Make your mark for patients
We are looking for an External Manufacturing Operations Lead to join us in our External Manufacturing Department, based in Braine, Belgium.
About the role
As the External Manufacturing Operations Lead for Drug Substance, you will be responsible for the overall performance of contract manufacturing organizations (CMOs) and key suppliers within your portfolio (here in identified as third parties). Your focus will be on ensuring reliable supply, prompt issue resolution, and strong partnerships with stakeholders. You will guide the UCB vendor team (a team dedicated to management of given third party) and act as the primary contact and relationship manager with third parties, maintaining strong connections to ensure sites meet expectations and UCB needs.
Who you’ll work with
In this role, you will collaborate closely with cross-functional and matrix teams within UCB, as well as with third parties leadership teams and strategic vendors. Your daily interactions will include internal stakeholders from various UCB functions, external business partners, and senior management members of third parties. Through these partnerships, you will foster effective communication, drive operational excellence, and ensure that all parties are aligned toward achieving shared goals.
What you’ll do
1. Support reliability, robust processes, prompt issue resolution, and strong partnerships with vendors and internal stakeholders
2. Guide third parties vendor teams, coordinating cross-functional and inter-company activities
3. Participate in projects to foster operational excellence within UCB external manufacturing
4. Maintain governance structures and facilitate regular meetings between CMOs and UCB teams
5. Conduct operational performance evaluations and management processes for third parties
6. Provide operational expertise to support effective processes and optimized capacity utilization
7. Lead troubleshooting and investigations in collaboration with third parties, coordinating corrective actions
8. Identify and deliver continuous improvement projects to enhance quality, cycle times, and cost efficiency
9. Ensure compliance with regulatory standards and industry regulations
10. Prepare business and operations plans, defining operational management based on commercial strategy
11. Manage risks, including capacity availability and potential supply chain disruptions
12. Monitor third parties capacities and implement long-range product plans
13. Share technology knowledge, market intelligence, and product knowledge
Interested? For this role we’re looking for the following education, experience and skills
14. Master’s degree or PhD in life sciences with at least 7 years of relevant experience
15. Knowledgeable in technical and manufacturing aspects related to the portfolio area
16. Ability to lead multi-functional teams, motivate others, ensure responsibility, and focus on goals
17. Skilled in managing external business partners and relationships
18. Basic knowledge in financial and business knowledge. Capable of developing and analyzing business cases
19. Able to clarify complex technical and manufacturing performance issues
20. Capable of summarizing and presenting scenarios to support decision-making
21. Experience in crisis management and related communication
22. Strong problem-solving, project management and strategic thinking
23. Experience in operational excellence is a plus
24. Fluent in English (written and spoken), French is a plus
Are you ready to ‘go beyond’ to create value and make your mark for patients? If this sounds like you, then we would love to hear from you!