Associate Director, Procurement Policy and Process

Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. • Princeton, NJ

1d • $150,034 - $224,250

About The Position

As the Associate Director of Procurement Policy and Process reporting to the Senior Director, Corporate Services Sourcing; your primary focus will be the maintenance and enhancement of Otsuka’s Procurement operations, processes and policies in support of Otsuka’s North America portfolios. This role will have responsibility for ensuring the efficiency and effectiveness of these policies, working closely with Sourcing, Finance, Technology, Legal and various business partners to allow for the ongoing evolution of maintaining and optimizing Procurement processes for business partners involved in acquiring goods and services for the organization. This role supports the development and implementation of procurement strategies and policies that enable the Procurement and Sourcing functions to effectively manage supplier relationships, negotiate/execute contracts, leverage best-in-class reporting, streamline transactional processes, optimize technology capabilities and ensure compliance with relevant regulations. At the core of this role will be a comprehensive understanding of the Sourcing & Procurement transformation strategy and a deep awareness of the customer voice, ensuring the work of Sourcing & Procurement has a tangible impact to the organization.

Requirements

• Minimum of 8+ years of diverse experience in varying procurement roles:
• Strong procurement operations and process management with demonstrated ability to tell a story and influence the direction of the organization.
• Strategic thinker able to anticipate trends, understand implication and create actionable plans to prepare for future needs.
• Outstanding communication skills, ability to speak to the business and simplify complex technical aspects into concepts business partners can understand, assess, and ultimately use to make decisions.
• Strong customer service focus and ability to think, plan and act at the enterprise versus functional level. Experience listening to client needs and partnering to deliver results that are mutually beneficial for the client and the organization.
• Strong background in S2P processes, strategic sourcing, ERP systems and procurement analytics, including leadership experience in operational excellence.
• Superior analytical skills, able to rapidly understand and synthesize disparate data into meaningful information to support critical business decisions.
• Strong understanding of the pharmaceutical industry and development/commercialization of new drugs.
• Bachelor's degree in Business, Supply Chain, or relevant technical expertise.

Nice To Haves

• Advanced degree (MBA/MS) preferred.
• Deep knowledge of Source to Pay processes and best practices including in the technology landscape, including SAP Ariba.
• Strong understanding of procurement compliance, risk management, and regulatory requirements within the pharma industry.
• Familiarity with procurement technology platforms.
• Excellent stakeholder management, communication and training skills.
• Analytical mindset with the ability to design and implement metrics, SLAs and scorecards.
• Proficient in AI and analytics tools, Gen AI platforms and digital story telling.
• Demonstrated successful delivery on transformative projects.
• Strategic mindset with financial acumen to assess ROI and cost-benefit for process improvements.

Responsibilities

• Supports the development and implementation of procurement strategies aligned with organizational goals, forecasting needs, and managing the procurement planning process.
• Ensuring compliance with federal, state and local laws, regulations, and organizational policies related to procurement. This includes in depth knowledge of taxability on goods and services.
• Develop, update and enforce procurement policies, procedures and standard operating guidelines in line with regulatory requirements, corporate governance and best practice.
• Support maintenance and administration for procurement related compliance issues.
• Partner with Sourcing, Legal, Compliance, Information Security, Finance and Quality to embed regulatory risk and controls into the purchasing process.
• Identify and recommend process improvement initiatives to streamline the end-to-end Source to Pay (S2P) process, including sourcing, contracting, purchasing and supplier management.
• Partner with Sourcing and Vendor Management professionals to identify, evaluation and manage relationships and ways of working with suppliers.
• Administer and maintain established approval workflows, evaluation and implementation of delegation of authority thresholds and control mechanisms to mitigate risk while enabling efficient business operations.
• Implement standardized templates, RACI matrices, and playbooks to ensure consistency across companies and purchasing categories.
• Promote a culture of innovation, collaboration and continuous learning.
• Development and distribution of monthly success metrics across the S2P process.
• Ad hoc responsibilities to address emerging business need and leadership requests
• Provide training and guidance to internal Procurement team and business partners on procurement policies and procedures, acting as a resource for procurement-related questions.
• Collaborate with business stakeholders to support procurement processes with business objectives and operational needs.
• Support change management efforts to drive stakeholder adoption.
• Collaborate with IT to prioritize and define system requirements, workflows, and controls within procurement platforms.
• Support operational excellence initiative and execution across S2P, emphasizing automation, lean processes and continuous improvement in conjunction with IT.
• Build business cases and success measures for major system enhancements.
• Ensure cleanliness or procurement master data and develop compliance reporting, and ensure adequate audit trails.
• Establish KPIs and dashboards powered by advanced analytics for spend, performance, cycle times and savings tracking.
• Support adoption of Generative AI and advanced analytics to automate purchasing processes and performance reporting.
• Manage seamless transitions and process integrations, especially across affiliated companies and/or acquisitions.
• Monitor supplier and contract compliance with company policies and regulatory requirements.
• Support internal and external audits by ensure adequate documentation, approvals and governance controls are in place.
• Proactively identify gaps and emerging risks in current procurement practices and recommend correction actions.

Benefits

• Comprehensive medical, dental, vision, prescription drug coverage
• company provided basic life, accidental death & dismemberment, short-term and long-term disability insurance
• tuition reimbursement
• student loan assistance
• a generous 401(k) match
• flexible time off
• paid holidays
• paid leave programs
• other company provided benefits

What This Job Offers

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