Associate Director, Cell Therapy Network S&OE

AstraZeneca • Gaithersburg, MD

8d • $124,069 - $186,104

About The Position

The Associate Director, Cell Therapy Network S&OE leads near-term execution across the cell therapy manufacturing network over a 0–90-day horizon. The role bridges approved network supply plans and operational execution by translating plans and planning guardrails into executable site capacity plans, rolling slot schedules, and cross-functional priorities. It also orchestrates end-to-end patient order fulfillment across the vein-to-vein journey, owns execution against the plan, manages deviations in real time, and drives decisions affecting timely patient treatment.

The position optimizes slot availability, service levels, and cost across a complex global network. It also leads the evolution of slot management toward a scalable, AI- and digitally enabled operating model, with governance, real-time visibility, and performance management. The role works across internal functions and, where applicable, external CMO/CDMO partners, connecting global planning with site-level readiness and execution.

Requirements

• BS/BA and 10+ years of relevant pharma/biotech experience, or MS/MA/MBA and 8+ years of relevant experience.
• Direct S&OE or execution-layer experience, including running daily and weekly operating cadences, managing exceptions in real time, and driving cross-functional decisions in high-variability environments.
• Experience in supply planning, network planning, manufacturing planning, capacity planning, or S&OP/S&OE leadership.
• Experience supporting or leading cross-functional planning in complex, high-variability, high-compliance operational environments.
• Strong data literacy and analytics fluency, including working with dashboards, interpreting operational signals, defining KPI frameworks, and partnering with data and digital teams to translate business needs into analytics and AI/ML solutions.

Nice To Haves

• Cell therapy, gene therapy, ATMP, autologous, or patient-specific supply-chain experience.
• Experience with CGT orchestration tools, advanced planning tools, ERP systems such as SAP, and planning analytics.
• Experience supporting commercial launch readiness, scale-up, network expansion, or new product introduction.

Responsibilities

• Lead internal Cell Therapy network capacity planning across the 0–90-day S&OE horizon, including RCCP and detailed 90-day scheduling.
• Translate approved supply plans and demand inputs into feasible site-level capacity plans that reflect manufacturing capabilities, readiness, constraints, and execution assumptions.
• Own the S&OE operating cadence, including weekly cross-functional reviews and daily execution huddles, and ensure clear decisions and timely escalation.
• Maintain live visibility of network constraints, including manufacturing suite availability, QC lab throughput, logistics capacity, and critical raw materials, and support trade-off analysis and recovery options within approved guardrails.
• Partner with stakeholders to identify constraints and recommend mitigations, including allocation changes, resource needs, ramp plans, and future-state improvements.
• Feed recurring execution issues, capacity shortfalls, and demand deviations back into S&OP and broader tactical and strategic planning cycles.
• Operationalize approved slot allocation rules, governance, and recovery processes within the capacity planning model.
• Manage slot allocation and recovery according to planning rules, patient readiness, and regulatory, logistics, and manufacturing constraints while preserving chain-of-identity and chain-of-custody integrity.
• Own the rolling 90-day S&OE slot schedule and keep near-term supply plans feasible, transparent, and responsive to changes.
• Coordinate with Patient Operations, V2V Operations, Clinical Operations, Commercial, and manufacturing sites to maximize utilization and minimize missed slots, late changes, and disruption.
• Lead escalation and resolution of slot conflicts related to randomization, screen failures, site readiness, geography, or demand shifts.
• Own standard operating playbooks for slot disruptions, including apheresis reschedules, out-of-specification batches, shipper failures, and patient deferrals.
• Analyze reservation conversion, booking behavior, utilization, late releases, recovery effectiveness, and missed-slot root causes to improve service levels and capacity use.
• Serve as a central planning leader across Manufacturing, Site Supply Chain, Quality/QC, Regulatory, Clinical Operations, Logistics, and Patient Operations, and coordinate with external CMO/CDMO partners where applicable.
• Drive cross-functional forums and decisions that align demand, supply, capacity, assumptions, risks, and actions.
• Use defined decision rights and escalation authority to make time-critical execution decisions, including re-slotting, expediting, and reallocating capacity within approved guardrails.
• Partner with Quality/QC on release-timing risks and with Regulatory on market-specific requirements and comparability constraints.
• Balance strategic priorities with operational realities, including patient impact, site capability, and business timing; support S&OP/S&OE and related operating reviews and build strong site partnerships.
• Define, own, and report the S&OE KPI framework, including on-time-in-full slot delivery, vein-to-vein cycle time, slot utilization, missed-slot and patient deferral rates, right-first-time, out-of-specification rate, and cryoshipper on-time delivery.
• Standardize planning processes, data definitions, governance, and decision-support tools.
• Drive continuous improvement in capacity planning, slot management, scenario planning, and reporting using KPI trends and root-cause insights.
• Advance the planning operating model toward scalable, structured, digitally enabled ways of working and own the digital roadmap for S&OE and slot management.
• Design data-driven planning capabilities such as dashboards, alerts, predictive analytics, and AI/ML applications to automate and scale slot allocation, reservation prioritization, and capacity optimization.
• Define business requirements and support implementation of planning capabilities across systems, tools, reporting, and analytics, preparing for portfolio complexity, geographic expansion, and commercial operations.

Benefits

• Short-term incentive bonus opportunity.
• Eligibility to participate in an equity-based long-term incentive program for salaried roles or receive a retirement contribution for hourly roles.
• Qualified retirement program (401(k) plan).
• Paid vacation and holidays.
• Paid leaves.
• Health benefits, including medical, prescription drug, dental, and vision coverage, subject to applicable plan terms and conditions.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director