Executive Director, Cell Therapy Global Supply Chain Planning

If you have the passion and the drive to accelerate growth and make people’s lives better – then AstraZeneca is the place for you.  We have a big ambition – to deliver more medicines to patients, quicker and more affordably. Backed by the investment, leadership and a clear plan to get there, we bring personal dedication and out of the box thinking. 

AstraZeneca turns molecules to medicines, bringing our Research & Development pipeline to life through a rigorous process of development, manufacturing, testing and delivery.  Operations is accelerating fast. We are on track for Our Bold Ambition 2030, delivering 15+ new medicines driving us forward across different modalities including biologics, cell therapy, ADCs and small molecules. 

The Opportunity

AstraZeneca is building one of the industry’s most ambitious Cell Therapy portfolios, spanning autologous, allogeneic, and in vivo modalities. As the business evolves from clinical-stage operations to global commercial scale, we are seeking a senior leader to build the planning capability that will support reliable patient supply, successful launches, and long-term growth.

The Executive Director, Cell Therapy Global Supply Chain Planning reports into the Vice President, Cell Therapy Global Supply Chain and will lead the transformation of planning for the Cell Therapy business. You will shape the operating model, build the organization and capabilities, and establish the governance, processes, and systems needed to support a complex, global, multi-product portfolio.

This is a highly visible leadership role with broad enterprise impact owning the decision architecture that aligns assumptions, risks, priorities, and tradeoffs across the enterprise to enable effective executive decision making. You will work across Commercial, Clinical, Finance, Manufacturing, Quality, Process Development, Regulatory, CMC, and Supply Chain to create a modern, integrated planning function aligned to AstraZeneca’s long-term Cell Therapy ambition.

Responsibilities

• Lead the end-to-end planning function for Cell Therapy, connecting commercial demand, clinical enrollment, patient flow, supply planning, inventory strategy, materials planning, capacity planning, and financial assumptions into a unified planning framework that is appropriate to patient-specific therapies

• Lead the transformation of the planning operating model from a clinical-stage environment to a scalable global commercial capability, including organization design, governance, decision rights, processes, and ways of working

• Build the planning capabilities needed to support growth, including launch readiness, market expansion, increasing product and geographic complexity, and volume growth across the portfolio

• Lead S&OP/IBP and S&OE as enterprise decision-making forums, establishing the planning and governance architecture that aligns cross-functional assumptions, risks, priorities, and scenarios, and enables timely executive decisions across service, cost, cash, risk, and growth

• Drive cross-functional executive alignment across Commercial, Clinical, Finance, Manufacturing, Quality, Process Development, Regulatory, CMC, and Supply Chain, ensuring assumptions, constraints, priorities, and trade-offs are transparent, reconciled, and translated into clear enterprise decisions

• Develop differentiated planning strategies across autologous, allogeneic, and in vivo modalities, as well as across clinical and commercial supply models, product lifecycle stages, and markets

• Lead global network and capacity planning across internal manufacturing sites and external partners, including capacity allocation, slot management, and supply prioritization across products, programs, and geographies, and partner with the Network Strategy team to align long-range planning, network expansion, and future-state supply network decisions with business growth and portfolio needs

• Provide integrated decision making and planning of Supply Chain within CMC program governance, ensuring supply, logistics, and capacity constraints are translated into clear direction and integrated supply plans

• Oversee the planning architecture across Plan-to-Deliver, from demand translation through supply planning, detailed scheduling, and execution handoffs to drive planning excellence through patient outcomes such as vein-to-vein time and slot availability

• Lead scenario planning and planning risk management, helping the business anticipate and respond to supply, capacity, logistics, and launch risks

• Drive future state digital planning ambition, including SAP maturity, advanced planning tools, scheduling and slot management solutions, AI/ML-driven demand sensing, autonomous planning capabilities, planning data standards, and decision-support analytics

• Build and lead a high-performing team, developing talent and strengthening planning capability across the organization

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain, Operations, Engineering, Life Sciences, Business Administration, or a related field

• 16+ years of relevant experience, or 14+ years with an MS/MBA, or 12+ years with a PhD

• Deep expertise in supply planning, capacity planning, integrated business planning, inventory strategy, and planning governance

• Demonstrated experience leading planning transformation and evolving operating models from clinical-stage, early-launch, or emerging business environments to commercial scale

• Experience scaling supply chains through commercial growth, geographic expansion, and organizational change

• Experience in biopharma, biotech, advanced therapies, or other highly regulated and complex supply environments

• Demonstrated success leading across internal manufacturing and external partner networks

• Experience implementing or advancing planning capabilities such as OMP, Kinaxis, o9, or equivalent platforms

• Proven ability to build, lead, and develop high-performing teams in complex, matrixed organizations

• Strong strategic, analytical, communication, and stakeholder leadership skills

Preferred Qualifications

• Advanced degree such as MBA, MS, or PhD

• Experience in cell therapy, gene therapy, oncology supply chains, or personalized medicine

• Experience in highly constrained, time-sensitive, or patient-specific supply environments

When we put unexpected teams in the same room, we fuel bold thinking with the power to inspire life-changing medicines. In-person working gives us the platform we need to connect, work at pace and challenge perceptions. That’s why we work, on average a minimum of three days per week from either the Santa Monica, CA; Tarzana, CA or Gaithersburg, MD office location. We balance the expectation of being in the office while respecting individual flexibility. Join us in our unique and ambitious world.

The annual base salary for this position ranges from $225,000 to $335,000. However, base pay offered may vary depending on multiple individualized factors, including market location, job-related experience. If hired, employee will be in an “at-will position” and we reserve the right to modify base salary (and any other discretionary payment or compensation program) at any time, including for reasons related to individual performance, Company or individual department/team performance, and market factors.

Date Posted

Closing Date

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.