Director, ETS - Global Software Asset Management

Job Title: Director - Software Asset Management (SAM) GCL: F Introduction to role: Are you prepared to guide a global Software Asset Management capability that protects compliance, unlocks value and fuels a data-led, patient-focused enterprise? As Director, Software Asset Management, you will set the strategy and run the end-to-end software governance that keeps our business audit-ready, cost-optimized and primed to scale. Your decisions will help our scientists and teams access the right tools at the right time, so we can bring life-changing medicines to patients faster. You will report to the Director of Service Asset and Configuration Management and lead a worldwide dispersed team. Partnering closely with sourcing, legal affairs, information security, enterprise architecture, finance and business-aligned technology groups, you will represent AstraZeneca with strategic software publishers and SAM tooling partners. Can you imagine shaping enterprise agreements and standards that save millions, reduce risk and empower thousands of colleagues—while building an energized, high-performing team? Accountabilities: Strategy, Governance and Compliance: Lead the global SAM strategy, policy, processes, standards and governance to ensure consistent, enterprise-wide compliance and reporting. Serve as the named control owner for software licence compliance, maintaining a continuous state of audit readiness and leading all vendor audits and internal assessments through to successful closure. Define and govern the full software lifecycle—from request and procurement, through entitlement, deployment and usage, to true-up, reallocation and retirement—ensuring a seamless AZ Software Store experience. Value, Optimisation and FinOps: Drive measurable cost optimization and value realization from strategic enterprise agreements. Partner with Procurement and Finance to inform renewals, true-ups and rationalization, turning insights into budget decisions. Monitor and report consumption versus entitlement, identifying gaps, surplus and reharvest opportunities, and feed data-driven recommendations into planning and investment cycles. Champion software economic decision-making across technology teams to set standards, evaluate alternatives and consolidate where it counts. Tooling, Data and Integration: Own the SAM tooling roadmap and customer success for platforms such as Flexera FNMS, ServiceNow SAM and App Portal, ensuring tight integration with IT service management, CMDB and hardware asset management. Safeguard the integrity of entitlements, contracts, installations and usage data as a single source of truth. Advance automation and self-service for software request, fulfilment and reclamation to elevate user experience and reduce manual effort. Collaborator Engagement and Partnership: Build positive relationships with senior collaborators across Procurement, Legal, Cyber Security, Enterprise Architecture, Finance and business-aligned technology groups to embed SAM standards and controls. Manage strategic software publisher and SAM partner relationships to influence roadmaps, secure favorable commercial outcomes and unlock new capabilities. Promote SAM advocacy and license compliance across the enterprise to raise awareness and establish the right behaviors. Leadership: Lead and continuously develop a strong, globally distributed team across the UK and our Global Technology Centre, strengthening capability, succession and engagement. Play an active role in the SACM leadership team to align strategies and deliver outcomes at scale. Define compelling business cases and interlock investments with medium-term planning to transform AstraZeneca’s software governance capability and sustain long-term impact. Essential Skills/Experience: