Associate Procurement Manager Alexion (Global S2C Excellence Americas)

Job Description

A new position dedicated to daily support of all procurement activities for Alexion AstraZeneca Rare Disease with a pronounced emphasis on delivering excellence in contracting execution.

The Associate Procurement Manager will manage strategic relations with Business Stakeholders, Procurement Category Teams, and in-market Procurement Managers, leading complex and high-value Source-to-Contract (S2C) projects—including preparing and running sourcing events, negotiating and renegotiating contract clauses, and authoring a wide range of commercial agreements such as Master Service Agreements, Manufacturing Supply Agreements, Non-Disclosure Agreements, and Consulting Agreements, particularly within a GMP-regulated pharmaceutical environment. The Procurement Associate Manager will perform Procurement activities in line with Alexion Procurement Operating Model. The role requires deep experience in contract negotiations and management while ensuring rigorous compliance with legal, regulatory, and internal procurement standards.

Typical Accountabilities, Experience & Behaviours

Responsible for Source to Contract activities:

• Knows and applies Procurement Processes and Tools and actively drive Source to Contract process simplification, improvement, and optimisation (process steps, internal ways of working, legal support model, documents, and templates etc.), Co-creates processes that she/he is involved in.
• Runs independently complex contracting projects: Leads the drafting, authoring, negotiation, and review of complex commercial agreements (including MSAs, Supply Agreements, NDAs, SOWs, Licensing, and Consulting Agreements).
• Oversee the contract lifecycle from execution to renewal and termination, ensuring documentation is audit-ready and meets regulatory standards.
• Collaborate cross-functionally (Legal, Finance, Compliance, Operations) to align contract execution with organizational governance.
• Knows and advises Stakeholders about Sourcing events and Contracts types
• Has deep category knowledge to independently drive the S2C process, understands the category/SET area specifics, business needs and priorities and applies them to the work.
• Drive E2E (End 2 End) S2C process independently, including identifying and mitigating the related risks. Shares expertise with procurement and business and influence decision making process.
• Support market research activities by issuing RFI, manage sourcing projects (incl. issue of RFP, RFQ) and conduct e-auctions
• Analyse received proposals, make recommendations, prepare summary reports, applies analytical thinking and knowledge of data analysis, tools, and methodologies. Requires attention to detail when making decisions and recommendations. Breaks information on a systematic manner
• Enhance relations with Global Category Leaders and business stakeholders, ensuring high standards and ability to connect and build strong relationship with stakeholders across the globe (matrix organization)
• Ensure compliance to company procurement policies and improve the usage of the procurement tools
• Represents GSCE on wide forum of senior stakeholders and acts as an ambassador of GSCE
• May provide informal guidance or on the job training for peers.

What is the global remit? (how many countries will the role operate in?)

Remit which covers all AstraZeneca countries.

Education, Qualifications, Skills, and Experience

Essential

Education

• University degree required, a Bachelor’s degree in Law or a related field preferred.

Experience:

• At least 5 years of direct experience in the pharmaceutical industry, specifically with a strong background in sourcing, procurement, and contracting within highly regulated environments—including hands-on involvement in contract negotiations, authoring, supplier management, and compliance with regulatory considerations in clinical trials and pharmaceutical operations.
• Proven ability to lead complex contract negotiations and author contracts in pharma or life sciences settings, with extensive knowledge of contract law, commercial terms, and risk mitigation best practices.
• Experience with End-to-End Source to Contract process and delivering effective project management.
• Demonstrated success in stakeholder engagement and collaboration across global, matrixed organizations

Skills:

• Excellent communications skills (verbal and written) with the ability to present information in a clear and concise format to all levels within the organization. Communicates eloquently/freely. Confident speaker - can advise team members and present to senior stakeholders.
• Meticulous attention to detail and the ability to thrive in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment.
• Proficient presentation skills- knows and applies best practises, able to choose presentation method and adjust the content to the audience. Shapes the message that gets through to the audience. Communicates clearly, successfully and in an attractive manner.
• Strong stakeholder influence skills at all levels, including executive leadership.
• Strong team player able to collaborate with teams from diverse cultures.
• Project management skills (contribution to the procurement process by participation in designing, implementing and managing multiple projects) and ability to work on multiple projects simultaneously
• Time management (timely decisions to create real savings or cost avoidance) and prioritization (the ability to place urgency on varying demands)
•  “Can do attitude” and problem solving / continuous improvement approach
• Flexibility and fast adaptation to changing environment
• Microsoft Office literacy
• Focus on result with the ability and drive for achieving and surpassing targets against an internal or external standard of excellence

Language capabilities:

• Excellent English communications skills (verbal and written)
• Additional language would be a benefit and exact expectations to be precise at the particular role advert level.

Desirable

• Very good working knowledge of the pharmaceutical industry
• Background in legal, contract management, or regulated external manufacturing is highly desirable.
• Experience with global supplier engagement and international contractual requirements.
• Knowledge of Procurement tools (i.e. Jaggaer, Coupa or similar)

Key Relationships to reach solutions

Internal (to AZ or team)

• GSCE Teams
• Category Teams and in-market Procurement
• AstraZeneca business stakeholders
• Global Business Services

External (to AZ)

• Suppliers and service providers

Other Role Requirements

• Schedule flexibility to work on holidays when necessary.
• Flexibility and Ability to travel and work in another AZ facilities outside the country when necessary.
• Schedule flexibility to work on the days off given by the wellness Policy when necessary.

According to the company policies, the candidate must prove that there are no situations that generate a conflict of interest (COI) for the company. The non-existence of COI is considered as an objective requirement of the position. To know beforehand the weightings of COI contained in the policies of the company, consult the Human Resources Department.

AstraZeneca is an equal opportunity employer. AstraZeneca will consider all qualified applicants for employment without discrimination on grounds of disability, sex or sexual orientation, pregnancy or maternity leave status, race or national or ethnic origin, age, religion or belief, gender identity or re-assignment, marital or civil partnership status, protected veteran status (if applicable) or any other characteristic protected by law. AstraZeneca only employs individuals with the right to work in the country/ies where the role is advertised.

Date Posted

Closing Date

AstraZeneca embraces diversity and equality of opportunity.  We are committed to building an inclusive and diverse team representing all backgrounds, with as wide a range of perspectives as possible, and harnessing industry-leading skills.  We believe that the more inclusive we are, the better our work will be.  We welcome and consider applications to join our team from all qualified candidates, regardless of their characteristics.  We comply with all applicable laws and regulations on non-discrimination in employment (and recruitment), as well as work authorization and employment eligibility verification requirements.