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Job Description
Job Summary:
The Director of Global Category Management for R&D Functional Service Providers (FSP) is responsible for leading the strategic sourcing and procurement activities for all FSP services with greater than 500 OY annual spend, required for Research and Development (R&D), Research, Pharmaceutical Sciences and Development Organizations across the Global R&D organization.
This role involves developing and implementing global category strategies, managing supplier relationships, and driving cost-saving initiatives while ensuring the highest standards of quality and compliance. The Director will collaborate with cross-functional teams including R&D, procurement, quality assurance, and finance to align category strategies with business objectives.
Key Responsibilities:
- Category Strategy Development:
- Develop and implement comprehensive global category strategies for R&D FSP services.
- Conduct market analysis to identify trends, opportunities, and risks.
- Align category strategies with overall business goals and R&D objectives across functions and regions.
- Inclusion of ESG (Environmental & Social Governance) objectives in category strategies
- Supplier Relationship Management:
- Identify, evaluate, and select suppliers for FSP services.
- Establish and maintain strong relationships with key suppliers to ensure reliability, quality, and innovation.
- Negotiate contracts, terms, and conditions with suppliers to achieve optimal pricing and service levels.
- Procurement and Sourcing
- Lead global sourcing initiatives to drive cost savings and value creation.
- Implement best practices in procurement processes, including RFIs, RFPs, and RFQs.
- Ensure compliance with company policies, industry regulations, and quality standards.
- Financial Management:
- Develop and manage the annual demand plan with the business for lab consumables and services.
- Track and report on cost savings and financial performance of the category.
- Collaborate with finance teams to forecast and manage spend.
- Cross-Functional Collaboration:
- Work closely with R&D teams across geographies and functions to understand their requirements and ensure timely and effective procurement of FSP services.
- Partner with Indirect colleagues to ensure compliance to MSP program and Consulting strategies
- Coordinate with R&D GCMs to de-bundle FSP services to optimize sourcing strategies
- Performance Management:
- Monitor and evaluate supplier performance using key performance indicators (KPIs).
- Implement continuous improvement initiatives to enhance category performance.
- Address and resolve any issues related to supplier performance.
- Team Leadership:
- Mentor and develop a global team of procurement professionals.
- Provide mentorship, guidance, and training to team members.
- Foster a culture of collaboration, innovation, and excellence within the team.
Qualifications:
- Bachelor's degree in supply chain management, Business Administration, Chemistry, Biology, or a related field. Master's degree preferred.
- Preferred ISM (Institute of Supplier Management) Certifications:
- CPSM® Certified Professional in Supply Management®
- CPSD® Certified Professional in Supplier Diversity®
- Minimum of 14 years of experience in procurement, category management, or supply chain management, with a focus on lab consumables and services in the pharmaceutical industry.
- Proven experience in developing and implementing global category strategies within complex and business critical areas.
- Strong negotiation, contract management, and supplier relationship management skills.
- Excellent analytical, financial, and strategic thinking abilities.
- Strong leadership and team management skills.
- Ability to work effectively in a global, cross-functional environment.
- Knowledge of industry regulations and quality standards
- Proficiency in procurement software and tools such as Ariba and SAP.
Competencies:
- Strategic Thinking: Ability to develop long-term category strategies aligned with business objectives. Sees ahead clearly and anticipates future consequences and trends accurately.
- Analytical Skills: Strong capability to analyze market trends, financial data, and supplier performance.
- Negotiation Skills: Expertise in negotiating contracts and managing supplier relationships.
- Leadership: Proven track record of leading and developing high-performing teams.
- Communication and Presentations: Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to influence stakeholders at all levels and be comfortable around higher management.
- Problem-Solving: Strong problem-solving skills with a focus on continuous improvement.
- Project Management: Ability to manage multiple projects and initiatives simultaneously.
- Collaboration: Ability to work across the RDP (R&D Procurement) teams as well with all business partners to foster positive, enduring business relationships with compassion
- Ability to deal with Ambiguity and remain calm under pressure.
