Director - API & Excipients

GSK; Irvine; Hybrid; GBP 110,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

GSK in the United Kingdom seeks a Director of Procurement for APIs and Excipients to shape global sourcing for small molecule APIs and CDMOs. You will lead a global team, develop category strategies, and negotiate high-value contracts to secure supply reliability and cost targets for critical medicines.

You will partner with internal stakeholders, monitor supplier performance, manage risks, and drive continuous improvement across geographies including the UK and Poland.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree in supply chain, procurement or technical field.
• Extensive experience in procurement and commercial management of Suppliers and CDMOs.
• Experience developing and executing sourcing strategies across multiple geographies.
• Demonstrated experience leading global/regional projects across matrixed teams.

Responsibilities

• Lead a global team (~6 FTEs) with accountability for spend of ca £300M pa for small molecules supporting franchises of speciality and Gen meds.
• Develop and implement strategic sourcing plans for API, Intermediates and RSM manufactured externally, ensuring alignment with GSK's overall supply strategy.
• Lead complex contract negotiations with Suppliers and CDMO’s and deliver outcomes at pace.
• Deliver contracts which emphasize value creation, critical terms, and effective cost control.
• Gather and analyse market intelligence to benchmark the Suppliers and CDMO’s landscape.
• Cultivate relationships with key internal stakeholders to support GSK's business strategy and communicate supply chain insights.
• Forge and maintain strategic relationships with Suppliers and CDMO’s to support robust category strategies and network design decisions.
• Support Financial planning for Internal sites and External manufacturing, incorporating pricing negotiations and volume forecasting.
• Establish and monitor Suppliers and CDMOs performance metrics, promoting continuous improvement.
• Optimize the Suppliers and CDMOs portfolio to maintain a network of providers aligned with GSK’s network needs.
• Manage the commercial risk profile of our suppliers, ensuring alignment with GSK's business continuity plans.
• Uphold procurement policies and compliance standards, including third-party risk management.
• Deliver GSK’s commitments to environmental sustainability for their category.

Skills

Procurement strategy

Supplier management

CDMO partnerships

Contract negotiations

Stakeholder management

Global team leadership

Education

Bachelor’s Degree in supply chain, procurement or technical field

Master’s degree in business administration, supply chain, procurement or a relevant technical field

Job description

Director Procurement - API and Excipients Business Introduction

GSK remains committed to achieving bold commercial ambitions for the future. By 2031, we aim to deliver £40 billion in annual sales, leveraging our existing strong performance momentum to significantly increase our positive impact on the health of billions of patients globally. Our Ahead Together strategy is centred on early intervention to prevent and alter the course of disease, thereby protecting people and supporting healthcare systems. Our diverse portfolio consists of vaccines, specialty medicines, and general medicines. Through continuous innovation and a dedicated focus on scientific and technical excellence, we strive to develop and launch new, groundbreaking treatments that address critical health challenges.

Position Summary

The Director, APIs and Excipients plays a pivotal role in shaping and executing GSK's procurement strategies for Small molecule APIs and Excipients. This key role leads a team of category managers focused on GSK’s partnerships with Suppliers and Contract & Development Manufacturing Organizations (CDMO’s). The successful candidate will ensure that GSK develops category strategies that support supply reliability and cost targets for their area of responsibility. This role develops and maintains external market knowledge and serves as a key representative for GSK to the CDMO industry. The director engages senior internal and external stakeholders to understand business requirements, use market intelligence to develop strategies, lead complex supplier negotiations, and ultimately deliver solutions to support GSK’s supply chains for New and Established Products. The ideal candidate should have prior experience in sourcing the commercial supply of APIs or CDMO’s.

