Biotech Project Operations Associate

Kite Pharma, Inc.; El Segundo (CA); On-site; USD 107,000 - 139,000; Full time

Job summary

Kite Pharma is seeking a Project Management, Business Operations, and Strategic Initiative Support professional in the United States (CA). The role focuses on supporting Commercial Operations, contracting, procurement, and governance activities to drive efficiency and strategic initiatives.

Ideal candidates have strong organizational skills, experience in cross-functional projects, and a background in biotechnology or pharmaceuticals.

Qualifications

• 4+ years of relevant experience and a BA or BS degree.
• OR 2+ years of relevant experience and an MS or MBA degree.
• Experience in business operations, project management, commercial operations, procurement, finance, consulting, healthcare, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, or cross-functional project coordination.

Responsibilities

• Provides support to Commercial Operations project leads to maintain and track project activities including timelines, budgets, action items, risks, dependencies, resource plans, and other project documentation.
• May independently manage routine sub-projects or defined workstreams under the guidance of Commercial Operations leadership.
• Participates in project meetings and relevant business operations activities.
• Conducts research and gathers information from internal and external sources to support project planning, business analysis, and decision-making.
• Maintains project information, documentation, trackers, and materials within shared repositories and collaboration platforms.
• Identifies routine issues or risks that may adversely impact project execution and appropriately escalates concerns to project leads.
• Assists with project budgeting, spend tracking, resource planning, and budget reporting activities.
• Follows up with project team members and stakeholders regarding progress on action items, deliverables, and deadlines.
• Generates and maintains project tracking and reporting tools, dashboards, status reports, and metrics to support project teams and leadership.
• Prepares meeting materials, meeting notes, action trackers, leadership updates, and executive communications.
• Supports maintenance of operating model documentation, process maps, governance materials, organizational documentation, and role clarity resources.
• Compiles and analyzes business data, stakeholder feedback, and operational metrics to identify trends, issues, and opportunities for improvement.
• Supports AI adoption and process improvement initiatives by documenting workflows, coordinating pilot activities, tracking outcomes, and maintaining training materials.
• Facilitates collaboration across Commercial Operations, Finance, Procurement, Legal, and functional business teams to enable efficient execution of priorities and initiatives.

Skills

Project management

Operations management

Procurement

Budgeting

Cross-functional coordination

Business analysis

Dashboards

Education

BA or BS degree

MS or MBA degree

Tools

SAP

Ariba

Oracle

Job description

Kite Pharma is seeking a Project Management, Business Operations, and Strategic Initiative Support professional in the United States (CA). The role focuses on supporting Commercial Operations, contracting, procurement, and governance activities to drive efficiency and strategic initiatives.

Ideal candidates have strong organizational skills, experience in cross-functional projects, and a background in biotechnology or pharmaceuticals.