Associate Director, Sourcing & Supplier Relationships

Cytokinetics; Dublin; On-site; EUR 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Cytokinetics in Dublin, Ireland seeks an Associate Director, Sourcing & Supplier Relationship Management to shape the supplier ecosystem for Global Supply Chain & Technical Operations. You will drive strategic sourcing, manage key CMOs and critical suppliers, and lead negotiations with cross-functional partners across Legal, Finance and Quality.

You will ensure supplier performance, risk management, and regulatory compliance while partnering with Manufacturing and Lab Services to optimize value,

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Biology, Chemistry, Engineering, or related field (advanced degree a plus).
• 10+ years of experience in Life Sciences, Engineering, Business, or Supply Chain, preferably within Biotech/Pharma.
• Strong understanding of product development, GMP manufacturing, and related regulations (cGMP, GCP, CFRs, Part 11, FDA/EMA Guidelines).
• Proven expertise in manufacturing cost benchmarks and pricing strategies for small molecule manufacturing.
• Demonstrated success in supplier relationship management, contract negotiation, and strategic sourcing.
• Strong communication, collaboration, and influencing skills.
• ERP systems experience, preferably Oracle
• Ability to travel domestically and internationally (15–20%).

Responsibilities

• Strategic Supplier Management: Develop and execute sourcing and network strategies; primary commercial point of contact for assigned CMOs, Labs and critical suppliers; conduct marketplace assessments and due diligence (RFIs/RFPs); collaborate with Enterprise Risk Management to identify and mitigate supplier sourcing risks.
• Contracting & Negotiations: Lead supplier selection, contract negotiations, and agreement development in partnership with Legal, Finance, Procurement, and Quality; support External Supply team with contract setup, budget planning, and tracking.
• Performance & Risk Management: Monitor supplier performance using KPIs; ensure compliance with contractual and regulatory requirements; support supplier audits and develop business continuity and risk management processes; identify opportunities to improve supplier value, cost, quality, and service.
• Collaboration & Leadership: Partner with CMC, Technical Operations, Supply Planning, and global teams in Dublin, Ireland; represent Supply Chain Sourcing on cross-functional teams for complex projects.

Skills

Communication

Collaboration

Influencing

Supplier relationship management

Contract negotiation

Strategic sourcing

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Biology, Chemistry, Engineering, or related field

Advanced degree a plus

Tools

Oracle ERP

Job description

Cytokinetics is a specialty cardiovascular biopharmaceutical company, building on its over 25 years of pioneering scientific innovations in muscle biology, and advancing a pipeline of potential new medicines for patients suffering from diseases of cardiac muscle dysfunction.

As Associate Director, Sourcing & Supplier Relationship Management, you will play a critical role in ensuring the suppliers and partners we work with meet our high standards for quality, innovation, and patient impact. This role plays a critical part in the comprehensive lifecycle of Cytokinetics relations with partners and suppliers supporting Global Supply Chain & Technical Operations. This role requires strong strategic thinking, broad industry experience and excellent relationship development and management skills. This role will support our Sourcing and Network Strategy pillar, a key component of our Global Supply Chain & Technical Operations strategy. This role will support our Manufacturing and Lab Services Supplier Strategy, marketplace assessments of supplier capabilities from early development thru post approval Commercialization, supplier due diligence through Request for Information (RFI) and Requests for Proposals (RPF). These due diligence activities will lead to collaborative supplier selection, contract negotiations, operationalization of the relationship and ultimately management of supplier performance against the contract. This role will be a key partner to CMC and Technical Operations, External Manufacturing and Supply Operations, Enterprise Risk Management, Supply Planning and Partner Pillar activities, and the Supply Chain Center of Excellence in Dublin Ireland. This role requires demonstrated business acumen, influencing skills, strategic thinking, relationship building and collaboration behaviors.

Responsibilities

Strategic Supplier Management

• Develop and execute sourcing and network strategies that align with Global Supply Chain & Technical Operations goals.
• Serve as the primary commercial point of contact for assigned CMOs, Labs and critical suppliers.
• Conduct marketplace assessments, supplier segmentation, and due diligence (RFIs/RFPs).
• Collaborate with Enterprise Risk Management to identify and mitigate supplier sourcing risks.

Contracting & Negotiations

• Lead supplier selection, contract negotiations, and agreement development in partnership with Legal, Finance, Procurement, and Quality.
• Support External Supply team with contract setup, budget planning, and tracking.

Performance & Risk Management

• Monitor supplier performance using standard KPIs and ensure compliance with contractual and regulatory requirements.
• Support supplier audits and develop business continuity and risk management processes.
• Identify opportunities to improve supplier value, cost, quality, and service.

Collaboration & Leadership

• Partner with CMC, Technical Operations, Supply Planning, and global teams in Dublin, Ireland.
• Represent Supply Chain Sourcing on cross-functional teams for complex projects.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Biology, Chemistry, Engineering, or related field (advanced degree a plus).
• 10+ years of experience in Life Sciences, Engineering, Business, or Supply Chain, preferably within Biotech/Pharma.
• Strong understanding of product development, GMP manufacturing, and related regulations (cGMP, GCP, CFRs, Part 11, FDA/EMA Guidelines).
• Proven expertise in manufacturing cost benchmarks and pricing strategies for small molecule manufacturing.
• Demonstrated success in supplier relationship management, contract negotiation, and strategic sourcing.
• Strong communication, collaboration, and influencing skills.
• ERP systems experience, preferably Oracle
• Ability to travel domestically and internationally (15–20%).

Pay Range

Our employees come from different backgrounds, and we celebrate those differences. We are looking for the best candidates for our open roles, but do not expect applicants to meet every qualification in order to be considered. If you are excited about what you could accomplish at Cytokinetics and believe you can add value to our team, we would love to hear from you.

Please review our General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) policy PRIOR to applying.

Our passion is anchored in robust scientific thinking, grounded in integrity and critical thinking. We keep the patient front and center in all we do – all actions and decisions are in service of the patient and their caregivers. We champion integrity, ethics, doing the right thing, and being our best selves.

Please visit our website at: www.cytokinetics.com

Cytokinetics is an Equal Opportunity Employer