Director, Strategic Sourcing and Procurement

Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals•San Diego, CA

2d•Onsite

About The Position

Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals is seeking a Director of Strategic Sourcing & Procurement to build and lead a best-in-class procurement function during a critical phase of commercial growth. This role will establish procurement frameworks and parameters as a strategic partner to R&D, Commercial, and G&A functions, driving cost efficiency, creating contract value and ensuring quality of vendor selection process while maintaining Arrowhead’s ability to move quickly in all aspects of our business. This is a build-and-scale role: you will define strategy, create policies, implement processes, support business partners, lead negotiation teams, and hire lean, high-impact staff. Initial priorities will focus on establishing strategic sourcing methods and providing strong procurement support for Information Systems & Informatics (IS&I) and Commercial functions, two of the company’s most significant and rapidly growing spend areas. The Director of Strategic Sourcing & Procurement will provide hands-on support and across these domains, with plans to build dedicated category management support to ensure depth of expertise and scalable coverage as the function matures. Over time, this role has the potential to expand into an enterprise-wide sourcing and procurement leadership position, including ownership of direct spend and supply chain categories as the organization continues to scale. This role is based in onsite with an expectation to be in the office five days a week.

Requirements

10+ years of procurement/strategic sourcing experience
5+ years in leading successful negotiations for complex, high value contracts.
Experience in life sciences
Demonstrated success managing indirect spend categories (IT, SaaS, marketing, professional services).
Strong negotiation experience with complex, high value contracts.
Experience implementing procurement processes, policies and systems.

Nice To Haves

Experience in a leadership role that built or scaled procurement teams/functions.
MBA, technical graduate degree, or certification in sourcing or negotiations.
Experience managing SaaS heavy environments and enterprise- wide vendor ecosystems

Responsibilities

Design and implement Arrowhead’s procurement strategy, operating model, and policies, creating scalable procurement processes that enable continued success
Own and lead solicitation processes (RFQs, ITBs, RFPs, etc.), providing operational support to ensure business requirements are appropriately captured and needs are met.
Lead complex negotiations, in close collaboration with business stakeholders, to maximize the value of contracts entered and ensure business requirements are achieved.
Build and lead a high-performing team across category management, procurement operations, and analytics
Establish procurement as a trusted partner across R&D, Commercial, and Corporate functions. Embed procurement culture early in decision making and not just at the purchasing stage.
Own sourcing and procurement strategy across key indirect spend categories: IS&I (software and hardware) and commercial & marketing agencies
Guide assessment and selection of vendors, managing key vendor contracts, including benchmarking, performance monitoring and risk mitigation.
Drive vendor consolidation and preferred supplier strategies
Identify and deliver measurable cost savings
Partner with Legal to develop standardized solicitation templates and vendor selection processes, working cross-functionally with the Contracting Team to ensure translation of solicitation requirements and negotiated terms to the resulting contracts.
Support effective contract lifecycle management in collaboration with the Contracting Team, ensuring continuity of key services and effective negotiation of contract renewals and amendments
Partner closely with Finance to align on budgets and accruals.
Establish supplier performance management and risk frameworks
Develop spend visibility and analytics capabilities
Lead initiatives related to procurement systems, automation, and digital transformation.
Maintain deep knowledge of industry trends, supplier landscapes, and regulatory requirements to ensure compliance and innovation.