Associate Director, Real World Data Science

Associate Director, Real World Data Science

About Astellas: 

At Astellas we are a progressive health partner, delivering value and outcomes where needed. 

We pursue innovative science, focussing initially on the areas of greatest potential and then developing solutions where patient need is high, often in rare or under-served disease areas and in life-threatening or life-limiting diseases and conditions. 

We work directly with patients, doctors and health care professionals on the front line to ensure patient and clinical needs are guiding our development activities at every stage. 

Our global vision for Patient Centricity is to support the development of innovative health solutions through a deep understanding of the patient experience. At Astellas, Patient Centricity isn’t a buzzword - it’s a guiding principle for action. We believe all staff have a role to play in creating a patient-centric culture and integrating an awareness of the patient into our everyday working practices, regardless of our role, team or division. 

We work closely with regulatory authorities and payers to find new ways to ensure access to new therapies. We deliver the latest insights and real-world evidence to inform the best decisions for patients and their care-givers, to ensure the medicines we develop continue to provide meaningful outcomes. 

Beyond medicines, we support our stakeholder communities to drive initiatives that improve awareness, education, access and ultimately standards of care. 

About this job:

As an Associate Director, you will be an analytic researcher representing the Data Science department in the domain of non-interventional studies.

You will support the development and execution of project-specific strategies and tactics for one or more projects in close collaboration with partner functions (such as development, medical affairs, HEOR, etc.).

You will combine knowledge of real-World Data (RWD) and design of non-experimental or quasi-experimental methods to recommend, advise, and oversee or directly execute analytic tactics as appropriate.

This is an exciting opportunity, where the successful candidate will be involved in various engagements including but not limited to advising, planning, and development contributing broadly as a member of a team focusing on the use of RWD.

We are therefore looking for individuals with excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to communicate statistical issues and methods to both statisticians and non-statisticians individuals, and/or groups.

Key activities are noted below:

• Participating in project teams as needed for planning and development of analysis plans involving RWD.
• Providing statistical advice to study and project teams related to RWD and analysis including design of studies and analyses requiring advanced statistical methodologies. Recognising and addressing RWD issues which may impact the statistical integrity of the development program or for which statistical tools may add value.
• Ensuring quality and consistency of key Data Science deliverables across studies.
• Ensuring creation of maintenance and adherence to analysis standards with respect to key variables, definitions, statistical methods, data structures and presentation of results.
• Representing the company on statistical matters related to RWD analysis at meetings with regulatory authorities, key opinion leaders and similar experts/bodies as needed.
• Providing best-in-class Data Science support to Astellas drug development programs in relation to Real-World.
• Writing, reviewing, or contributing to key study documents to ensure high quality Real World research. These documents include, but are not limited to, protocols, analysis plans, tables, listings, and figure (TLF) specifications, study reports, publications.
• Contributing to vendor selection with partner functions, e.g., supporting verification of vendor’s statistical capabilities and approaches.

Essential Knowledge & Experience:

• Experience in applying observational research methods in biomedical research, extensive pharmaceutical or CRO experience required or demonstrated ability to provide statistical direction in these areas.
• Experience in working on cross-functional teams and providing statistical expertise in Real World Data.
• Proficiency in SAS or R (working knowledge of Python or SQL would be beneficial) and well-versed in data visualization, statistical analysis, and machine learning methodologies.
• Demonstrated success working in a matrix environment.
• Demonstrated excellence in organizational, project and time management skills.

Education/Qualifications:

• A doctorate or master's degree in statistics, Data Science, pharmacoepidemiology, or a similar/equivalent discipline

Additional information:

• This is a permanent, full-time position that is primarily based in the UK or Netherlands.
• This position follows our hybrid working model. Role requires a blend of home and a minimum 1-day per quarter in the office. Flexibility may be required in line with business needs. Candidates must be located within a commutable distance of the office.

We are an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, colour, religion, sex, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.