Support the design and structuring of pilots and collaborations demonstrating clinical, operational, or business value.
• Ecosystem Orchestration (Barcelona Focus): Ensure execution of Barcelona-based partnerships and projects aligned with the Science & Innovation strategy, patient identification acceleration, R&D process improvement, and commercial excellence.
• Strategic Alignment: Coordinate with the Director (strategic sponsor) and Enterprise Innovation Team, Hub leaders, and cross-functional teams to avoid duplication and maximize the impact of activities and projects.
• Partnership Governance: Support the governance, contracting processes and operational frameworks required for partnership execution.
• Financial Tracking: Support budget monitoring, reporting and coordination for the Science & Innovation budget.
• Support to Project Leads: When projects are led by Engagement Team members, act as a delivery partner, providing structure, cadence, and strong operational execution.
• Cross-functional Coordination: Ensure alignment with Communications, Government Affairs, and the Science & Innovation Engagement Team to enable smooth delivery of activities and projects.
• Knowledge and management of consortium projects: providing execution support and ensuring full alignment with the Science & Innovation Pillar.

Execution of Science & Innovation projects, governance and strategy

• Operational Support for the S&I Pillar: Support the execution of internal forums, strategic meetings, and team follow-up. Coordinate multidisciplinary projects, ensuring resources, roadmap delivery, and milestone completion.
• Strategic Cadence & Commitment Tracking: Maintain consistent communication forums between the S&I Pillar, Enterprise Innovation leadership, and teams involved in innovation projects.
• KPIs and Reporting: Define, track, and report operational and tactical KPIs to enable strategic oversight and decision-making.
• Strategy-to-Execution Conversion: Translate the Barcelona S&I strategic priorities into quarterly and annual roadmaps, defining milestones, owners, dependencies, and risks. Align with the Madrid Manager on AI-related components and with Specialists for tactical delivery.
• Co-leadership of Core S&I Projects: co-own and co-lead key end-to-end initiatives such as the Global Hub Barcelona Open Innovation Challenge, the Scientific Footprint, and other high-priority projects.
• Governance Leadership: Establish and manage operational governance (cadence, S&I Ambassadors Forums, interfaces with project owners and Consortium Office). Maintain executive repositories, decision logs and Statements of Work (SOWs). Apply RACI to clarify roles (Director = strategic approval; Barcelona Manager = execution owner; Specialists = delivery support).
• KPIs/OKRs & Executive Reporting: Define impact KPIs/OKRs for ecosystem initiatives and innovation communities (In Conversation With, Synergia, Patient Recruitment Forum…). Operate dashboards, deliverables and prepare concise executive summaries highlighting decisions needed, progress, risks, and next steps.

Cross-functional coordination, project management & follow-up (Enterprise Innovation Barcelona & Madrid)

• Portfolio ownership and PMO (Barcelona): Own the Barcelona innovation portfolio, building integrated timelines, chronograms, budget plannings and follow ups, and critical paths; manage risks and interdependencies; ensure on-time/on-quality delivery; escalate structural blockers to the Director and synchronize with the Madrid Manager on AI/shared assets.
• PMO and operational tracking: Structure project plans and cadences across multiple medium-to-high complexity initiatives; track deliverables and milestones; maintain action trackers; provide clear status, risks, and mitigations to owners and leadership.
• Service-leadership PMO for project leads: For initiatives owned by others (e.g., an Engagement Team lead for BSC), co-create charters and RACIs; schedule and run steerco/workstream/stand-ups; prepare agendas and pre-reads; capture minutes and decision logs; send follow-ups and emails to keep momentum through closure.
• Cross-functional coordination: Align tactics and impact with Communications, Site leadership, Ambassadors, Site project owners, Governmental Affairs, Human Resources, Legal, Compliance and other internal stakeholders; secure timely inputs and approvals and resolve handoffs.
• Internal convenings and communities: Plan and deliver end-to-end internal science-and-innovation convenings and cross-SET communities/CoEs (e.g., AI/ML, Data Science, Clinical Trial Acceleration Forum…); contribute to set goals, curate content with owners, and document outcomes and next steps for reuse.
• Process optimization and scale: Standardize and improve the innovation cycle (intake, assessment, prioritization, pilots, scaling) through SOPs/checklists and lessons-learned loops; ensure seamless handoffs to SET and business teams and readiness for scaling when impact is proven.

Stakeholder & partnership management

• Stakeholder management and senior alignment: Continuously align expectations, commitments, deliverables, approvals, and strategic fit across internal partners and cross-SET priorities, ensuring coherence with Enterprise Innovation and AstraZeneca strategy.
• Ecosystem partnerships: Identify, monitor, expand, and evaluate potential partners in alignment and coordination with strategic needs, maintaining a portfolio view to maximize impact and avoid duplication.
• Partnership governance and administration: Lead and follow-up on collaboration agreements (MoUs, MSAs, NDAs), defining decision rights, approval paths, timelines, and risks; keep auditable documentation and manage compliance.
• External partner administration (end-to-end): Oversee and, when needed, execute vendor onboarding, due diligence inputs, SOW drafting, PO creation, contract routing/tracking, invoicing follow-up, milestone acceptance, and repository maintenance/coordinating with Procurement, Finance, and Legal to ensure compliance and timeliness; keep project leads informed.
• Reporting and accountability: Coordinate reporting cadences and accountability documents (dashboards, minutes, decision logs, KPIs/OKRs), providing clear status, risks, and next actions.
• Communication and visibility: Draft clear stakeholder updates and emails; prepare presentations and materials for internal/external platforms and ecosystem events; align messages with project leads and Communications to ensure coherent positioning of the S&I pillar and Hub activities.

Compliance & quality

• Safeguard that every activity complies with AstraZeneca policies and external regulations on research integrity, data privacy, contracting and public funding.
• Administrative management: Experience with procurement processes, POs, contracts, and SOWs, coordinating with Procurement, Finance, and Legal.
• Document management: Maintain repositories, impact evidence, and decision traceability.

Tactical and strategic execution

• Fast, accurate deliverables: Produce high-quality presentations, executive summaries, briefs, and materials required to deliver projects and inform decisions-concise, timely, and tailored to stakeholders.
• Flagship S&I activities and forums: Ensure end-to-end delivery of S&I pillar initiatives (e.g., In Conversation With, Synergias, Patient Recruitment Forum), setting objectives, agendas, content standards, logistics plans, and follow-up cadence; support teams and project leads for on-the-ground execution.
• Support to project leads: Provide hands-on, tactical support to project owners ensuring timely delivery of project planning and runbooks, action follow-up, emails/communications, materials preparation, logistics, and post-meeting summaries-to make things happen tactically while sharing ownership of content and decisions in full alignment with the Enterprise Innovation Strategy.
• Operational readiness and administrative excellence: Guarantee timely, accurate outputs (presentations, executive summaries, impact reports); ensure POs, contracts, approvals, and online innovation platform updates are handled on time; maintain day-to-day cadence (invites, reminders, documentation) with clear Service level Agreements and service mindset.
• Impact measurement and scale: Co-define success metrics with initiative owners; track progress and outcomes; prepare clear, data-based recommendations (scale/stop/pivot) for the Director; coordinate replication across hubs and SET areas when impact is validated.
• Traceability and process control: Ensure diligent follow-up and auditable record-keeping of all processes, contracts, signatures, POs, and agreements related to the Science & Innovation pillar activities under the Enterprise Innovation Director in Barcelona and Madrid.

