Associate Director, External Manufacturing Operations

Are you ready to play a pivotal role in a leading biopharmaceutical company? At our company, we are dedicated to pioneering innovative health solutions that advance the prevention and treatment of diseases in people. We are seeking an Associate Director, External Manufacturing Operations to join our team. This role is essential in ensuring our Contract Manufacturing Organizations (CMOs) meet customer demand while achieving excellence in compliance, supply, continuous improvement, and cost reduction.

Your Core Responsibilities

• Drive global competitiveness on cost and lead time with 100% compliance for each CMO.
• Serve as the “Virtual Plant Manager” for key CMOs, understanding their systems, capabilities, and capacity utilization to ensure supply chain reliability.
• Act as the primary owner of the Manufacturing department relationship with the External Partner and key contact for all interactions.
• Lead the cross-functional (Focus Factory) team assigned to each CMO and ensure proper execution of the Tier management process.
• Proactively drive risk assessment across the value chain, working with the Focus Factory team and CMO to manage and mitigate risks, ensuring zero supply chain interruptions and 100% compliance in quality and EHS.
• Partner with Global Procurement in identifying, selecting, negotiating, and terminating Supply Agreements with new contract manufacturers as needed.
• Facilitate the collection and presentation of contract manufacturer’s capacity information to Supply Chain Management, driving recommendations for capacity expansion.
• Ensure alignment of Supply and Quality agreements and participate in periodic Business and Relationship Review Meetings.

Who You Are

You are ready if you have:

• Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering, Sciences, or Business.
• Minimum of seven years combined experience in commercial/business and manufacturing functions in pharmaceutical, chemical, or related industries.
• At least five years of experience in API manufacturing or Sterile Drug product, ideally in Operations.
• Excellent interpersonal, communication, project management, collaboration, negotiation, and analytical skills.
• Strong leadership and team coordination abilities in a teamwork environment.
• Strong business acumen and ability to work independently with minimal supervision.
• Ability to handle complex projects in challenging environments and make decisive decisions in ambiguous situations.
• Cultural awareness and sensitivities, with fluency in English (both verbal and written). French would be desirable.
• Approximately 25% travel required within the EU region, with a preference for candidates based in Switzerland, Ireland, or France.