Senior Director, Delivery Cell Therapy

AstraZeneca • Gaithersburg, MD

5d • Hybrid

About The Position

AstraZeneca is hiring a Senior Director, Delivery, to lead the global enabling team responsible for strengthening and protecting the third-party supplier ecosystem across its Cell Therapy portfolio. The role focuses on anticipating supplier risk, building strategic supplier relationships, and securing direct materials and external capabilities for in-vivo, autologous, and allogeneic cell therapies. The leader will develop resilient, scalable supply networks that support progression from clinical development through commercial delivery and help shift the organization from reactive escalation to proactive supply assurance.

The position is based in Gaithersburg, Maryland, reports to the Executive Director, External Supply & Delivery, and includes global travel to suppliers as needed. The role leads supplier risk and relationship frameworks, portfolio-level supply continuity visibility, critical supplier and logistics partnerships, direct-material delivery and assurance, supplier development, and scale readiness. It also builds and develops a global Delivery team and uses analytics, digital capabilities, and AI to strengthen risk monitoring and supplier performance.

The role works across External Supply, Procurement, Quality, Regulatory Affairs, CMC, PSAT, F&E, Planning, Logistics, Finance, China, and Automation & Robotics. Delivery establishes risk and SRM frameworks and leads critical non-CDMO supplier relationships; External Supply remains accountable for CDMO execution and manufacturing, quality, and cost performance. The position is expected to work in the office an average minimum of three days per week, with flexibility, and is eligible for incentive programs and company benefits.

Requirements

• At least 12 years of experience across supply chain, sourcing, supplier management, or risk management in pharmaceutical, biotechnology, or life sciences environments.
• At least 5 years of leadership experience.
• Advanced degree, such as an MSc, MBA, or equivalent, in supply chain, life sciences, engineering, business, or a related discipline.
• Experience designing and leading supplier risk management and Supplier Relationship Management frameworks in a regulated life sciences environment.
• Significant direct materials, supply assurance, or supply chain leadership experience in pharmaceutical, biotechnology, or ATMP environments.
• Experience leading critical supplier relationships and executive-level supplier engagements.
• Demonstrated experience scaling supplier ecosystems from clinical development through commercial supply.
• Experience managing supply-critical escalations, recovery activities, and systemic corrective actions.
• Experience developing suppliers and implementing dual-source or alternate-source strategies.
• Experience leading cross-functional teams through direct leadership and indirect influence.
• Experience managing and developing leaders and subject-matter experts.
• Working knowledge of GxP, supplier qualification, quality systems, and cold chain logistics.
• Understanding of direct material flows, supply assurance, supplier performance management, capacity planning, and business continuity.
• Experience working across global supplier ecosystems, including the United States, Europe, and China.
• Strong analytical and digital fluency, including the ability to use dashboards and data to evaluate supplier performance, risk, and business priorities.
• Ability to balance supply continuity, quality, compliance, cost, and patient impact in complex decisions.
• Ability to travel globally to suppliers as needed.

Nice To Haves

• Direct experience with CAR-T, autologous cell therapy, allogeneic cell therapy, in-vivo cell therapy, or other ATMP supply chains.
• Experience working with CDMOs and complex cell and gene therapy supplier ecosystems.
• Experience leading logistics supplier performance for time- and temperature-critical products.
• Experience with cold chain logistics supporting patient-critical or advanced therapy products.
• Familiarity with plasmids, vectors, critical raw materials, and other specialized cell therapy supply dependencies.
• Experience deploying digital risk, supply control tower, or supplier performance analytics platforms.
• Experience leveraging SAP, Coupa, supplier portals, analytics, or AI in supply chain or supplier management environments.
• Knowledge of supplier scorecards, SLAs, CAPA, Preferred Supplier Lists, supplier segmentation, and quarterly business review models.
• Familiarity with BIOSECURE Act implications, geopolitical supply risk, and China sourcing considerations.
• Lean/Six Sigma or project management certification.
• Experience working across Procurement, Quality, Regulatory Affairs, CMC, PSAT, F&E, Manufacturing, Planning, and Logistics functions.

Responsibilities

• Develop, own, and continuously improve the External Supply & Delivery risk framework, including supplier assessments, risk taxonomy and scoring, mitigation standards, escalation triggers, and continuity and contingency planning.
• Lead portfolio-level risk management and maintain forward-looking visibility across CDMOs, direct materials, equipment and services, and logistics suppliers.
• Address single-source dependencies and lead dual-sourcing, alternate-supplier identification, new material introduction, and product lifecycle risk strategies.
• Strengthen resilience for critical plasmids, raw materials, cold chain, and other supply dependencies; monitor sub-tier, geopolitical, and China-related risks, including relevant BIOSECURE considerations.
• Drive supplier risk mitigation actions to closure with External Supply, Quality, Planning, and other stakeholders.
• Develop and lead the enterprise Supplier Relationship Management framework, including supplier segmentation, governance, service-level agreements, performance scorecards, quarterly business reviews, and continuous improvement.
• Establish and govern the Preferred Supplier List and supplier performance expectations, including root-cause analysis and corrective and preventive action.
• Build supplier performance dashboards covering portfolio health, on-time delivery, quality events, value delivery, and suppliers at risk.
• Enable adoption of Risk and SRM frameworks across External Supply, Direct and Indirect Sourcing, Automation & Robotics, and China operations.
• Lead strategic relationships with portfolio-critical suppliers across materials, logistics, technology, and platform capabilities; establish executive sponsorship, joint planning, capacity commitments, and commercial readiness plans.
• Lead strategic business reviews and executive supplier escalations, and improve cell therapy logistics performance in patient-centric delivery, cold chain integrity, reliability, and cost optimization.
• Partner with External Supply on portfolio risk reviews, supplier watch lists, supplier development, and escalations involving upstream materials or logistics dependencies.
• Own end-to-end direct-material delivery from sourcing outcome through receipt, aligning supplier commitments with manufacturing schedules, CDMO requirements, and patient demand.
• Lead expediting, first-line supply assurance, and escalations; coordinate recovery actions with Direct Sourcing, External Supply, Planning, and Logistics.
• Drive root-cause analysis and sustainable corrective actions to prevent recurring supply issues.
• Lead the Direct Sourcing organization through the Director, Supply & Delivery – Direct, supporting transition from sourcing and contracting to supplier management, material delivery, and performance governance.
• Lead supplier development strategies to improve capacity, scalability, quality consistency, and business continuity across the cell and gene therapy supplier ecosystem.
• Conduct supplier capacity assessments and proactive scale-up planning, advance alternate-source qualification recommendations, and develop joint plans for emerging CDMOs and critical vector, plasmid, and material suppliers.
• Partner with Automation & Robotics Supply to strengthen supplier readiness for platform deployment.
• Build, lead, and develop the global Delivery team, establishing career pathways and capabilities across SRM, supplier risk, and supply assurance.
• Embed analytics and AI in supplier risk monitoring, performance management, and expediting; leverage SAP, Coupa, and supplier portals for data-driven decisions.
• Build a risk-aware culture emphasizing early identification, clear ownership, and proactive mitigation, and lead through influence across relevant cross-functional teams.

Benefits

• Eligibility for short-term incentive bonuses.
• Equity-based awards for salaried roles.
• Qualified retirement programs.
• Paid time off, including vacation, holidays, and leaves.
• Health coverage.
• Dental coverage.
• Vision coverage.
• Flexible working arrangements alongside an average minimum of three days per week in the office.

What This Job Offers

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