Associate Director, R&D Business Partner - Sourcing & Procurement

AstraZeneca plc; California (MD); On-site; USD 116,000 - 173,000; Full time

Job summary

AstraZeneca plc is seeking an Associate Director, R&D Business Partner - Sourcing & Procurement to lead global category strategies within the R&D space. You will manage major supplier relationships, partner with stakeholders, and drive value through process improvements and sustainable procurement.

You will work with GPS to ensure strategies align with organizational goals, lead complex negotiations, and deliver high-quality analytics to support decision making across the spend category.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent.
• 7+ years of experience in a procurement environment.
• Significant experience of Category Management (preferably in R&D/Pharma).
• Project management, change management and people leadership skills.
• Good solid understanding of the pharmaceutical industry.
• Strong communication skills and ability to influence others.
• Comfort with risk and ambiguous situations.

Responsibilities

• Lead implementation of category plans to deliver business value in line with the strategic plan and sustainability targets.
• Develop long-term strategic plans for spend areas, focusing on value, innovation and savings.
• Support strategic relationship management with customers and suppliers to align category strategies with business needs.
• Advise Global Procurement Services on strategies to make purchases in line with objectives.
• Advise on contracts and agreements for the supply of sophisticated products and services with new and existing suppliers.
• Cross-functionally collaborate with Global Procurement colleagues to execute the strategy.

Skills

Category Management

Project management

People leadership

Strategic procurement

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent

Job description

Do you have a passion for Procurement? Would you like to join an award-winning procurement team supporting R&D in one of the world's leading pharmaceutical companies? If you thrive in an environment of innovation and change in a fast-growing organization, then this could be the role for you.

Join us at AstraZeneca, a place that champions knowledge-sharing, ambitious thinking, and innovation. We are looking for an integral member to join our Research & Development (R&D) Procurement team. This role has a global remit and you will have accountability for a category in the R&D space.

The Associate Director, R&D Business Partner - Sourcing & Procurement role focuses on the development and deployment of global category strategies and initiatives, leading our major supplier relationships, developing deeper relationships with the various stakeholder groups through effective business partnering, and ensuring that the underpinning process improvement and procurement activities deliver the expected business value.

In this role, you will be responsible for developing long-term strategic plans for an entire spend category within AstraZeneca. You will manage stakeholder and supplier relationships to ensure that category strategies are highly aligned to current and future business needs and that the supply base is capable of supporting these strategies. You will lead project initiatives tied to the category strategies to deliver value to the business, lead the implementation of sustainability initiatives with vendors, and lead complex contractual and commercial negotiations. You will work alongside key stakeholders and align with GPS (Global Procurement Services). You will ensure a data-driven approach to category management and high-quality analytics to deliver insights, capabilities, and results.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead implementation of category plans to ensure that the underpinning process improvement and procurement activities deliver business value in accordance with the strategic plan and help towards our Sustainability targets.
• Develop long term strategic plans for agreed scope of spend area, with a focus on delivering broader value, innovation, and savings.
• Support the team in strategic relationship management (customer and supplier) - ensuring Category Strategies are fully aligned to current and future Business need, and we maintain a supply base capable of supporting these strategies.
• Work alongside Global Procurement Services (GPS) advising on and driving procurement strategies to make decisions necessary to make purchases in congruence with organizational objectives.
• Advise on contracts and agreements for the supply of sophisticated products and services with new and existing suppliers
• Cross functionally support Global procurement colleagues and collaborate on setting and completing the strategy.

Essential Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent
• 7+ years of experience in a procurement environment
• Significant experience of Category Management (preferably in R&D/Pharma)
• Project management, change management and people leadership skills
• Good solid understanding of the pharmaceutical industry
• Strong communication skills and ability to influence others
• Comfort with risk and ambiguous situations

CellTherapy

The annual base pay for this position ranges from $116K to $173K. Our positions offer eligibility for various incentives - an opportunity to receive short-term incentive bonuses, equity-based awards for salaried roles and commissions for sales roles. Benefits offered include qualified retirement programs, paid time off (i.e., vacation, holiday, and leaves), as well as health, dental, and vision coverage in accordance with the terms of the applicable plans.

Date Posted

23-Oct-2026

Closing Date

26-Oct-2026

Our mission is to build an inclusive environment where equal employment opportunities are available to all applicants and employees. In furtherance of that mission, we welcome and consider applications from all qualified candidates, regardless of their protected characteristics. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please complete the corresponding section in the application form.