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The Vice President and Head of Kite Global Supply Chain is accountable for Kite’s patient centric vein-to-vein global supply chain strategy and execution across clinical and commercial cell therapy products for Kite. This role translates enterprise priorities into actionable supply strategies, ensuring uninterrupted, compliant, and on-time-in-full (OTIF) delivery across a global network in a highly-regulated and time sensitive environment. Reporting to the SVP and Global Head of Kite Technical Operations, this position is based in Santa Monica, CA.
The VP is accountable for strategic planning, ongoing management, evaluation, and continuous improvement of the global supply chain. This includes demand and supply planning, capacity planning, S&OP/ES&OP, strategic sourcing, materials planning, packaging/labeling, global logistics/trade compliance, regional operations, master data, business-system ownership, risk management, product lifecycle, and launch excellence.
Key Responsibilities
E2E Strategy & Leadership: Develop, execute, and improve a global supply chain strategy aligned with corporate, financial and customer objectives for clinical and commercial supply. Serve as a key member and advisor to senior leadership advising on supply chain risks, opportunities, and investments.
Clinical and Commercial Planning & Governance: Establish and mature sales and operational planning to enable strategic decision making at ES&OP; partner closely with Commercial and Clinical Operations leaders globally to understand demand scenarios, clinical trial design and enrollment objectives, and risks/opportunities. Lead integrated planning across the value chain to drive global/regional/site supply plans across Kite’s manufacturing network, inventory optimization, and performance management.
Global Logistics & Trade Compliance: Own global logistics network, trade compliance, and regional supply chain operations. Partner with Regulatory for agency interfaces; ensure import/export compliance.
Systems, Data & Master Data: Integrate corporate systems, data governance, and master data management; evolve digital capabilities to industry benchmarks.
Launch & Product Variation Management: Lead technical operations launch readiness, product variation management including global labeling, global distribution, and commercialization planning across geographies.
Business Continuity & Risk: Own BCP across the global supply chain; execute risk assessment/simulations and mitigation strategies aligned with risk frameworks.
Supplier & Partnership Management: Develop, manage, and maintain supplier relationships and contractual agreements. Institute KPIs regarding service levels, backorders, inventory levels, forecast accuracy, and production planning against budget and performance goals. Identify and mitigate geopolitical, supplier and operational risk.
Financial & Performance Management: Owns global supply chain budgets, targets, cost structures. Define KPIs and dashboards to track performance, productivity and risk.
People & Organization: Build and develop a high-performing global team; establish training and development roadmaps. Foster close collaboration with key cross-functional partners and create an inclusive culture of excellence.
Preferred Qualifications
Bachelor’s in Supply Chain, Business, Science, or Engineering; advanced degree and/or professional supply chain certifications preferred (e.g., APICS).
Executive leadership in high-stakes, patient-centric environment.
15–20+ years in biopharma/operations with senior leadership in supply chain; experience across clinical trials supply and commercial E2E planning.
Deep expertise in S&OP/ES&OP, capacity planning, logistics/trade compliance, systems integration (SAP, RapidResponse), and data governance.
Strong financial acumen and experience managing large budgets
Exemplary track record in strategic vision & execution; lifecycle and launch excellence; risk & BCP leadership; digital and data fluency; and leadership and team development.
Strong strategic thinking and ability to implement short- and long-range plans to support overall business strategy. Ability to work hands-on with urgency in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial environment.
Proven ability to lead in a matrixed, global environment. Strong executive presence, stakeholder influence and collaboration, clear communication skills, and skilled negotiator.
Excellent leadership skills and demonstrated experience building and developing teams. Leading through change and ambiguity, acting as a talent catalyst and identifying and leveraging team members’ strengths and coaching through challenges.
Outstanding interpersonal skills acting as a trusted advisor and business partner.
Kite is a biopharmaceutical company engaged in the development of innovative cancer immunotherapies with a goal of providing rapid, long-term durable response and eliminating the burden of chronic care. The company is focused on chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) and T cell receptor (TCR) engineered cell therapies designed to empower the immune system's ability to recognize and kill tumors. Kite is based in Santa Monica, CA. For more information on Kite, please visit www.kitepharma.com. Sign up to follow @KitePharma on Twitter at www.twitter.com/kitepharma.
Kite Pharma is committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment, and is dedicated to fostering an inclusive work environment comprised of diverse perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences. Employment decisions regarding recruitment and selection will be made without discrimination based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, genetic information or characteristic, gender identity and expression, veteran status, or other non-job related characteristics or other prohibited grounds specified in applicable federal, state and local laws. In order to ensure reasonable accommodation for individuals protected by Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Vietnam Era Veterans' Readjustment Act of 1974, and Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, applicants who require accommodation in the job application process may contact ApplicantAccommodations@gilead.com for assistance.
For more information about equal employment opportunity protections, please view the 'Know Your Rights' poster.
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Kite Pharma will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, (c) consistent with the legal duty to furnish information; or (d) otherwise protected by law.
Our environment respects individual differences and recognizes each employee as an integral member of our company. Our workforce reflects these values and celebrates the individuals who make up our growing team.
Kite Pharma provides a work environment free of harassment and prohibited conduct. We promote and support individual differences and diversity of thoughts and opinion.
Please apply via the Internal Career Opportunities portal in Workday.