Associate Director, Global Categories Procurement - Lab Ops

Associate Director, Global Categories Procurement - Lab Ops Req ID #:  162252 Location: 

US Wilmington, MA, US, 01887 For 70 years, Charles River employees have worked together to assist in the discovery, development and safe manufacture of new drug therapies. When you join our family, you will have a significant impact on the health and well-being of people across the globe. Whether your background is in life sciences, finance, IT, sales or another area, your skills will play an important role in the work we perform. In return, we’ll help you build a career that you can feel passionate about. Job Summary

This role is responsible for one of our most critical global categories, Lab Operations, with a focus on the Contract Development and Manufacturing Operations (CDMO) for CRL.  The category has Executive Committee and Board level visibility given the criticality, risk and level of spend.  The ideal candidate must have a proven track record of partnering with business stakeholders to deliver value and support of critical business objectives. They must be collaborative in nature with the ability to influence others and lead change.  They must be highly analytical, a problem solver and an out of the box thinker with the ability to develop market insights and implement tactics to simplify buying for the scientific community. They will bring innovative technology and solutions to CRL, identify trends and devise strategies to manage the various market forces that drive risk and cost for CRL and the industry, understand global multimillion dollar spend categories and act as a strategic partner to functional areas within the company.  In addition, the candidate must be capable of driving overall best value sourcing strategies for categories (risk, quality, service and cost), rationalizing the supply base, negotiating and contracting, SRM (supplier relationship management) and establishing partnerships with key suppliers.  

  Essential Duties and Responsibilities Develop and implement global category sourcing strategies with business leads for assigned categories of products and services, several which are complex and of strategic importance, high value and critical to the success of the business. Drive efficiency and simplification of procurement processes including consignment and vendor managed inventory solutions. Identify opportunities and lead cross functional teams on projects that will deliver value across the multiple sites and regions within the company.  Work in a collaborative manner to develop business cases, influence stakeholders and manage change related to these projects. Implement SRM with strategic suppliers and all key suppliers and utilize analytics to enable effective procurement strategies to measure and improve supplier performance against key business objectives while reducing costs and increasing value. Stay current and informed on the global market (category based), changing technologies, and market trends to ensure CRL category strategies are delivering maximum value while maintaining quality and service. Work closely with suppliers to identify, manage, and mitigate risks in the supply chain, follow market conditions and collect vendor intelligence; anticipate market trends and develop risk mitigation strategies. Collaborate with Procurement peers at the corporate and site levels to ensure alignment on strategies and key projects within the category. Develop, negotiate and manage global contracts including as appropriate supply agreements, statements of work, quality specifications, and quality agreements.   Foster senior level relationships to better understand and align with business strategy and direction to prioritize initiatives and harmonize business and category strategies.   Effectively communicate within and across departments and businesses to ensure sharing of information and best practices aimed at breaking down silos. Manage supplier relationships and serve as their key contact for contract management and service level adherence, ensure appropriate level of relationship for strategic suppliers. Resolve disputes and commercial issues with suppliers in conjunction with internal customers. Manage cost savings and performance measurement systems for supplier contracts. Where appropriate, track, analyze and report cost savings against investment proposals, capital expenditure and contract spend commitments. Utilize and manage reporting procedures that meet the internal needs of Finance, Legal, Procurement and Audit. Analyze, develop and implement strategies aimed at supplier reduction and tail spend consolidation. Ensure awareness and enforcement of related process and policy, working with Finance, Legal, Procurement and Audit as appropriate. Create process documents, SOPs and work instructions as required. Lead sourcing projects through formal RFP/RFQ processes and assure the success of sourcing projects with attention to detail and communication with involved parties.  Support the policy of equal employment opportunity through affirmative action in personnel actions. Ensure adherence to pertinent regulatory requirements and to departmental policies, practices and procedures (SOPs, safety procedures and biosafety protocols). Perform all other related duties as assigned.

  Job Qualifications Education:  Bachelor’s degree (B.A./B.S.) or equivalent in a related discipline.  MBA or advanced degree preferred.

Experience:   8-12 years relevant procurement experience, preferably in a life sciences company  3-5 Years applicable category procurement experience in Biologics Manufacturing and/or Lab categories such as direct materials, supplies, consumables, reagents, chemicals, equipment, life sciences, etc. is preferred Experience in a GMP environment and understanding of Material Requirements Planning and Inventory Management is preferred Strong data analytics  An equivalent combination of education and experience may be accepted as a satisfactory substitute for the specific education and experience listed above.

Certification/Licensure:  CPSM preferred.

Other:   Excellent oral and written communication skills and interpersonal, analytical, presentation, influencing and negotiation skills required.  Must possess in-depth knowledge of complex pricing arrangements and supplier profitability.  Project management skills and familiarity with Lean and Process Improvement concepts is a plus.

Vaccine Mandate

Charles River is a U.S. Federal Contractor.  As a result, we must follow the Presidential Executive Order to mandate vaccinations, and ensure our employees are fully vaccinated against COVID-19.  Our main priority is the wellbeing, health, and safety of our people. We require proof of vaccination from all employees. 

Anyone with requests for disability-related and/or religious exemptions should contact Talent Acquisition (crrecruitment_US@crl.com) so that information can be provided about the accommodation process at Charles River.

About Corporate Functions

The Corporate Functions provide operational support across Charles River in areas such as Human Resources, Finance, IT, Legal, Sales, Quality Assurance, Marketing, and Corporate Development. They partner with their colleagues across the company to develop and drive strategies and to set global standards. The functions are essential to providing a bridge between strategic vision and operational readiness, to ensure ongoing functional innovation and capability improvement.  

About Charles River

Charles River is an early-stage contract research organization (CRO). We have built upon our foundation of laboratory animal medicine and science to develop a diverse portfolio of discovery and safety assessment services, both Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) and non-GLP, to support clients from target identification through preclinical development. Charles River also provides a suite of products and services to support our clients’ clinical laboratory testing needs and manufacturing activities. Utilizing this broad portfolio of products and services enables our clients to create a more flexible drug development model, which reduces their costs, enhances their productivity and effectiveness to increase speed to market.

With over 18,000 employees within 100 facilities in over 20 countries around the globe, we are strategically positioned to coordinate worldwide resources and apply multidisciplinary perspectives in resolving our client’s unique challenges. Our client base includes global pharmaceutical companies, biotechnology companies, government agencies and hospitals and academic institutions around the world. 

At Charles River, we are passionate about our role in improving the quality of people’s lives. Our mission, our excellent science and our strong sense of purpose guide us in all that we do, and we approach each day with the knowledge that our work helps to improve the health and well-being of many across the globe. We have proudly supported the development of >80% of the drugs approved by the FDA for the past 3 years.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Charles River Laboratories is an Equal Opportunity Employer - all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran or disability status.

If you are interested in applying to Charles River Laboratories and need special assistance or an accommodation due to a disability to complete any forms or to otherwise participate in the resume submission process, please contact a member of our Human Resources team by sending an e-mail message to crrecruitment_US@crl.com. This contact is for accommodation requests for individuals with disabilities only and cannot be used to inquire about the status of applications.

For more information, please visit www.criver.com.

Job Segment: Biotech, Laboratory, Manager, Procurement, Science, Operations, Management