Clinical Digital acceleration and innovation Lead

Role Summary

The Clinical Digital Acceleration & Innovation Lead is a strategic partner responsible for shaping the digital transformation roadmap for clinical development, championing the integration of AI and digital solutions, and aligning CSO with broader Sanofi digital initiatives. The role bridges technical and business teams, drives modernization initiatives, and leverages competitive intelligence to inform strategic decisions and accelerate clinical innovation.

Responsibilities

• Digital transformation roadmap: Shape the roadmap by translating vision and priorities into actionable initiatives that accelerate innovation and enhance clinical development outcomes.
• Partner with Digital and operational teams to implement AI technologies and identify opportunities for strategic scale-up (CSO 2030 initiative).
• Identify innovation opportunities and prototyping initiatives and orchestrate them with BICC & Digital as appropriate.

• iPMO framework support: Develop, communicate, and maintain guidelines to support governance and decision-making; coach and support project teams through the iPMO process and gate reviews, ensuring standards compliance.

• Transformation Project Leadership: Lead high-impact transformation projects or programs involving Digital/AI, focus on business value creation, cost optimization, and delivery of KPIs; define strategies and roadmaps and ensure timely delivery; oversee performance and mitigate risks.

• CSO Digital & AI Capability Building: Collaborate to lead upskilling in Digital/AI, identify skill gaps, conduct intelligence on trends, co-lead engagement for key tools, communicate initiatives across levels, and lead adoption/change management efforts.

• Stakeholder Engagement & Collaboration: Co-lead innovation workshops, develop strategic partnerships beyond CSO, act as a bridge between technical and business teams, and ensure visibility through communication and events.

Qualifications

• Expertise in Digital and AI technologies and applications with deep understanding of their potential in clinical development, demonstrated through programming experience or proven leadership of digital projects.
• Strategic thinking and leadership, with experience in strategic planning and delivering innovation-driven projects.
• Balance of strategic insights with practical follow-through and accountability.
• Strong program management capabilities with experience in agile methodologies.
• GenAI advanced prompting; experience with Jira and Canva is a plus.

Skills

• Visionary and innovative mindset with ability to anticipate future trends in clinical development.
• Collaborative leadership fostering cross-functional teamwork.
• Results-oriented with focus on measurable business impact.
• Adaptability to navigate complex regulatory and technological landscapes.
• Entrepreneurial mindset and curiosity; ability to design and implement disruptive, innovative approaches.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.

Education

• Master's degree or PhD in Computer Science, Data Science/Analytics, Engineering (AI/ML focus); MBA a plus.
• 10 years of relevant experience, including at least 5+ years working with digital transformation initiatives and leading AI/digital projects in healthcare/pharma.
• Program management experience with measurable business impact and experience building strategic partnerships across functions.