 3. PROFILE REQUIREMENTS

Essential

• Proven track record (5+ years) delivering cross-functional innovation from strategy to execution, with clear ownership of outcomes.
• Passion for science and innovation: Genuine curiosity and drive to advance scientific and technology-driven solutions; keeps abreast of emerging trends, translates complex concepts into practical actions, and fosters a culture of experimentation, learning, and impact-focused collaboration.
• Strong portfolio/PMO leadership: planning and prioritization, governance cadences, risk/issue management, and on-time/on-quality delivery.
• Effective support to project owners: structured PMO/admin, clear communications, action follow-up, and stakeholder coordination while respecting content ownership.
• Stakeholder and partner management: aligning expectations, approvals, and impact across internal teams and external ecosystem partners.
• Partnership coordination: oversight of collaboration agreements and end-to-end partner processes with solid compliance and documentation.
• Compliance and quality discipline: audit-ready documentation, decision traceability, and adherence to internal policies and external regulations.
• Clear executive communication: concise presentations, summaries, and updates in Spanish and English.
• Proficiency with common PM/collaboration and reporting tools.
• AI fluency for agility and responsible use: Demonstrated ability to effectively use approved AI/GenAI tools to accelerate day-to-day work (drafting summaries, structuring plans, extracting insights, preparing briefs), while applying sound judgement on data privacy, security, and bias. Able to select the right tool for the task, validate outputs, document prompts/assumptions when needed, and integrate AI-assisted deliverables into team workflows to improve speed and quality without compromising compliance.

Desirable

• Experience in healthcare/biopharma innovation and familiarity with clinical, operational, or evidence-generation contexts.
• Exposure to AI/data-enabled initiatives and responsible digital practices.
• Track record running ecosystem forums and strategic partnerships with measurable outcomes.
• Process design and continuous improvement mindset to standardize and scale what works.
• Track record operating across countries and institutions, adapting governance and communication to diverse stakeholders.

FUNCTIONAL RELATIONSHIPS

Internal

• Enterprise Innovation: Director of Enterprise Innovation; Enterprise Innovation Manager (Madrid); Specialists team.
• Barcelona Global Hub: Engagement Team, Ambassadors Team, Governance Team, wider Hub community.
• Business and Enablers: Therapeutic Areas (Oncology, BioPharma, Alexion as applicable), Medical, Market Access, CAMA, SMM, Tech & Data, Business Excellence, CE&DT, IHS.
• Corporate functions: Communications, Government Affairs & Policy, Legal, Finance, Compliance, Procurement, HR and others.

External

• Innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem: Startups, scale-ups, spin-offs, accelerators, incubators, venture studios, tech companies.
• Academic and research partners: Universities, research institutes, hospitals/clinical research centers, consortia with special focus in the Bioregion, and oversight in EU and national.
• Technology centers, AI and computational capabilities, digital health platforms, health validation centers. (e.g., supercomputing centers).
• Sector institutions and networks: Biomedical/biotech clusters, health-tech associations, science and innovation agencies, public innovation bodies.
• Strategic partners and vendors: Consultancy and technology providers, data/AI partners, platform providers, and other health-innovation stakeholders.

5. COMPETENCIES

Competency

Cross-Functional Leadership

• Orchestrates multidisciplinary teams across hierarchy levels without direct line authority.
• Establishes common purpose, governance, and ways-of-working among Engagement Team, Directors Team, and SET stakeholders.
• Cultivates psychological safety and collaborative problem-solving.

Strategic thinking

• Systems-level perspective on science, business, and healthcare policy.
•  Ability to translate complex scientific opportunities into clear strategic options and roadmaps.
• Forward-looking, scenario-based planning that anticipates risks and emerging trends.

Influencing & Stakeholder Management

• Builds trust quickly with internal and external KOLs, innovators, investors, and academic leaders.
• Crafts data-driven narratives that resonate with senior executives and scientific experts alike.
• Uses negotiation and facilitation skills to secure resources and remove barriers.

Execution Excellence & Result Orientation

• Establishes rigorous project follow-up, risk mitigation, and budget stewardship.
• Drives accountability through clear KPIs and decision forums.
• Champions continuous improvement and lessons-learnt loops

Personal Effectiveness & Resilience

• Self-motivation and growth mindset.
• High adaptability in ambiguous, fast-changing environments.
• Maintains composure and sound judgement under pressure.

Date Posted

Closing Date

AstraZeneca embraces diversity and equality of opportunity.  We are committed to building an inclusive and diverse team representing all backgrounds, with as wide a range of perspectives as possible, and harnessing industry-leading skills.  We believe that the more inclusive we are, the better our work will be.  We welcome and consider applications to join our team from all qualified candidates, regardless of their characteristics.  We comply with all applicable laws and regulations on non-discrimination in employment (and recruitment), as well as work authorization and employment eligibility verification requirements.