Associate Director, End-to-End Commercial Supply Chain Planner (United States - California - Foster City)

This job is with Gilead Sciences Inc., an inclusive employer and a member of myGwork – the largest global platform for the LGBTQ+ business community. Please do not contact the recruiter directly.

At Gilead, we're creating a healthier world for all people. For more than 35 years, we've tackled diseases such as HIV, viral hepatitis, COVID-19 and cancer - working relentlessly to develop therapies that help improve lives and to ensure access to these therapies across the globe. We continue to fight against the world's biggest health challenges, and our mission requires collaboration, determination and a relentless drive to make a difference.

 

Every member of Gilead's team plays a critical role in the discovery and development of life-changing scientific innovations. Our employees are our greatest asset as we work to achieve our bold ambitions, and we're looking for the next wave of passionate and ambitious people ready to make a direct impact.

 

We believe every employee deserves a great leader. People Leaders are the cornerstone to the employee experience at Gilead and Kite. As a people leader now or in the future, you are the key driver in evolving our culture and creating an environment where every employee feels included, developed and empowered to fulfil their aspirations. Join Gilead and help create possible, together.

At Gilead our pursuit of a healthier world for all people has yielded a cure for hepatitis C, revolutionary improvements in HIV treatment and prevention as well as advancements in therapies for viral and inflammatory diseases and certain cancers. 

 
We set and achieve bold ambitions in our fight against the world's most devastating diseases, united in our commitment to confronting the largest public health challenges of our day and improving the lives of patients for generations to come. The Associate Director, End-to-End Commercial Supply Planner plays a critical role in developing and executing supply plans for commercial small molecule and biologics products. This role partners closely with regional commercial supply chain leads to deeply understand demand planning trends, market dynamics, and promotional activities, ensuring these inputs are fully incorporated into global supply plans.

Reporting to the End-to-End Commercial Supply Chain Product Lead, the role leverages tools such as SAP ERP and Kinaxis Rapid Response to enable accurate, responsive supply planning and ensure product availability across diverse markets.

Collaborative Demand-Supply Alignment

• Act as a primary partner to regional commercial supply chain leads to understand regional demand planning trends, market access changes, promotional campaigns, and product lifecycle events.

• Ensure demand signals from regional planning teams are accurately reflected and integrated into the end-to-end supply plans (API, Drug Substance, Drug Product, Finished Goods) to enable interrupted supply to global markets.

• Facilitate regular communication and alignment sessions with regional leads to validate assumptions, reconcile forecast discrepancies, and adjust supply plans accordingly.

Supply Planning & Execution

• Develop, maintain, and execute detailed commercial supply plans across API, Drug Substance, Drug Product, and Finished Goods, integrating demand insights, manufacturing capacities, end to end lead times, and minimum remaining shelf life (MRSL) requirements at both batch release and market delivery to ensure compliant and timely supply. 

• API Detailed Planning includes:

• Review Part Setups, effective dates & other master data

• Monitor new product supply setup updates

• Manage the API Retest & Expiry Review

• Review and manage MoH across API

• Manage system FPOs, including allocation of ICNs\

• Review Demand & Drug Product Supply Plan outliers

• Review DP 5 Year Supply Plan & API 4 Year Supply Plan

• Review API Inventory Health

• Create first draft SRM API Change Analysis slide

• Review Shipping Quantities & Requirements

• Review Lot Level Restrictions for DP Firm Orders

• Provide API Change Analysis Slide 

• Provide 4 Year budget volumes during LE

• Utilize SAP ERP and Kinaxis Rapid Response to build, monitor, and scenario test supply plans, proactively managing demand changes, supply constraints, expiry risk, and shelf life driven trade offs related to production timing, inventory positioning, and allocation decisions. 

• Work closely with internal and external manufacturing sites to align production schedules and batch strategies with demand trends, lead time realities, and MRSL expectations at release and in market, minimizing write off risk while supporting commercial priorities and service level commitments.

Inventory & Allocation Management

• Optimize global inventory positioning in collaboration with regional supply leads, balancing customer service and cost efficiency. 

• Enable informed allocation decisions in constrained supply scenarios through analysis of demand trends.

Cross-Functional Engagement

• Partner with Commercial Operations, Quality, Manufacturing, and Finance teams to ensure supply plans support overall business objectives.

• Establish strong partnerships with respective regional market leads to maintain ongoing visibility to supply status, risks, and escalations, supporting uninterrupted product availability in market.

• Support change management initiatives impacting supply plans resulting from commercial or regulatory changes.

Performance Monitoring & Reporting

• Track and report key supply planning metrics including supply plan adherence, inventory levels, and service performance.

• Provide timely updates and escalations to leadership and stakeholders based on supply-demand alignment.

Knowledge:

• Able to develop solutions to a wide range of complex problems, which require the regular use of ingenuity and innovation.

• Exceptional verbal and written communication skills. Able to create written communication that is properly structured providing clear, concise messages that draw well supported conclusions.

• Strong negotiation skills.

• Good organizational and time management skills, including working knowledge of basic project management tools and techniques.

• Ability to interact effectively with senior management.

• In depth understanding and application of relevant principles, concepts, practices, and standards, along with an in depth knowledge of industry practices.

• Solid working knowledge of relevant regulatory guidance, including pharmaceutical GMPs and ICH Q7A.

• Able to apply established organizational policies, and interpret, execute, and recommend modifications to department policies and procedures as needed.

• May require familiarity with the technologies, strengths, and weaknesses of a wide variety of fine chemical and pharmaceutical manufacturers worldwide.

• Demonstrates an in-depth understanding of the financial aspects of Supply Chain operations.

• Demonstrates in-depth knowledge and proficiency across multiple practices within Supply Chain department, to understand, coordinate and communicate across the competing demands of each.

Specific Education & Experience Requirements:

• 10+ years relevant experience in related field and a BS or BA OR

• 8+ years of relevant experience and a MA/MBA OR

• 5+ years of relevant experience and a PharmD/ PhD

• Experience in pharmaceutical operations/cGMP environment

• Experience purchasing custom chemicals, planning pharmaceutical development activities, and managing the third-party synthesis of intermediates/Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients

Additional:

• Works on problems of moderate to advanced complexity where analysis of situations or data requires an evaluation of intangible variables.

• Provides leadership, direction and management of a team, to support execution of the Supply Chain strategy.

• Provides supervision, training, guidance and performance management to department personnel.

• Creates and maintains a positive working environment to ensure high productivity, employee engagement and performance.

• Exercises independent judgment in developing methods, techniques, and evaluation criteria for obtaining results.

• Develops and implements policies and procedures for the operation of Supply Chain activities, ensuring all relevant regulatory requirements are met.

• Develops and implements strategies and goals for specific products or projects.

• Creates and effectively communicates supplier, subcontractor and/or vendor agreements and opportunities to the organization.

• Implements and maintains material and production control systems, policies, processes and procedures ensuring that a controlled flow of approved materials timed to meet production requirements.

• May serve as liaison between the company and the various governmental agencies and/or audit agencies as required.

• Reviews, and/or implements changes to controlled ]]>