Associate Director, Global Cell Therapy Sourcing, Procurement

AstraZeneca

Associate Director for Global Cell Therapy Sourcing & Procurement at AstraZeneca. Develops strategy and manages supplier relations for critical spend categories.

Posted 4/16/2026full-timeSanta Monica • California, Maryland • 🇺🇸 United StatesSenior💰 $116,000 - $173,000 per yearWebsite

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Develop long-term strategic plans for an entire spend category within AstraZeneca
Manage stakeholder and supplier relationships to ensure that category strategies are aligned with business needs
Lead project initiatives tied to the category strategies to deliver value
Implement sustainability initiatives with vendors
Lead complex contractual and commercial negotiations
Ensure a data-driven approach to category management and deliver insights, capabilities, and results

Requirements

What you’ll need

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent
7+ years of experience in a procurement environment
Significant experience of Category Management (preferably in Cell Therapy)
Strong project management, change management and people leadership skills
Strong understanding of the pharmaceutical industry
Comfort with risk and ambiguous situations
Proven track record negotiating and managing complex CDMO contracts
Technical background (ideally MS&T, CMC, or manufacturing engineering)
Strong alliance management skills balancing cost, quality, and relationship dynamics
Experience with novel modalities (CAR-T, TCR-T, in-vivo gene editing)
Familiarity with Lean/Six Sigma methodologies
Deep understanding of China's biotech ecosystem, regulatory environment, and supplier landscape (for China-focused role)
Mandarin language proficiency (for China-focused role)

Benefits

Comp & perks

qualified retirement programs
paid time off (i.e., vacation, holiday, and leaves)
health, dental, and vision coverage in accordance with the terms of the applicable plans

ATS Keywords

✓ Tailor your resume

Applicant Tracking System Keywords

Tip: use these terms in your resume and cover letter to boost ATS matches.

Hard Skills & Tools

Category ManagementCDMO contractsLean methodologiesSix Sigma methodologiesMS&TCMCmanufacturing engineeringnovel modalitiesCAR-TTCR-T

Soft Skills

project managementchange managementpeople leadershipstakeholder managementrelationship managementnegotiationdata-driven decision makingcomfort with riskadaptabilityinsight delivery