Associate Director, Supplier Relationship Manager, Cell Therapy External Manufacturing

Working with Us
Challenging. Meaningful. Life-changing. Those aren’t words that are usually associated with a job. But working at Bristol Myers Squibb is anything but usual. Here, uniquely interesting work happens every day, in every department. From optimizing a production line to the latest breakthroughs in cell therapy, this is work that transforms the lives of patients, and the careers of those who do it. You’ll get the chance to grow and thrive through opportunities uncommon in scale and scope, alongside high-achieving teams rich in diversity. Take your career farther than you thought possible.

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Position Summary:

The Associate Director Supplier Relationship Manager (SRM) is accountable for overall relationship management and operational oversight of one or more contract manufacturing organizations (CMOs) used in the manufacture of cell therapy materials and products. A primary focus is leadership of virtual plant teams (VPTs) and other virtual matrix teams that interface closely with the BMS external manufacturing network and internal stakeholders, to ensure flawless execution of the BMS vision. The SRM acts as a manufacturing site lead and is accountable for the performance of the virtual matrix team and CMO(s) under her / his responsibility.

The SRM is a leader with the breadth of professional experience and the drive to work with both internal and CMOs to define and implement cell therapy manufacturing strategies and plans. She / he is responsible for partnering with Strategic Sourcing & Procurement to ensure that the right network partners are identified at the right time and managed to assure robust supply of BMS cell and gene therapy products.

The SRM must have proven experience in implementation of strategic initiatives in a dynamic business environment, a solid technical operational background, and understand the challenges and impact of identifying, selecting, and managing CMO partners. She / he must be able to adapt to risks/changes associated with the highly novel technologies and distill trade-off decisions into recommendations for escalation to leadership/negotiation with CMOs, to meet the BMS program objectives. 

Acting as the relationship manager and the primary point of contact with the CMO’s management, the SRM is ultimately responsible for the CMO’s performance and for successful execution of the vector manufacturing strategy at the CMO site(s).

The SRM may serve as an ‘asset owner’, acting as Cell Therapy External Manufacturing’s representative for the product with key stakeholders across the cell therapy enterprise. In this role, the SRM is responsible for interacting with product leads, GO teams and other stakeholders in development of strategies that impact external manufacturing.  

The SRM is a leader with a demonstrated track record of success in a highly matrixed and cross-functional organization, with a high level of independence and empowerment to deliver against strategic program goals.  

Primary Responsibilities

• Responsible for overall supplier governance for vendors within remit. Develops and maintains strong strategic relationships with the CMOs to ensure the best outcomes for BMS cell therapy assets, both short and long-term.
• Leads virtual plant and other matrix teams where cross-functional team members are accountable for prioritization and execution of external manufacturing strategies.
• Assures delivery of commercial supply that meets quality, compliance, schedule and budget expectations through proactive identification and mitigation of supply risks, ensuring on-time closure of deviations, change controls, corrective action plans, etc. Includes management of performance expectations and business critical issues escalation.
• Partners closely with Cell Therapy Development, Strategic Sourcing & Procurement, & Global Manufacturing Science & Technology to implement sustainable continuous improvement plans and manufacturing strategies.
• Has overall responsibility for technology transfers to CDMOs under his/her responsibility, including all operations and business processes to ensure support for the technology transfer team.  
• Partners closely with Strategic Sourcing & Procurement throughout all phases of the supplier selection process. Provide business insight for negotiation and execution of contractual documents with CMOs with focus on creating the agility, flexibility, and ris