- Conflict Management: Steps up to conflicts, seeing them as opportunities; reads the room and the situation quickly and focuses on listening.
- Planning and Prioritization: Accurately scopes out length and difficulty of tasks and projects; spends time on what's important and zeros in on the few critical tasks at hand. Manages time effectively
- Drive for Results
- Self-Development: Personally committed to and actively works to continuously improve their skillset
Location:
- Cambridge, MA
- This is a hybrid role with in-office expectations of at least 10+ days per month. A strong onsite presence is necessary, candidates must be locally based within a reasonable commute to Takeda's Cambridge, MA offices.
Takeda Compensation and Benefits Summary
We understand compensation is an important factor as you consider the next step in your career. We are committed to equitable pay for all employees, and we strive to be more transparent with our pay practices.
For Location:
Boston, MA
U.S. Base Salary Range:
$169,400.00 - $266,200.00
The estimated salary range reflects an anticipated range for this position. The actual base salary offered may depend on a variety of factors, including the qualifications of the individual applicant for the position, years of relevant experience, specific and unique skills, level of education attained, certifications or other professional licenses held, and the location in which the applicant lives and/or from which they will be performing the job. The actual base salary offered will be in accordance with state or local minimum wage requirements for the job location.
U.S. based employees may be eligible for short-term and/ or long-term incentives. U.S. based employees may be eligible to participate in medical, dental, vision insurance, a 401(k) plan and company match, short-term and long-term disability coverage, basic life insurance, a tuition reimbursement program, paid volunteer time off, company holidays, and well-being benefits, among others. U.S. based employees are also eligible to receive, per calendar year, up to 80 hours of sick time, and new hires are eligible to accrue up to 120 hours of paid vacation.
EEO Statement
Takeda is proud in its commitment to creating a diverse workforce and providing equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, parental status, national origin, age, disability, citizenship status, genetic information or characteristics, marital status, status as a Vietnam era veteran, special disabled veteran, or other protected veteran in accordance with applicable federal, state and local laws, and any other characteristic protected by law.
Locations
Boston, MA
Worker Type
Employee
Worker Sub-Type
Regular
Time Type
Full time
Job Exempt
Yes
It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.
Takeda Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Takeda and has not been reviewed or approved by Takeda.
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Retirement Support — Retirement funding includes a dollar-for-dollar 401(k) match with immediate vesting and an additional age- and service-based company contribution, plus access to an employee stock purchase plan. These features materially expand total compensation beyond base pay.
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Parental & Family Support — Family support includes fully paid bonding leave for all parents, reimbursed adoption/surrogacy and doula expenses via Maven, and breast-milk shipping for work travel. Backup child, adult, and elder care through Bright Horizons further strengthens caregiving support.
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Healthcare Strength — Medical coverage offers nationwide PPO and HSA-PPO options with preventive care covered, alongside regional HMO choices where applicable and integrated pharmacy benefits. Round-the-clock assistance and virtual behavioral health access complement the core medical plans.
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What We Do
For over 240 years, Takeda’s propensity to evolve has driven the next generation of innovation, and as a future-focused organization, we’re continuing to drive forward with endurance in our steadfast pursuit to achieve the best outcomes for our patients in a rapidly changing world. We have been preparing for this period of value creation by investing in data, digital and technology, and we’re proud of our employees and their commitment to turning groundbreaking ideas into life-changing impacts. Since our founding in Japan, integrity and putting patients first have been at the heart of our identity, and we will emerge ready for our future as one of the most trusted and science-driven digital biopharmaceutical companies. Join a team where your innovation impacts lives. Together, we’ll realize improved outcomes by improving data quality, enhancing launch execution and improving the patient journey. You’ll play a critical role in accelerating data collection and increasing accuracy across all parts of the business. Patients across the globe will benefit from access to treatments afforded by greater opportunities and efficiency in our research and development.
Why Work With Us
We connect to our history and Japanese heritage through everything we do to bring our purpose, values, vision, and imperatives to life. We are committed to bringing better health and a brighter future to patients. Being a part of Takeda means having the opportunity to be a part of something bigger than yourself.
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