Associate Director - Category Supply Planner

Job description

Job Title: Associate Director-Category supply planner GCL : E Introduction to role Are you ready to orchestrate critical materials across a global network so life-changing medicines reach patients without interruption? Do you see yourself turning capacity constraints into resilient plans that keep service high and inventories optimized? This role sits above site, crafting how materials flow across multiple brands and suppliers, and ensuring our complex pipeline moves from molecule to medicine at pace. You will lead materials planning for a sophisticated, high-impact category across a 3–24 month horizon, balancing global demand and supply while driving visibility, resilience, and performance. Working across internal manufacturing sites and external partners, you will deploy core planning processes, lead consensus forums, and turn data into clear decisions that safeguard our network. Your leadership will directly protect patient service, optimize working capital, and enable new products to scale. Accountabilities • Ensure supply is secured in a 3 to 24 month timeframe. Optimize inventory and align with 0–13 week site plans to meet customer service levels. • Integrated Planning Deployment: Partner with global planning and internal sites to implement inventory design, forecasting, visibility, capacity planning, and scenario planning that drive network-wide decisions. • Critical Materials Consensus: Lead the materials supply consensus in line with the planning calendar, resolve exceptions, bring up risks, and ensure site plans reflect agreed solutions. • Network Issue Resolution: Lead resolution of supply or capacity issues at suppliers impacting multiple sites and brands; align with network planning to define scenarios for decision-making. • Global MRP and Capacity Forecast: Lead all aspects of worldwide materials needs and capacity projection for essential suppliers to direct supply commitments and risk posture. • Supplier and Site Collaboration: Work closely with critical suppliers and supply sites to maintain robust material flow, collate OTIF data, and set appropriate safety stocks for high-risk materials. • Supplier Performance Governance: Run a strong supplier performance cadence with weekly and monthly reviews to drive accountability and improvement. • Business Continuity: Understand and apply business continuity strategies; implement actions to protect supply of critical materials. • Network Engagement: Build strong links with the site planning community; lead regular supply and demand discussions to capture market and brand dynamics and reflect them in site forecasts and supplier S&OP. • Risk Identification and Mitigation: Collaborate with external operations leaders to contribute to supplier IRM, documenting risks and driving mitigations with suppliers and sites. • Constraint Management and Allocation: In constraint situations, develop network scenarios, secure endorsement from external supply leadership, and oversee execution of supply solutions and allocation across the network. • Inventory and MRP Optimization: Improve MRP parameters (lead times, safety stocks, consumption patterns); monitor signals, evaluate orders and due dates, and maintain healthy inventory positions. • Data and Process Improvement: Elevate materials planning processes, data quality, and MRP system performance to enable faster, better decisions. • Projects and Continuous Improvement: Participate in internal and supplier projects, applying Lean tools to simplify and standardize. • Cross-Site Influence: Collaborate across sites to manage shared critical materials and lead allocation in coordination with external operations and supply leadership. • Coaching and SME Leadership: Act as a subject matter expert and coach junior team members to elevate capability across the network. Essential Skills/Experience • A degree or equivalent in Business, Logistics, Sciences or Engineering is preferred; equivalent experience will be taken into account. • 10+ years of prior experience in Supply Chain Environment (Manufacturing, Planning, & Procurement). • Proficient in complex supply chain planning encompassing inventory, capacity, and network aspects. • Capacity management & modelling. • Strong process improvement expertise and operational experience with ERP/APS systems. • Understanding of supply chain planning parameters, master data and master data integrity & quality is a must. • Strong competence in supplier contract T&C, SLA (Service Level Agreement), and MSA (Master Supply Agreement). • Experience in managing and developing solutions for supply chain events is needed. • Proven leadership and influencing skills in a cross-functional environment. • Experience in collaboration with key interfaces within the end-to-end supply chain, with manufacturing, supply chain, procurement and commercial functions – experience working with third-party suppliers. • Digital savvy (data & system minded), proficient in using key Lean tools, and excellent communication and collaboration skills to manage a broad range of internal and external partners. Desirable Skills/Experience • Robust understanding of and contributing to an S&OP process. • Sophisticated supply chain (capacity and inventory) planning skills. • APICS/CSCP or equivalent certification. • Lean certification. • Leadership experience. Why AstraZeneca Here you will connect bold science with disciplined execution to make a tangible difference for patients. We bring unexpected teams into the same room to spark new solutions, combining modern digital tools, Lean ways of working, and real-time data to run