Associate Director, Strategic Supplier Partnerships

Next Generation Recruitment; Dublin; Hybrid; EUR 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Next Generation (Ireland) is looking for an Associate Director of Strategic Supplier Partnerships in Dublin. This permanent, hybrid role leads a portfolio of external partners and shapes how supplier relationships are managed across the business.

You will act as the senior owner for top suppliers and contract manufacturers, setting strategies, running executive reviews, and driving improvements in capacity, cost, and continuity of supply. International travel is expected.

Qualifications

• Degree in science, engineering, supply chain or business.
• 10+ years in pharma/biotech/medical devices with 5+ years owning relationships with contract manufacturers or critical GMP suppliers.
• Proven examples of improving supplier performance beyond contract management.
• Strong negotiation and influencing skills with senior stakeholders.
• Working knowledge of GMP and quality agreements and impact on compliance and supply.
• Willingness to travel internationally.

Responsibilities

• Act as senior owner and escalation point for strategic suppliers and contract manufacturers.
• Set the relationship strategy for each partner: priorities, cadence of meetings, and performance expectations.
• Run executive business reviews and hold partners to agreed measures on supply, quality, cost and risk.
• Negotiate and lead joint improvement work on capacity, lead times, cost and continuity of supply.
• Achieve cross-functional alignment with Quality, Supply Chain, Technical Operations, Procurement, Legal and Finance on supplier views.
• Help shape the supplier relationship framework, processes and tools used across Operations.

Skills

Negotiation

Influencing

Relationship management

Leadership

GMP knowledge

Strategic thinking

Travel willingness

Education

Science/Engineering/Business degree

Job description

Associate Director, Strategic Supplier Partnerships

Dublin | Permanent | [Hybrid pattern TBC]

The opportunity

Our client, a global biopharmaceutical company, is strengthening how it manages the external partners that make and supply its medicines. In this role you lead a portfolio of those partnerships at senior level and have real influence over how supplier relationships are run across the business.

What you'll do

• Act as the senior owner and point of escalation for a portfolio of strategic suppliers and contract manufacturers.
• Set the relationship strategy for each partner: priorities, how often you meet, and what good performance looks like.
• Run executive business reviews and hold partners to agreed measures on supply, quality, cost and risk.
• Negotiate and lead joint improvement work on capacity, lead times, cost and continuity of supply.
• Get Quality, Supply Chain, Technical Operations, Procurement, Legal and Finance working from one agreed view of each supplier.
• Help shape the supplier relationship framework, processes and tools used across Operations.

What you'll bring

• A degree in science, engineering, supply chain or business.
• Typically 10+ years in pharma, biotech or medical device operations, including at least 5 years owning relationships with contract manufacturers or critical GMP suppliers.
• Examples of improving a supplier's performance, not only managing the contract.
• Strong negotiation and influencing skills with senior people inside the business and at partner companies.
• A working knowledge of GMP and quality agreements, and of how supplier decisions affect compliance and supply.
• Willingness to travel internationally.

Nice to have

Experience with drug product, API, packaging or device component suppliers; experience setting up or maturing a supplier relationship programme; CIPS or APICS