Work Schedule
Standard (Mon-Fri)Environmental Conditions
OfficeJob Description
As part of the Thermo Fisher Scientific team, you’ll discover meaningful work that makes a positive impact on a global scale. Join our colleagues in bringing our Mission to life every single day to enable our customers to make the world healthier, cleaner and safer. We provide our global teams with the resources needed to achieve individual career goals while helping to take science a step beyond by developing solutions for some of the world’s toughest challenges, like protecting the environment, making sure our food is safe or helping find cures for cancer.
How You Will Make an Impact
The Director, Supplier Strategy & Portfolio will build and lead the supplier and portfolio strategy for Production Chemicals and Services (PCS).
This leader will develop a differentiated supplier ecosystem that strengthens the core PCS business, improves profitability and supply resilience, and enables the growth of Bioproduction Services.
The Director will establish how PCS segments, prioritizes, develops, and governs supplier relationships; identify opportunities to expand and optimize the portfolio; and translate supplier capabilities into differentiated customer value.
This role directly leads a team of Supplier Strategy Specialists and partners closely with Commercial, Supply Chain, Corporate Procurement, Finance, Marketing, Quality, and Bioproduction Services.
What You Will Do
Supplier Strategy & Strategic Partnerships
- Develop and execute the PCS supplier strategy aligned to growth, profitability, customer needs, and supply continuity objectives.
- Establish supplier segmentation and differentiated engagement models for strategic, growth, transactional, and emerging suppliers.
- Develop multi-year strategies for priority suppliers, including growth, margin improvement, portfolio expansion, and risk mitigation.
- Build executive relationships with strategic suppliers and lead joint business planning and strategic business reviews.
- Identify opportunities for preferred partnerships, differentiated access, joint growth initiatives, and supplier-enabled services.
- Partner with Corporate Procurement to leverage enterprise scale, market intelligence, sourcing capabilities, and negotiation expertise.
- Establish supplier performance metrics and governance that drive measurable business outcomes.
Portfolio Strategy & Growth
- Develop the PCS portfolio and category strategy across critical chemicals and bioproduction raw materials.
- Assess portfolio performance, customer demand, competitive position, supplier capabilities, and profitability to inform investment decisions.
- Identify portfolio gaps, white-space opportunities, new suppliers, and category expansion opportunities.
- Lead recommendations for portfolio optimization, rationalization, and strategic sourcing alternatives.
- Partner with Finance and Commercial leadership to establish supplier- and portfolio-level growth and profitability objectives.
- Provide supplier and portfolio strategy inputs into STRAP, AOP, and other business planning processes.
Enable Business Unit Growth
- Partner with Commercial leadership to identify supplier- and portfolio-enabled opportunities to protect and grow the core PCS business.
- Identify opportunities to increase customer share of wallet through portfolio expansion and differentiated supplier capabilities.
- Partner with Bioproduction Services leadership to identify supplier capabilities, alternate sourcing strategies, and partnerships required to scale new services, and future offerings.
- Support strategic customer pursuits where supplier capabilities or portfolio access create competitive differentiation.
- Partner with Marketing, Commercial, and Finance to translate portfolio differentiation into market positioning, commercial strategy, and margin opportunities.
Leadership & Capability Building
- Build and directly lead a team of Supplier Strategy Specialists.
- Establish the methodologies, tools, governance, and operating mechanisms required to create a differentiated supplier strategy capability within PCS.
- Personally lead the highest-priority strategic supplier relationships while developing increasing ownership within the team.
- Coach team members in supplier strategy, category analysis, negotiation, joint business planning, and executive supplier engagement.
- Establish clear supplier portfolio assignments, performance expectations, and development plans.
- Serve as the strategic advisor to the PCS General Manager and leadership team on supplier ecosystem and portfolio decisions.
How You Will Get Here
Education
- Bachelor's degree in Business, Supply Chain, Procurement, Life Sciences, Chemistry, Engineering, or related field required.
