Associate Director, Supply Chain

Gilead Sciences • El Segundo, CA

1d

About The Position

The Associate Director, Supply Chain supports Kite’s External Supply and Partnerships (ES&P) organization by providing program management, operational coordination, performance reporting, financial planning, risk management, and governance support across external manufacturing, testing, and partnership networks. The role works closely with Contract Testing Laboratories (CTLs), Contract Manufacturing Organizations (CMOs), Focus Factory Teams (FFTs), Finance, functional owners, and senior leaders.

The position maintains integrated plans and risk, action, issue, and decision logs; consolidates partner performance data into dashboards and scorecards; coordinates annual budget planning; and aligns ES&P goals with Kite, Tech Ops, and Supply Chain priorities. It also supports business continuity planning, internal audit readiness, governance forums, workshops, and staff meetings. The role serves as an operational partner to the ES&P Executive Director and Functional Leadership Team, applying Lean and continuous improvement methods and providing clear updates to senior management.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Supply Chain Management, Life Sciences, Engineering, or another relevant discipline and at least 10 years of relevant, progressively responsible experience in program/project management, business operations, or supply chain; or a master’s degree in one of these fields and at least 7 years of such experience.
• Demonstrated project or program management experience, including risk and issue management, governance facilitation, and cross-functional plan integration.
• Experience with budget planning and financial tracking processes, including Latest Estimate, Budget, and Long-Range Plan cycles.
• Ability to interact effectively with senior management and cross-functional teams.
• Exceptional verbal and written communication skills.
• APICS CPIM/CSCP certification or an MBA (advanced degree).

Nice To Haves

• Experience supporting or partnering with external manufacturing (CMO), contract testing (CTL), or strategic partnership relationships, ideally in cell and gene therapy or broader biopharmaceutical manufacturing.
• Advanced expertise in stakeholder management, executive communication, and governance facilitation.
• PMP certification or equivalent formal project/program management training.
• Advanced proficiency with Power BI, Smartsheet, Excel, PowerPoint, and SharePoint.
• Experience supporting internal or external audits or inspections in partnership with Quality.
• Working knowledge of pharmaceutical GMPs and the CMO/CDMO landscape.

Responsibilities

• Provide project management support to CTL, CMO, and Partnerships Focus Factory Teams, including reporting and tools for managing risks, escalations, decisions, and activities.
• Maintain integrated plans, timelines, and RAID (Risks, Actions, Issues, Decisions) logs to support timely execution and leadership visibility.
• Manage and report performance for CTLs, CMOs, and partnerships by consolidating KPI data into executive-ready dashboards and scorecards for monthly and quarterly business reviews.
• Establish and maintain standardized reporting, dashboards, and data flows that provide accurate, timely visibility across the external network.
• Develop and manage annual budget cycles with Finance, Focus Factory Team Leads, and functional owners; consolidate submissions, align them to spend targets, and escalate risks or overages.
• Develop and manage ES&P goals aligned with Kite, Tech Ops, and Supply Chain goals, and partner with the ES&P Functional Leadership Team to cascade priorities and track progress.
• Manage risk and the business continuity program for the External Manufacturing, External Testing, and partnership network, ensuring mitigation and contingency plans are in place where required.
• Coordinate internal audit readiness, document requests, and response tracking across ES&P functions.
• Support or lead preparation and facilitation of internal governance forums, including internal Joint Steering Committees and performance reviews, as well as workshops and staff meetings; ensure pre-reads, minutes, and follow-up actions are completed on time.
• Serve as an operational partner to the ES&P Executive Director and Functional Leadership Team, coordinating across FFTs, workstreams, and cross-functional stakeholders.
• Drive operational excellence by applying Lean principles and continuous improvement methodologies across ES&P processes.
• Provide clear, concise written and verbal updates to senior management.
• Manage multiple priorities effectively across a broad, matrixed group of stakeholders.

Benefits

• May be eligible for a discretionary annual bonus.
• May be eligible for discretionary stock-based long-term incentives; eligibility may vary by role.
• Paid time off.
• Company-sponsored medical, dental, vision, and life insurance plans.

What This Job Offers

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