Vice President, Network Operations

Cardinal Health; United States; On-site; USD 183,000 - 310,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical coverage

Paid time off

401k plan

HSA access

Parental leave

Job summary

Cardinal Health is seeking a strategic leader to head Network Operations from Ohio or nearby regions. You will drive the centralized supply chain programs, modernization efforts, and capital planning to deliver a world‑class network.

The role emphasizes continuous improvement, cross‑functional collaboration, and executive‑level communications across geographies. The position requires extensive experience in supply chain leadership, with a focus on automation deployment, network design, and

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Supply Chain or related field.
• 15+ years of progressive experience in supply chain management.
• Automation deployment experience in distribution centers or manufacturing sites.
• Experience leading new distribution center builds and implementations.
• Proven ability to align supply chain strategy with executive leadership and partners.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute the Network Operations vision, strategy, and goals aligned with company priorities.
• Oversee modernization, roadmap creation, and investment planning for digital and automation capabilities.
• Lead continuous improvement to enhance service quality, reliability, and efficiency across the network.
• Design network framework and assess time and costs to bring goods to market.
• Diagnose challenges, anticipate growth, and implement system, process, and physical improvements.
• Ensure robust policies and procedures govern operations and drive performance.
• Provide leadership metrics and reporting to drive agility and growth objectives.
• Lead implementation of new supply chain programs and lean initiatives.
• Oversee KPIs and drive performance improvement initiatives across the function.
• Manage budget for network operations aligned with priorities and performance.
• Oversee capital investments including automation deployment and DC modernization.
• Hire, train, coach, and manage the Network Operations team; optimize labor management.

Skills

Strategic leadership

Supply chain optimization

Cross-functional collaboration

Executive communication

Analytics & data-driven

Project management

Workflow standardization

Travel readiness

Education

Bachelor's or Master's in Supply Chain

Job description

Position Summary

Cardinal Health is a leading healthcare services and distribution company that helps providers, pharmacies, and health systems improve supply chain performance and ensure reliable access to critical medications. Through its Pharmaceutical Distribution business, Cardinal Health delivers innovative distribution solutions, technology-enabled inventory management, supply chain visibility, data analytics, and operational support that help customers optimize pharmaceutical procurement, manage drug shortages, improve financial performance, and enhance patient care outcomes. Serving nearly 90% of U.S. hospitals, thousands of pharmacies, laboratories, and specialty providers, Cardinal Health plays a critical role in connecting manufacturers, healthcare providers, and patients across the continuum of care. The Vice President, Network Operations will lead all centralized strategic supply chain activities and programs to simplify and standardize workflows and help to improve the performance of our supply chain and transportation. The incumbent is accountable for driving world‑class operations with a focus on continuous improvement and exceeding customer expectations. The Vice President, Network Operations will lead all centralized strategic supply chain activities and programs to simplify and standardize workflows and help to improve the performance of our supply chain. This role is also responsible for capital planning and deployment, network design and capacity and automation capabilities. The Vice President, Network Operations, is the owner of the annually financial planning process for the Supply Chain Team. This role reports to the Senior Vice President, Pharmaceutical Supply Chain Operations. Location: Ohio‑based preferred, with relocation assistance provided as appropriate.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute the Network Operations vision, strategy, and goals in line with company priorities to build a highly efficient and world class network operations team.
• Development, oversight and execution of the supply chain modernization strategy, roadmap and investment plan that advances supply chain digital and automation capabilities.
• Lead continuous improvement and optimization of the network, to enhance service quality, availability, reliability, efficiency, effectiveness, customer satisfaction and retention.
• Lead supply chain network design, delineating the overall framework of our supply chain to assess the time and costs required to bring goods to the market.
• Diagnose supply chain challenges, anticipate evolving areas of growth, and ensure prompt support for necessary system, process, and physical improvements across the network
• Holds organization accountable to have robust supply chain policies & procedures in place that properly govern our operations and drives continuous improvement in the function’s performance.
• Leadership for intelligent supply chain, functional performance metrics & reporting that drive agility, resiliency and enable critical business growth objectives.
• Leadership for the execution of new supply chain management programs and lean supply chain initiatives.
• Oversight for supply chain functional key performance indicators; Identifies and executes performance improvement initiatives.
• Leadership for overall function budget in alignment with strategic priorities and performance objectives.
• Network Modernization/Optimization – Manage core network additions, moves, changes, and/ or maintenance activities.
• Lead and manage the Network Operations team, including hiring, training, coaching, and performance management
• Ensure labor management programs deliver expected results
• Lead network wide strategic projects
• Oversee Operations supports of customer RFP’s inventory, capacity and service level
• Anticipate and develop strategy to maximize transportation and DC capacity and plans for expansion or consolidation
• Oversee capital investments including automation deployment across the network, DC modernization and planning, and resiliency investments

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Supply Chain or related field preferred
• 15+ years of progressive experience in supply chain management functions preferred
• Automation deployment experience in a distribution center or manufacturing site environment preferred
• Experience leading new distribution center builds and implementations, from strategic planning and site readiness through operational launch and continuous improvement
• Proven experience developing and executing enterprise‑wide supply chain network strategies that drive service excellence, cost savings, network efficiency, capacity optimization, and operational performance across complex distribution environments.
• Proven ability to interface and partner with executive business leaders and strategic partners
• Strong track record of leveraging cross‑functional resources to deliver supply chain solutions
• Innovative and critical thinking, adaptability in problem‑solving, and the ability to provide actionable outcomes
• Strong presentation skills suitable for all levels of the organization
• Large scale business case development with financial acumen
• Executive‑level leadership experience managing diversity of talent across geographies
• Possesses excellent interpersonal, negotiation, and conflict management skills
• Demonstrates timely decision making, priority setting, and well‑rounded perspective
• Possesses excellent process and program management skills
• Demonstrates active listening and the ability to think creatively
• Ability to travel 20%
• Ohio‑based location preferred

Anticipated salary range

$183,100 – $309,760

Bonus eligible

Yes

Benefits

Cardinal Health offers a wide variety of benefits and programs to support health and well‑being.

• Medical, dental and vision coverage
• Paid time off plan
• Health savings account (HSA)
• 401k savings plan
• Access to wages before pay day with myFlexPay
• Flexible spending accounts (FSAs)
• Short‑and long‑term disability coverage
• Work‑Life resources
• Paid parental leave
• Healthy lifestyle programs

Application window anticipated to close

9/17/2026

Candidates who are back‑to‑work, people with disabilities, without a college degree, and Veterans are encouraged to apply.

Cardinal Health supports an inclusive workplace that values diversity of thought, experience and background. We celebrate the power of our differences to create better solutions for our customers by ensuring employees can be their authentic selves each day. Cardinal Health is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, age, physical or mental disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, pregnancy, veteran status, marital status, creed, status with regard to public assistance, genetic status or any other status protected by federal, state or local law.