- MBA or relevant advanced degree preferred.
Experience
- 10+ years of progressive experience in supplier management, strategic sourcing, procurement, category management, portfolio strategy, business development, or related commercial roles.
- 5+ years of leadership experience with demonstrated success building and developing teams.
- Demonstrated experience developing supplier or category strategies within a complex global organization.
- Experience leading strategic supplier relationships, negotiations, joint business planning, and executive-level engagement.
- Strong commercial and financial acumen, including revenue, margin, portfolio, and business-case analysis.
- Life sciences, biopharmaceutical manufacturing, specialty chemicals, raw materials, or distribution experience strongly preferred.
- Demonstrated ability to influence across Commercial, Supply Chain, Procurement, Finance, Marketing, Quality, and Operations in a matrix organization.
Key Capabilities
- Supplier and category strategy
- Strategic supplier relationship management
- Portfolio optimization and white-space identification
- Strategic sourcing and negotiation
- Commercial and financial analysis
- Market and competitive intelligence
- Executive relationship management
- Cross-functional leadership
- Talent and capability development
- Strategic planning and executive communication
Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree in Business, Supply Chain, Procurement, Life Sciences, Chemistry, Engineering, or a related field
- MBA or relevant advanced degree
- 10+ years of progressive experience in supplier management, strategic sourcing, procurement, category management, portfolio strategy, business development, or related commercial roles
- 5+ years of leadership experience building and developing teams
- Experience developing supplier or category strategies within a complex global organization
- Experience leading strategic supplier relationships, negotiations, joint business planning, and executive-level engagement
- Strong commercial and financial acumen, including revenue, margin, portfolio, and business-case analysis
- Life sciences, biopharmaceutical manufacturing, specialty chemicals, raw materials, or distribution experience
- Ability to influence across Commercial, Supply Chain, Procurement, Finance, Marketing, Quality, and Operations in a matrix organization
- Supplier and category strategy expertise
- Strategic supplier relationship management experience
- Portfolio optimization and white-space identification experience
- Strategic sourcing and negotiation expertise
- Commercial and financial analysis skills
- Market and competitive intelligence skills
- Executive relationship management skills
- Cross-functional leadership skills
- Talent and capability development experience
- Strategic planning and executive communication skills
Thermo Fisher Scientific Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Thermo Fisher Scientific and has not been reviewed or approved by Thermo Fisher Scientific.
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Retirement Support — Retirement programs include a strong company 401(k) match and an employee stock purchase plan that add meaningful long‑term value. Feedback suggests these features stand out among core financial benefits even when base pay feels average.
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Healthcare Strength — Health coverage offers multiple national medical options alongside dental and vision, with company‑paid life and disability coverage. This breadth is considered a solid foundation even if some costs may not be the lowest among peers.
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Parental & Family Support — Paid parental and caregiver leave, backup care, adoption assistance, and specialized family resources are available. Feedback suggests these supports are a notable plus for colleagues managing family and caregiving needs.
Thermo Fisher Scientific Insights
What We Do
Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. is the world leader in serving science, with annual revenue of approximately $40 billion. Our Mission is to enable our customers to make the world healthier, cleaner and safer. Whether our customers are accelerating life sciences research, solving complex analytical challenges, increasing productivity in their laboratories, improving patient health through diagnostics or the development and manufacture of life-changing therapies, we are here to support them. Our global team delivers an unrivaled combination of innovative technologies, purchasing convenience and pharmaceutical services through our industry-leading brands, including Thermo Scientific, Applied Biosystems, Invitrogen, Fisher Scientific, Unity Lab Services, Patheon and PPD.
Why Work With Us
You will join a company which every colleague has the opportunity to create possibilities, for oneself, for our customers and patients. There is no more exciting place to be than at the forefront of solving problems which help improve lives around the world. As a company, we are committed to supporting your career aspirations and your journey.
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