Job Description

General Summary:

As a key leader in the Strategic Sourcing function the commercial and international category leader will have the responsibility to manage global spend categories with a specific focus on key Commercial and Marketing categories to enable a deep pipeline across multiple disease areas and geographies. The role will define holistic Category strategies for these specific spend categories, as well as establish collaborative relationships with key internal Senior Business stakeholders and strategic suppliers. You will be responsible for overseeing the category life cycle including multi-year sourcing strategy development, RFx development and execution, competitive bid analysis, contract development and negotiations, risk assessment and mitigation, as well as on-going strategic supplier relationships and performance management.

You will be expected to provide strategic input into the future direction of the Strategic Sourcing function as a contributing team member. You will also focus on optimization of internal processes, workflows, and interfaces to improve efficiency and productivity in support of corporate objectives. In addition, you will be expected to deliver value and competitive advantage to the business as measured by customer satisfaction, project execution, value improvement including cost reductions, innovation, and risk mitigation among other areas.

The role will be responsible for partnering with the business, defining category strategy and goals and driving value beyond savings including cost savings targets, in collaboration with the Business Units and Finance, and takes full ownership and responsibility for execution. You will support the on-going management of key strategic suppliers to drive continuous improvement, resolve complex supply issues, and identify new opportunities that drive exceptional value to Vertex, and ultimately our patients. You will be a lifelong learner who has a high degree of curiosity, adaptability, and strives to continually expand beyond the scope of your area of responsibility as part of self-development.

This role will have high visibility across the organization. As such, the leader must be comfortable and adept in effectively communicating with Senior Executive leaders.

This position is based in our Boston, MA office, located in the Seaport area. This role requires a hybrid work schedule: 3 days in office & 2 days remote on a weekly basis.The role is global and will require some travel to all other facilities and locations (including London) in order to establish / maintain key business stakeholder relationships as well as to support specific strategic initiatives.

Key Duties & Responsibilities:

• Strong business partnering acumen to develop trusting and influential relationships with stakeholders, understand business objectives and challenges, bring supplier and marketplace expertise, collaborate on multi-year strategic and operational plans, and drive business outcomes.

• Global responsibility for Commercial categories such as Marketing Services, Market Research, Data & Analytics, and Patient Support including the development and management of category and sourcing strategies, management of strategic supplier relationship and performance management, in addition to tactical RFx activities.

• Perform and integrate market research to support Category strategies and/or sourcing activities with the ability to filter data into a relevant, actionable format

• Develop, implement, monitor and maintain category strategies in partnership with Business stakeholders for all related sub-categories, including continuous refreshment and improvement of category strategies to meet evolving business needs

• Responsible for negotiation, authoring and executing contracts with Vertex third party suppliers

• Own the Supplier Performance/Relationship Management process including supplier performance monitoring. Responsible for meeting preparation, pre-read documents, performance Dashboards, capturing action items, and ensuring appropriate follow-up including Executive Business Reviews that include Senior leaders both within Vertex and with the 3rd party

• Work with Business stakeholders to identify supply chain visibility needs, potential supplier risks, and formulate strategies to manage mitigate those risks ass necessary

• Collaborate with business stakeholders and suppliers extensively on developing and implementing risk and resiliency strategies to ensure continuity of supply for innovative product pipeline, and expanding market footprint

• In collaboration with the Business, responsible for defining Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and associated performance metrics and are integrated into contractual documents and captured on Dashboards to ensure supplier performance is meeting expectations and continuously improving

• Support the Business Owner with identification of all applicable risks as part of the Sourcing process, including coordination with Risk Subject Matter Experts to properly assess and develop mitigation plans, where necessary

• Effectively manages the entire RFx process including, but not limited to, the development of the requirements, drafting RFP documents, facilitation of team meetings and vendor sessions, negotiation of terms and pricing with the vendors, and ultimately supporting the execution of Supplier Agreements

• Develops value objectives including annual cost savings targets, in collaboration with Business Partners and Finance, within their specific category(ies) and is accountable for successful achievement

• Manages complex negotiations on price and terms, that often include other internal stakeholders such as Business Partners and Legal. Able to independently create comprehensive negotiation planners that all internal parties are aligned with upfront

• Acts as mentor to support Sourcing colleagues, temporary workers, and/or college co-ops, as directed by their Manager

Required Education, Experience and Competencies:

• Bachelor's Degree required. MBA or Advanced Supply Chain degree

• 10+ years of strategic sourcing experience including relevant experience across multiple G&A categories such as Commercial or Marketing Services, Market Research, Data & Analytics, and in the pharmaceutical/biotech industry.

• Strong understanding of the nuances associated with working in the pharmaceutical industry and is adept at effectively managing given the complexities of operating in a regulated environment.

• Exceptional cross-functional collaborator, both internally across Vertex functions and externally with strategic suppliers. Listens well, open to objective discussion, and who then moves forward with absolute commitment once decisions are reached.

• Thorough understanding of category management and the development of comprehensive, data-driven, category strategies based on in-depth market intelligence and knowledge. Strong analytical ability including cost modeling; comfortable driving external benchmarking; proven negotiation and supplier management skills.

• Experience working with sourcing tools including eSourcing/eAuction, spend analytics, and contracting platforms.

• Strong in process improvement and continuous improvement. Practical working knowledge of Lean and/or Six Sigma principles resulting in measurable and tangible benefits to the organization.

• Practical experience employing emerging analytics including big data analysis and cognitive learning that provide deeper insights and solutions that drive enhanced business value.

• Understands the importance of supplier relationship management; tangible experience engaging with strategic suppliers and business stakeholders to drive a culture of continuous improvement and breakthrough innovations.

• Experienced negotiator with strong conviction in the importance of developing negotiation planners. Ability to coach, mentor and develop negotiation skills across team members.

• Similarly, experienced and knowledgeable in contract law. Able to train and support team in gaining a stronger understanding of contract terms and their relevance and importance to Vertex.

• Knowledgeable in U.S. government Small Business / Diversity program; ability to effectively incorporate program goals into strategic sourcing activities with the supported categories.

• Excellent communication and organizational skills. Comfortable interfacing and presenting to senior leadership in concise, well-planned, and clear manner.

• Proficient in Microsoft Office and business analytics tools needed to create persuasive presentation materials.

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