Director, Operational Excellence (OpEx)

Ferring Pharmaceuticals•Parsippany, NJ

3d•Onsite

About The Position

As a privately-owned, biopharmaceutical company, Ferring pioneers and delivers life-changing therapies that help people build families and live better lives. Our independence helps us cultivate an entrepreneurial spirit and long-term perspective that enables us to achieve growth and scale, while remaining agile and true to our ‘people first’ philosophy. Built on a 70-year plus commitment to science and research, Ferring is relentless in its pursuit of science that drives powerful discoveries and therapies to help people build families, stay healthy, and stand up to the world’s oldest enemy: disease. As Director, Operational Excellence (OpEx) you will partner with site leadership team, and global operational excellence network to create and implement operational excellence programs in support of company’s objectives. This role will build OpEx capabilities and provide coaching and expertise to increase overall organization competencies. The role will also be responsible for driving right first time at the site, including oversight of the Compliance team responsible for deviations investigations and CAPA effectiveness. With Ferring, you will be joining a recognized leader, identified as one of “The World’s Most Innovative Companies” by Fast Company, and honored by Fortune with inclusion on its “Change the World List,” for addressing society’s unmet needs. Ferring US is also Great Places to Work® Certified, distinguishing it as one of the best companies to work for in the country.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Life Sciences, Operations Management, or related field.
10+ years of progressive leadership experience working in manufacturing operations/OpEx role.
Pharma experience preferred.
Experience in a mature lean or six sigma culture preferred.
Proven track record of deploying a range of tools/approaches to improve operational performance
Experience with operational excellence tools such as Value Stream Mapping, SMED, Maintenance Excellence and Root Cause Analysis.
Strong analytical skills and demonstrated problem-solving skills
Strong teamwork, and interpersonal skills
Green/Black Belt Six Sigma or Lean expert certification preferred
Comfortable working in matrix environment.
Ability to enter controlled manufacturing and cleanroom environments, including adherence to gowning requirements (if applicable).
Ability to stand or walk for extended periods while conducting process evaluations, leading inspections, or overseeing operational improvements.
Willingness to work in manufacturing environments with exposure to varying temperatures, noise levels, and occasional industrial elements.
Compliance with PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) requirements, including hard hats, safety glasses, gloves, and steel-toed footwear.
Capability to occasionally lift and carry materials or equipment up to 20–30 pounds, such as documentation, laptops, or small tools.
Availability to respond to urgent onsite operational needs, including during non-standard hours if necessary.
Ability to sit for extended periods for meetings, data analysis, and documentation review.

Responsibilities

Operational Excellence and Strategy Develop and execute on OpEx strategy to support company objectives.
Ensure alignment of OpEx initiatives with site and global governance structures.
Act as change agent and promote continuous improvement culture into daily work through standard work, meeting effectiveness, root cause analysis, and process mapping and structured problem-solving methodologies.
Coach, mentor and support employees in achievement of initiatives.
Develop internal change leaders to enhance continuous improvement competencies and skills sets.
Lead, coach, and develop OpEx and Compliance team members to build strong technical, analytical, and leadership capabilities.
Partner with operations to identify areas of process improvement and execute projects and best practices
Identify and capture business needs through communication with stakeholders
Set direction and provide frameworks through which operational objectives can be delivered.
Champion a culture of accountability, standard work, and continuous learning across manufacturing operations.
Compliance Leadership Provide leadership and oversight for the Compliance team responsible for deviations, nonconformances, investigations, and CAPA management.
Ensure CAPAs are effective, sustainable, and aligned with regulatory expectations and internal quality standards.
Ensure lessons learned from deviations, investigations, and inspections are institutionalized across the organization.
Support internal audits, regulatory inspections, and health authority interactions, including direct engagement with inspectors as needed.

Benefits

At Ferring, we offer competitive total compensation along with an exceptional range of flexible benefits, personal support and tailored learning and development opportunities all designed to help you realize your full potential both in life and at work.
From working hours that respect your lifestyle, a culture that is welcoming and equitable, and the chance to work with the industry’s most impressive people, these are just some of the ways we live our "People First" philosophy.
At Ferring, base salary is one part of our competitive total compensation and benefits package and is determined using a salary range.
The base salary range for this role is $140,198 to $260,368, which is the reasonable estimate of the base compensation for this role.
The actual amount paid may differ based on non-discriminatory factors such as experience, knowledge, skills, abilities, education and primary work location.
Additional compensation for this role will be provided based on competitive annual incentive compensation targets in the form of an annual bonus - payouts are based on individual and company performance.
Benefits for this role include: comprehensive healthcare (medical, dental, and vision) with a premium differential, inverse to base salary, to be paid by employees; a 401k plan and company match; short and long-term disability coverage; basic life insurance; wellness benefits; reimbursement for certain tuition expenses; sick time frontloaded yearly of 40 hours, or higher if state or local law requires; vacation time for full time employees to accrue between 112.5 and 150 hours yearly in the first four (4) years of employment, and additional accruals starting in the fifth (5th) year of employment; and 12 to 13 paid holidays per year.
We are proud to offer paid parental leave subject to a minimum period of employment at Ferring.

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