Head of Sourcing R&D

Merck•Burlington, MA

9d•Hybrid

About The Position

Work Your Magic with us! Start your next chapter and join EMD Serono. Ready to explore, break barriers, and discover more? We know you’ve got big plans – so do we! Our colleagues across the globe love innovating with science and technology to enrich people’s lives with our solutions in Healthcare, Life Science, and Electronics. Together, we dream big and are passionate about caring for our rich mix of people, customers, patients, and planet. That's why we are always looking for curious minds that see themselves imagining the unimaginable with us. United As One for Patients, our purpose in Healthcare is to help create, improve and prolong lives. We develop medicines, intelligent devices and innovative technologies in therapeutic areas such as Oncology, Neurology and Fertility. Our teams work together across 6 continents with passion and relentless curiosity in order to help patients at every stage of life. Joining our Healthcare team is becoming part of a diverse, inclusive and flexible working culture, presenting great opportunities for personal development and career advancement across the globe. This role does not offer sponsorship for work authorization. External applicants must be eligible to work in the US. Your role You’re at the forefront of driving purpose to create, improve and prolong lives, as one for patients, with leaders across the Medical and Research business as well as through strategic relationships with our suppliers. As a senior, strategic leader, you build and guide a high-performing team of category and strategic sourcing managers. You accelerate early drug development through rapid, compliant supplier collaboration from discovery to late development. You partner with key R&D stakeholders to integrate sourcing with program goals.

Requirements

12+ years in strategic sourcing/procurement in Pharma/Biotech or life sciences; strong R&D support background.
Experience leading a global, matrix sourcing team; deep GxP/GMP/ICH knowledge and supplier risk management.
Proven CRO/CDMO management and external partner experience for preclinical/clinical work.
Ability to translate complex scientific needs into actionable sourcing strategies.
Excellent negotiation and contract management skills.
Bachelor’s degree

Nice To Haves

Advanced degree (PhD, MBA) preferred.
Experience with digital sourcing tools, data analytics, and e-sourcing.
Licensing, technology transfer, and external collaboration familiarity.
Track record of cost-out and speed-to-development outcomes; multilingual with international experience; travel as needed.

Responsibilities

Define and execute a global R&D Healthcare sourcing strategy aligned with early development timelines.
Lead and develop a multi-disciplinary team; promote speed, accountability, and continuous improvement.
Partner with R&D from discovery to development; develop category strategies for rapid supplier selection, tech evaluation, and risk-based decisions
Engage suppliers early (pre-clinical/clinical) to secure capacity, quality, and capabilities (analytical services, equipment, APIs, formulations, GMP/GxP, etc.); Align milestones with development timelines; accelerate cycles without compromising quality or compliance.
Lead negotiations for high-impact contracts (CRO/CDMO, master service agreements, licenses).
Implement agile sourcing processes, digital tools, and governance for rapid decision-making.
Ensure compliance with GxP, ICH, GMP, data integrity; foster innovation in digital sourcing and analytics.