A career at Santen is an opportunity to make a difference. Through our long-term vision outlined in Santen 2030, we are committed to be a Social Innovator - addressing the social and economic needs of people with visual impairments. We have team members around the world using their diverse talents to unlock new modalities and drive innovations for patient outcomes, education and treatment. At Santen, we believe in empowering all our team members with flexible ways of working and a highly inclusive work environment. 

The Santen Group is an Equal Opportunity Employer.  We are committed to building diverse teams and ensuring a safe and inclusive physical and virtual workplace for every one of our team members. All employment decisions are based on business needs, role requirements and individual qualifications regardless of race, color, ethnicity, national origin/ancestry, religion, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity/ expression, age, disability, medical condition, marital status, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.  

Santen is a specialized life sciences company with a proud 130-year heritage focused exclusively on ophthalmology. As a Japan-originated, global company with our footprint in over 60 countries, we are dedicated to delivering innovative treatments and digital solutions for eye health and addressing vision-related social issues for people around the world.  

Digital & IT (DIT) is an international organization spread across 5 regions (Japan, North America, EMEA, Asia and China) with high diversity and motivated individuals driven by new technology and business applications.  Come join a dynamic team that is evolving from a demand-driven system integrator to business transformation enabler leveraging the power of digital and IT across the organization. 

As the Business Partner for Research and Development, you will drive transformation in the related business functions locally, regionally and globally through leveraging various kinds of new digital solutions. You will lead system lifecycle management (plan, design, implementation, operation), closely collaborate with Business teams, DIT teams and partner with vendors to ensure the success of core business goals. 

What you will do 

• Initiate projects with internal & external business key stakeholders incl. functions & business executives 

• Manage projects primarily mainly in the areas of Research and Development but may be extended to other divisions as DIT Business Partner and Project Manager, considering the success criteria of time, cost, and quality. 

• Depending on the characteristics of the project, perform process analysis and lead system implementation activities such as design and development. 

• As business partner responsible as main point of contact for business counterparts on DIT matters, planning, budgeting, and securing roadmaps for digitalization projects. 

• Collaborate and harmonize with the other Digital & IT functions to maximize business values while ensuring strategic alignment, compliance, security, and technology standards. 

• Responsible for planning, executing, and closing Digital & IT projects to realize business goals in corporation with the business/IT functions and partner vendors. 

• During projects, if applicable ensure GxP compliance and perform necessary system validation (Computerized System Validation, CSV) activities based on the Santen Project Management framework. 

• Responsible for taking part and/or coordinating to analyze, design, implement, and test change requests in corporate with the business/IT functions and partner vendors. 

• Responsible for taking part and/or coordinating to resolve escalated incidents in corporate with the business/IT functions and partner vendors while reporting the GBS function DIT and stakeholders in a timely manner. 

What you will bring to the role 

• University degree in Information Technology, Business Administration, Engineering or related (Master’s degree or equivalent) 

• (preferred) PMP or equivalent certification 

• 2 to 5 years’ experience in the information technology / systems area 

• Experience in digitalization elements and strategies 

• Experience in project management and external vendor management 

• Track record of managing IT project initiatives in an international environment 

• Working experiences in an international environment 

• Basic knowledge of infrastructure and security 

• Strong critical thinking and problem-solving skills 

• Ability to manage and develop strong working relationships with other departments and outside vendors 

• Proven facilitation and problem-solving skills even in remote work  

• Proven ability to management multiple projects and vendors in a multinational organization 

• Act autonomously and voluntarily (self-starter) 

• Have a business-level command of Japanese and English 

• Profound knowledge MS Office, SharePoint,  

• Project Management, structured work 

• Exposure to Digitalization principles 

• Cultural awareness for working in a global environment. 

• Ability and mindset to autonomously research and identify solutions to unknown issues 

You will be part of the Global Value Stream in DIT, impacting positively the way the company operates by having the opportunity to propose ideas and solutions and to be part of their implementation. You will report to the Global Business Solutions team, the manager who takes lead business solutions leveraging digital and IT mainly in global Research and Development. We are willing to simply make a difference for Santen with your enthusiasm, proposition capability and personality.