Responsibilities

• Lead a global team (~6 FTEs) with accountability for spend of ca £300M pa for small molecules supporting franchises of speciality and Gen meds
• Develop and implement strategic sourcing plans for API, Intermediates and RSM manufactured externally, ensuring alignment with GSK's overall supply strategy.
• Lead complex contract negotiations with Suppliers and CDMO’s and deliver outcomes at pace.
• Deliver contracts which emphasize value creation, critical terms, and effective cost control.
• Gather and analyse market intelligence to benchmark the Suppliers and CDMO’s landscape.
• Cultivate relationships with key internal stakeholders to support GSK's business strategy and communicate supply chain insights.
• Forge and maintain strategic relationships with Suppliers and CDMO’s to support robust category strategies and network design decisions.
• Support Financial planning for Internal sites and External manufacturing, incorporating pricing negotiations and volume forecasting.
• Establish and monitor Suppliers and CDMOs performance metrics, promoting continuous improvement.
• Optimize the Suppliers and CDMOs portfolio to maintain a network of providers aligned with GSK’s network needs.
• Manage the commercial risk profile of our suppliers, ensuring alignment with GSK's business continuity plans.
• Uphold procurement policies and compliance standards, including third-party risk management.
• Deliver GSK’s commitments to environmental sustainability for their category.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree in supply chain, procurement or technical field.
• Extensive experience in the procurement and commercial management of Suppliers and CDMOs manufacturing service
• Proven experience developing and executing sourcing strategies across multiple geographies and supply chains.
• Demonstrated experience leading global/regional projects across matrixed teams.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree in business administration, supply chain, procurement or a relevant technical field.
• Direct people management experience
• The ability to develop and maintain strong internal and external networks.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Strong project and change management skills.
• Advanced analytical and problem-solving abilities.

Work Location

This role is based in the United Kingdom (GSK HQ, London), Warsaw Poland and offers a hybrid working model, combining on-site and remote work.

Closing Date for Applications

9th Nov 2026

Skills

• Category Strategy
• Contract Management
• Data Analysis
• Digital Literacy
• Financial Acumen
• Interactive Storytelling
• Negotiation
• Sourcing Management
• Stakeholder Management
• Supplier Relationship Management

Salary

• Polish Salary Range / Polski przedział wynagrodzenia: PLN 369,000 to PLN 615,000
• The annual gross base salary range for new hires in this position is listed above for each applicable location. These ranges take into account a number of factors including the candidate’s skills, experience, education level and the market rate for the role.
• In addition, this position may offer an annual bonus and eligibility to participate in our share based long term incentive program which is dependent on the level of the role.
• More detailed information on the total benefits package will be supplied during the recruitment process.
• This role is available for applicants from multiple locations, and therefore salary ranges for certain locations are also shown.
• Salary ranges for other locations are shown because some markets have pay transparency laws that require salary information on job postings, and those locations are potential job sites for this role.
• If salary ranges are not displayed in the job posting for a specific location or country, the relevant compensation will be discussed during the recruitment process.
• Please note salaries vary by country based on the candidate’s skills, experience, education level and the market rate for the role. Offers are typically made within the advertised range based on the candidate’s skills, experience and qualifications, with the upper end generally reserved for highly experienced candidates or other exceptional circumstances aligned with these criteria.

Why GSK?

Uniting science, technology and talent to get ahead of disease together. GSK is a global biopharma company with a purpose to unite science, technology and talent to get ahead of disease together. We aim to positively impact the health of 2.5 billion people by the end of the decade, as a successful, growing company where people can thrive. We get ahead of disease by preventing and treating it with innovation in specialty medicines and vaccines. We focus on four therapeutic areas: respiratory, immunology and inflammation; oncology; HIV; and infectious diseases – to impact health at scale. People and patients around the world count on the medicines and vaccines we make, so we’re committed to creating an environment where our people can thrive and focus on what matters most. Our culture of being ambitious for patients, accountable for impact and doing the right thing is the foundation for how, together, we deliver for patients, shareholders and our people. GSK is an Equal Opportunity Employer. This ensures that all qualified applicants will receive equal consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity, and sexual orientation), parental status, national origin, age, disability, genetic information (including family medical history), military service or any basis prohibited under federal, state or local law. We believe in an agile working culture for all our roles. If flexibility is important to you, we encourage you to explore with our hiring team what the opportunities are. Should you require any adjustments to our process to assist you in demonstrating your strengths and capabilities contact us at [e-mail] where you can also request a call. Please note should your enquiry not relate to adjustments, we will not be able to support you through these channels. However, we have created a Recruitment FAQ guide. For more information, please visit the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) website at https://openpaymentsdata.cms.gov/ We are a global biopharma company with a special purpose – to unite science, technology and talent to get ahead of disease together – so we can positively impact the health of billions of people and deliver stronger, more sustainable shareholder returns – as an organisation where people can thrive. Getting ahead means preventing disease as well as treating it, and we aim to impact the health of 2.5 billion people around the world in the next 10 years. Our success absolutely depends on our people. While getting ahead of disease together is about our ambition for patients and shareholders, it’s also about making GSK a place where people can thrive. We want GSK to be a place where people feel inspired, encouraged and challenged to be the best they can be. A place where they can be themselves – feeling welcome, valued and included. Where they can keep growing and look after their wellbeing. So, if you share our ambition, join us at this exciting moment in our journey to get Ahead Together.

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