O

Otsuka Pharmaceutical

Global pharma maker of Abilify

Associate Director - Multiple Teams

Procurement & SourcingConfirmed live in the last 24 hours
Full-timePrinceton, NJ, USAIn-person

About the Job

Requirements

  • Experience within the pharmaceutical industry, preferably with demonstrated expertise sourcing for commercial and corporate functions.
  • Experience executing commercial and corporate services sourcing projects that yield preferred or strategic partnerships.
  • Experience interacting with senior-level stakeholders and suppliers.
  • Proficiency in evaluating and developing procurement strategies aligned with key stakeholders to maximize efficiency and minimize cost with minimal oversight.
  • Proficiency in negotiating supplier contracts and rate cards that deliver value for money and quality.
  • Demonstrated proficiency in launching and managing financial key performance indicators for Sourcing.
  • Demonstrated proficiency in building successful stakeholder relationships.
  • Expertise in data analysis and extracting actionable observations.
  • A minimum of 7 years of experience in Strategic Sourcing roles within the pharmaceutical industry, including the ability to work through transformational efforts within the team.
  • Executive presence and influence, with the ability to tell a story and influence organizational direction, including at the most senior levels.
  • Strong PowerPoint and presentation skills.
  • Strong organizational and project-management skills, including the ability to manage multiple concurrent sourcing initiatives and shifting priorities.
  • Ability to anticipate trends, understand implications, and create actionable plans to prepare for future needs.
  • Familiarity with emerging Procurement technologies.
  • Ability to explain complex technical sourcing aspects in clear terms that the business can assess and use to make decisions.
  • Strong customer service focus.
  • Experience listening to client needs and partnering to deliver mutually beneficial results for the client and the organization.
  • Specific experience leading large, complex sourcing events with multifunctional stakeholder teams.
  • Effective internal and external influencing and negotiating skills, and the ability to influence at various organizational levels.
  • Strong analytical skills, including the ability to rapidly understand and synthesize disparate data into meaningful information for critical business decisions.
  • Strong understanding of the pharmaceutical industry and new drug development.
  • Bachelor's degree in Business, Supply Chain, Sciences, or relevant technical expertise.

Responsibilities

  • Build relationships with Customer Engagement business partners to develop and enable sourcing strategies aligned with business needs and financial, operational, risk, quality, regulatory, and assurance-of-supply/services control objectives.
  • Serve as the primary point of contact and trusted advisor to Commercial stakeholders for Consulting, Data & Technology initiatives, providing proactive consultative support on sourcing needs.
  • Manage and identify key supplier relationships by enabling operational delivery, continuous improvement, and innovation through performance and relationship measurement, governance, supplier relationship development, and alignment to business and corporate goals.
  • Promote Sourcing and monitor compliance with sourcing policies and processes through stakeholder communication, training, and identification and reporting of exceptions and deviations.
  • Identify and drive continuous improvement opportunities within the process area.
  • Drive 10–15% annual savings within in-scope spend areas.
  • Lead and execute significant, high-value, high-impact sourcing activities with cross-functional teams by assessing category markets, collecting business requirements, soliciting requests for information or quotations, leading contractual and rate-card negotiations, and ensuring strategic contractual infrastructure supports business priorities.
  • Ensure compliance with company policies, industry regulations, and ethical standards; assess and mitigate supplier risks while driving quality and regulatory compliance.
  • Execute the Strategic Sourcing vision and strategy in partnership with business leaders and stakeholders, gaining their perspectives and endorsement.
  • Produce key performance indicators and processes to capture, consolidate, and report sourcing performance and outcomes against objectives to business partners.
  • Build and maintain category spend analytics and program metrics using advanced Excel, and translate them into executive-ready PowerPoint presentations.
  • Provide regular reporting and tracking of sourcing initiatives and progress, including issues, risks, and other observations, to executive leadership, business leaders, and stakeholders.
  • Provide category expertise to business partners regarding changes in the category supplier landscape, including new and existing suppliers.
  • Provide organization-wide training on the importance of following Sourcing policies and processes.
  • Ensure appropriate controls are in place to meet regulatory requirements, including J-SOX and Third Party Risk Management.
  • Ensure sourcing best practices, including accurate spend analysis, use of request-for-information/quotation tools and templates, contract management, preferred supplier programs, and realization of sourcing savings in financials.
  • Oversee key service-provider relationships by participating in governance and business review meetings.
  • Lead negotiations for Master Services Agreements, Statements of Work, amendments, and change orders to ensure timely contract execution and budget alignment where applicable.
  • Enable the Indirect Sourcing managed service provider model by establishing ways of working, category-specific contract templates, and escalation pathways.
  • Perform daily sourcing project activities, including developing request-for-information/quotation strategies and ongoing contract negotiations.
  • Develop operational metrics to monitor and improve sourcing projects and report them to Sourcing leadership.
  • Ensure assigned sourcing projects have clear financial and operational objectives aligned with business stakeholders.
  • Partner with business owners, Financial Operations, and other key process owners to meet project timelines.
  • Develop sourcing and financial capabilities.
  • Collaborate with Professional Services and Information Technology category leads on continuous improvement, including category playbooks, preferred supplier programs, and process optimization.
  • Complete other activities or projects as assigned.

Desired Qualifications

  • Experience within the pharmaceutical industry, particularly sourcing for commercial and corporate functions.
  • An advanced degree (MBA or MS).

About the Company

Otsuka Pharmaceutical

Global pharma maker of Abilify

Otsuka Pharmaceutical develops and markets medicines and health products worldwide, including prescription drugs and nutraceutical beverages. Its product lineup ranges from pharmaceutical treatments such as Abilify (an antipsychotic) to consumer health drinks like Pocari Sweat, which helps replenish electrolytes. Abilify works as a psychiatric medication used to treat conditions such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, while Pocari Sweat is an ion-replacement beverage designed to restore minerals and fluids after activity or heat. The company differentiates itself through a long history dating back to its founding in 1921, a broad, globally scaled portfolio spanning drugs and health beverages, and a focus on health improvements across populations. Its stated goal is to create new products for better health worldwide.

Company size
1,001-5,000
Company stage
IPO
Headquarters
Tokyo, Japan
Founded
1921

Recently Posted Jobs

Explore more opportunities at Otsuka Pharmaceutical

See more jobs