Associate Director, Relational Database Services

(Managed Services & Consolidation)

Overview

IQVIA is seeking an Associate Director, Relational Database Services to lead the transformation and operation of our global enterprise database platforms. This leader will drive a strategic shift toward a modern, scalable, automation‑first managed service, consolidating a diverse landscape of relational technologies into standardized, resilient, cost‑efficient platforms.

This role is responsible for service strategy, platform engineering, operational excellence, and people leadership across on‑premises, hybrid, and cloud environments. Success means higher reliability, faster delivery, reduced complexity, and a consolidated ecosystem grounded in strong engineering and governance.

Key Responsibilities1. Managed Service OwnershipLead the end‑to‑end delivery of IQVIA’s database managed service, including service catalog, SLAs/SLOs, intake, and escalation paths.Oversee incident, problem, change, and release management to ensure high availability and predictable delivery.Implement standardized operational controls—monitoring/alerting, runbooks, on‑call rotations, and audit‑ready production governance.2. Database Consolidation & RationalizationDevelop and execute a multi‑year consolidation strategy to reduce database sprawl and legacy deployments.Align applications to standardized architectures through discovery, inventory classification, and migration planning.Partner with product/application teams to modernize platforms, eliminate duplicates, and retire end‑of‑life systems.3. Platform Engineering & AutomationChampion an automation‑first approach using standardized builds, IaC, CI/CD, automated patching, and self‑service workflows.Define and enforce reference architectures for high availability, clustering, backup/recovery, and performance engineering across supported engines.4. Resiliency, DR, and Capacity ManagementOwn availability engineering: failover design, DR planning and testing, and recovery execution.Oversee capacity planning, license optimization, and performance tuning across hybrid and multi‑cloud estates.5. Security, Compliance & Access GovernanceEnforce secure-by-design operations including privileged access controls, encryption, auditability, and policy‑based configuration.Ensure compliance aligned with regulatory, data residency, and separation‑of‑duty requirements in collaboration with Security and Risk teams.6. Vendor, Contract & Cost ManagementManage vendor relationships, support contracts, renewals, and tooling performance.Optimize licensing and platform spend through right‑sizing, standardization, and service tiering (e.g., Bronze/Silver/Gold).7. People Leadership & Cross‑Functional CollaborationLead, mentor, and scale global teams of DBAs and platform engineers (including managed service partners).Collaborate with Infrastructure, Network, Security, Identity, Application, and Data Platform teams to deliver stable, high‑performing services and successful migrations.Required QualificationsBachelor’s degree or equivalent experience.10+ years in database engineering/administration or platform operations.5+ years leading engineering or managed service delivery teams.Hands‑on leadership experience with Oracle, SQL Server, PostgreSQL, and legacy/warehouse technologies (e.g., Netezza, Exasol).Strong operational rigor across incident/problem/change management, uptime accountability, DR readiness, and capacity/performance.Proven success building standardized services (catalog, tiers) and driving large‑scale consolidation or migration programs.Preferred QualificationsExperience in regulated enterprise environments with strong compliance and security requirements.Hybrid/cloud platform expertise (AWS/Azure), including managed database services and connectivity patterns.Vendor/license optimization and financial stewardship of platform budgets.Track record implementing automation-first patterns across multiple engines and environments.Leadership Outcomes (Success Profile)Significant reduction in database sprawl and bespoke deployments.Higher reliability, reduced Sev1/Sev2 incidents, faster recovery, and stronger platform predictability.Clear, measurable managed services in place—standardized tiers, automated patching, validated DR, and consistent builds.Improved cost efficiency through licensing optimization and standardized architectures.Working ModelOperational leadership role with escalation responsibility and occasional after‑hours participation during major incidents or change events.Works closely with global teams and stakeholders; occasional travel may be required.

IQVIA is a leading global provider of clinical research services, commercial insights and healthcare intelligence to the life sciences and healthcare industries. We create intelligent connections to accelerate the development and commercialization of innovative medical treatments to help improve patient outcomes and population health worldwide. Learn more at https://jobs.iqvia.com

IQVIA is committed to integrity in our hiring process and maintains a zero tolerance policy for candidate fraud. All information and credentials submitted in your application must be truthful and complete. Any false statements, misrepresentations, or material omissions during the recruitment process will result in immediate disqualification of your application, or termination of employment if discovered later, in accordance with applicable law. We appreciate your honesty and professionalism.

The potential base pay range for this role, when annualized, is 196 600,00 zł - 417 800,00 zł. The actual base pay offered may vary based on a number of factors including job-related qualifications such as knowledge, skills, education, and experience; location; and/or schedule (full or part-time). Dependent on the position offered, incentive plans, bonuses, and/or other forms of compensation may be offered, in addition to a range of health and welfare and/or other benefits.