Product Quality Senior Manager

AbbVie•North Chicago, IL

22h•$124,500 - $236,500

About The Position

Responsible for quality of assigned products which may include small molecule pharmaceuticals and/or biologics products, combination products, and medical devices to ensure business objectives are met with regards to on time delivery of product while assuring compliance to local, divisional, and corporate policies and external agency regulations worldwide. Products include regulatory starting materials, Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API), Intermediates or Drug Products produced by AbbVie plants or by third-party manufacturers, In Licensing relationships, or Co-Marketing relationships. Develops in concert with Regulatory Affairs, the appropriate regulatory strategies for product brands. Grade is commensurate on level of overall responsibility.

Requirements

Bachelor’s Degree in relevant Life Science, Engineering, or other technical discipline required.
Technical or Analytical background required for problem resolution with technical, quality, product and or engineering related issues.
Total combined years of experience. Minimum 8+ years.
At least 3 years in Quality Assurance Operations Management; 5+ years in any of the following areas; Operations, Research and Development, Regulatory or Consulting.
Knowledge and a comprehensive understanding/expertise of some biological and/or pharmaceutical technologies (sterile, biological, liquid, ointments, devices, solid tablets and caplets, suspensions, granulations, soft elastic capsules, gel caps, extended release products, coating solutions, and/or active pharmaceutical ingredients).
Strong quality assurance/control, manufacturing, laboratory, technical support, regulatory, and/or validation background is required.
Experience with FDA and other regulatory agency interactions and inspections is required.
Familiarity with the requirements for third party external manufacturing.
Possesses knowledge and a skill set to operate within an environment that requires a high degree of urgency, strong analytical and problem solving skills, positive interpersonal skills, ability to manage multiple complex tasks simultaneously, and capable of performing as leaders, members and individuals.

Nice To Haves

Direct Manufacturing Plant experience in a Pharmaceutical setting is preferred.

Responsibilities

Maintains the primary quality lead with management oversight for project activities and the team members (within and outside of AbbVie) to achieve on-time quality deliverables, high customer value, and profitable results. Primary driver for the quality and compliance aspects of product transfers and organization optimization.
Participates in the development of global Product Quality Assurance strategy to support pharmaceuticals, biologics, device and combination products produced at AbbVie plants as well as third party manufacturing (TPM) facilities. Implements agreed strategy.
Performs final quality release of manufactured product lots for products and/or product lines prepared by Third Party Manufacturers.
Makes recommendations for key decisions on product quality and compliance and regulatory conformance issues for sterile, biological, liquid, solids, and/or device products and elevates medium and high risk events to AbbVie management. Ensures alignment of Quality and Technical Agreements with the legal contracts and that the commitments of the quality and technical agreements are being fulfilled. Helps facilitate resolution in cases where they are not.
Establishes and maintains relationships and open communication with Third Party Manufacturers, AbbVie plants, affiliates and other functional groups to maintain roles and responsibilities, identify potential projects and issues, obtain an in-depth understanding of the quality, compliance, and resource needs at each site and provide guidance on quality concerns.
Communicates and negotiates with external companies’ quality organization to maintain a consistent level of quality and a level of expectation that will minimize compliance risks but also balance the cost of operating to provide AbbVie with the agreed service. Prioritizes programs, initiatives, and problem solving with consideration for impact to timelines, resources and conflicting priorities.
Interfaces with Quality Assurance audit team to develop audit plans, due diligence plans, and inspection readiness plans, review audit observations and responses, and maintain corrective action timetable. Provides support for quality audits, initial site approvals and due diligence activities. Leads and manages pre-approval inspection readiness as related to the third party manufacturers to ensure regulatory approvals are obtained, with no delays to market entries.
Contributes to Quality Assurance elements needed to facilitate new product launches including Third Party Manufacturer’s that provide products directly to distribution centers, or to AbbVie domestic and International plants for further packaging and/or testing. Coordinates activities to support follow-up on compliant trend investigations for non-medical and medical (adverse events). Supports the management of exception documents and Corrective and Preventive Actions.
Completes management reviews with assigned Third Party Manufacturers that identify and address quality, operational, and organizational issues. Obtains and reviews summaries of the Annual Product Reviews (domestic) and Annual Product Quality Reports (EU) from the Third Party Manufacturer to ensure accuracy, completeness, timeliness, and trends are identified and addressed in an appropriate manner.