Senior Director, Business Operations Lead – Small Molecule, Commercial Manufacturing and Technical Operations

About this role

Job Description General Summary:

The Senior Director, Business Operations Lead is a senior role within the Business Operations function supporting Commercial Manufacturing and Technical Operations (CMTO). Reporting to the Executive Director, Business Operations   and Performance , this role is accountable for product-level business leadership across commercial manufacturing activities, with a primary focus on CDMO business management, manufacturing performance governance, readiness and growth planning, cost of goods oversight, and scenario-based business decision support.  

This individual represents the business position for assigned product(s) across governance forums and key cross-functional decision-making bodies. The role ensures that product business requirements are translated into manufacturing priorities, performance expectations, contractual frameworks, and long-range network planning. The Senior Director will work across CMTO and partner functions to support continuity of supply, cost performance, operational readiness, and strategic manufacturing decision-making.  

Key Duties and Responsibilities: • Serve as the Business Operations lead for assigned product(s) within CMTO, providing product-level business leadership across commercial manufacturing activities.   • Act as the business lead in the CDMO relationship, ensuring business priorities, risks, and requirements are appropriately represented and managed.   • Lead the product-level business position in governance forums related to manufacturing performance against established KPIs.   • Define and communicate business requirements for readiness and growth, and monitor progress to plan, including support for new vendor selection and manufacturing network changes as needed.   • Maintain end-to-end business understanding of CDMO and site performance for assigned product(s), including performance trends, risks, opportunities, and implications to product strategy.   • Establish, monitor, and evolve product-level KPIs with a focus on cost, efficiency, service, and operational performance.   • Develop and maintain performance dashboards and related management reporting to support governance, business reviews, and decision-making.   • Own responsibility for COGM, including establishing cost expectations over time, assessing key cost drivers, and tracking progress against COGM reduction plans.   • Drive product-level business decisions informed by manufacturing performance, including capacity, sourcing, continuity, supply risk, and network considerations.   • Partner with Strategic Sourcing, Manufacturing Operations, Legal, and Finance to develop and implement contract structures that align to the priorities and requirements of supported product(s).   • Lead and support commercial manufacturing scenario planning in support of DST, enterprise, and manufacturing assessments, including scenarios driven by scale, geopolitical changes, supply risk, or evolving business strategy.   • Translate strategic priorities into actionable plans with defined milestones, decision points, accountabilities, and measures of success.   • Identify and escalate business risks, dependencies, and execution gaps, and recommend actions to support timely and effective decision-making.   • Prepare executive-level materials, recommendations, and business updates for leadership reviews, governance discussions, and strategic planning processes.   • Contribute to the ongoing development of business operations processes, tools, and governance frameworks that strengthen execution across CMTO.  

Knowledge and Skills: • Significant experience in biotechnology, pharmaceutical, or other highly regulated industry.   • Demonstrated experience supporting manufacturing, external manufacturing, CDMO management, or technical operations business processes.   • E xperience with product-level business management in a manufacturing environment, including governance, cost oversight, performance monitoring, and cross-functional decision support.   • Proven experience with COGM assessment, tracking, and cost improvement planning.   • Experience leading or contributing to governance forums tied to manufacturing performance, supply strategy, and business risk.   • Demonstrated ability to operate effectively in a matrixed environment and influence cross-functional stakeholders without direct authority.   • Strong business acumen with the ability to connect operational performance to product strategy, financial outcomes, and enterprise priorities.   • Excellent written, verbal, and presentation communication skills, including the ability to develop materials for senior leadership.   • Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with ability to synthesize complex information into clear business recommendations.   • CDMO relationship and business management   • Product-level manufacturing governance   • KPI development and performance management   • Dashboard development and business reporting   • COGM modeling, tracking, and reduction planning   • Scenario planning and strategic assessment support   • Contracting partnership across sourcing, legal, and finance   • Capacity, sourcing, continuity, and supply risk evaluation   • Cross-functional planning and execution   • Strong proficiency in Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, Word, and Teams   • Experience with enterprise and reporting tools such as SAP, Power BI, Tableau, Smartsheet, or similar systems   • Experience supporting external manufacturing networks and vendor selection processes   • Working knowledge of cGMP manufacturing environments   • Experience developing business cases and decision frameworks for manufacturing network, supply, or cost-related decisions   • Strong financial acumen and ability to partner effectively with Finance on product and manufacturing-related analyses   • Experience supporting global manufacturing or supply organizations  

Education and Experience: • Bachelor’s degree in Business, Finance, Engineerin

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