Associate Director

Salary Range: 145000 to 180000 (Currency: USD) (Pay period: per-year-salary)

Key Responsibilities

Essential Duties & Key Responsibilities:

Procurement

• Lead the procurement team responsible for purchasing raw materials, consumables, packaging components, capital equipment, and indirect supplies. 

• Ensure timely issuance, confirmation, and follow-up of purchase orders through delivery. 

• Negotiate pricing, contracts, and commercial terms with suppliers in partnership with Strategic Sourcing and Legal as appropriate. 

Purchase Order Management

• Oversee the complete purchase order lifecycle from requisition through receipt. 

• Ensure purchase orders accurately reflect material specifications, quantities, pricing, and delivery requirements. 

• Monitor supplier acknowledgements and delivery commitments. 

• Escalate supplier delays and coordinate recovery plans to minimize production impact. 

• Maintain purchasing metrics including on-time delivery, purchase order cycle time, and supplier responsiveness. 

Inventory Forecasting & Materials Planning

• Lead inventory forecasting activities in partnership with Supply Chain Planning and Manufacturing. 

• Review demand forecasts to determine future procurement requirements. 

• Establish inventory targets including safety stock, reorder points, and minimum/maximum inventory levels. 

• Balance inventory investment while minimizing stockouts and excess inventory. 

• Monitor inventory health, slow-moving inventory, excess inventory, and expiration risks. 

Supplier Relationship Management

• Build and maintain strong strategic relationships with suppliers. 

• Conduct regular business reviews with key suppliers. 

• Monitor supplier performance using key performance indicators including: 

• On-time delivery 

• Lead time adherence 

• Quality performance 

• Identify alternate suppliers and mitigate supply risks. 

Stock-Out & Supply Issue Management

• Serve as the primary escalation point for supplier stock shortages and material availability issues. 

• Coordinate supplier recovery plans for backorders and constrained materials. 

• Communicate supply risks to Planning, Manufacturing, and Executive Leadership. 

Supplier Quality & Delivery Performance

• Partner with Quality Assurance on supplier quality issues. 

• Coordinate supplier investigations for nonconforming materials. 

Inventory Management

• Partner with Warehouse and Materials Management to maintain accurate inventory. 

• Review inventory accuracy, cycle count performance, and inventory reconciliation. 

 

Minimum Qualifications

• Minimum Experience, Education, Certifications, Licenses:

  Associate Director

  • Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain, Engineering, Life Sciences, Business, or related field 

  • 8–10 years of progressive procurement, materials management, inventory management, or supply chain experience in a GMP-regulated manufacturing environment 

  • 3–5 years of people leadership 

  • Experience with ERP systems (SAP, Oracle, NetSuite, etc.) 

  • Experience managing procurement operations, inventory management, supplier performance, and materials management 

  Director

  • Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain, Engineering, Life Sciences, Business, or related field 

  • 10–15+ years of progressive procurement, materials management, inventory management, or supply chain experience in a GMP-regulated manufacturing environment 

  • 5+ years leading procurement and materials organizations 

  • Demonstrated success building scalable procurement organizations and improving supplier performance, inventory health, and operational efficiency 

  • Experience leading organizational and system improvements

  • Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain, Engineering, Life Sciences, or related fields.

  Reporting Structure & Authority: 

  • Direct reports include Procurement Manager and procurement specialist(s)

  • Define Supervisory responsibilities include,

  • Oversees the daily workflow of the department and performance to goals and deliverables

  • Recruits, interviews, hires, and trains new staff 

  • Provides constructive and timely performance feedback and evaluations 

  • Other related supervisory responsibilities as assigned 

  Training & Continuous Improvement:

  • Certification in Production and Inventory Management or Logistics, such as APICS are a plus 

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with autologous or allogeneic cell therapy supply chains.
• Familiarity with both clinical and commercial supply chain models.
• Knowledge of manufacturing, chain of identity/custody requirements, and vein-to-vein workflows.

Personal Qualities & Physical Demands

• Demonstrates strong work ethic, curiosity to learn and contribute in a fast-paced collaborative environment. 
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to communicate effectively. 
• Ability to work in a collaborative manner. 
• Strong problem-solving skills. 
• Domestic and international travel may be required from time to time as needed (approximately 10-25%). 
• May require occasional lifting up to 25 lbs. and gowning into cleanroom areas. 
• Requires sitting, standing, working in an office environment and computer use.