Associate Director, Procurement #3235

GRAIL is a healthcare company whose mission is to detect cancer early, when it can be cured. GRAIL is focused on alleviating the global burden of cancer by developing pioneering technology to detect and identify multiple deadly cancer types early. The company is using the power of next-generation sequencing, population-scale clinical studies, and state-of-the-art computer science and data science to enhance the scientific understanding of cancer biology, and to develop its multi-cancer early detection blood test. GRAIL is headquartered in Menlo Park, CA with locations in Washington, D.C., North Carolina, and the United Kingdom. GRAIL, LLC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Illumina, Inc. (NASDAQ:ILMN). For more information, please visit www.grail.com.

GRAIL has an exciting opportunity for an Associate Director, Procurement. This position will report directly to the head of the procurement team (Sr. Director, Procurement). 

This individual will lead the indirect procurement team (encompassing corporate service (IT/Tech, legal, facilities, HR, travel, meetings) and commercial (marketing, sales enablement, market research)) and will be expected to lead procurement business partnering incl. sourcing for clinical development/medical/regulatory affairs. Depending on the applicant pool, the scope of the position might be tweaked to account for the candidate's prior experience or interests.

In this role you will work closely with internal end-users early in the process to influence purchases to maximize value to GRAIL, process purchase requisitions/purchase orders (with the support of Buyers/Sr. Buyers) and create strategies for high-visibility and high-impact categories of spend ($50M+ spend/year estimate). At this grade level, the expectation is the individual is comfortable engaging and presenting to senior leaders at VP and higher grade levels.

As a growing organization, you might be in a position where you are looking at spend strategically across a category for the first time, which presents a unique opportunity to help deliver standards for how the procurement will operate in the future. 
At its core, in this position you will:

• Lead strategic category management and sourcing for clinical development/medical/ regulatory.
• Develop and deliver the short-term and long-term roadmap/vision for the indirect team (opportunities, risks, considerations, prioritizations).
• Lead the indirect procurement team day-to-day, which includes hands-on support to work through roadblocks and challenges. 
• Use your expertise as a procurement leader to upskill the procurement team through training and hands on support for key projects (e.g., you might need to strategize and support complex negotiations / contracting / relationships / escalations)

In addition, you will:

• Work to optimize our ERP system infrastructure (Source-to-Pay optimization)
• Run RFx’s (RFI, RFP, RFQ). Facilitate the use of project management tools to achieve a balanced, data driven and risk-based decision making process. You will also help assess new vendors to include in a RFx. 
• Negotiate with vendors to obtain the best value for GRAIL
• Have oversight for a specific list of strategic vendors
• Lead or champion key departmental projects by developing and utilizing in-depth knowledge of business processes and systems.
• Develop collaborative relationships with vital stakeholder and support function departments (ensure fiduciary responsibility, streamline purchasing processes, and oversight of vendor relationships).
• Align your activities, goals and objectives with the strategic goals and key priorities identified by the head of the Procurement department
• Help the team develop Key Performance Indicators (e.g., cost savings, supplier diversity, customer service, risk mitigation, productivity improvements, etc.)
• Assist in the development of Procurement departmental SOPs and Policies that involve and impact key internal and external partners.
• Work cross functionally across different business owner/stakeholder teams, as well as different geographic sites (RTP, Menlo Park, UK).
• Provide support to short term interests that may arise from time to time due to unexpected circumstances (e.g. problem with a supplier, system or process failure).
• Execute as a key first line leader in the team.

The ideal candidate will:

• Be an intentional team lead, with an appetite to “roll up your sleeves” to help the team and get work done. Expect that if your team members are needing support they might delegate to you or ask for your help!
• Thrive in a dynamic environmentHave a talent for developing strategy within a growing organization
• Become a valuable partner to all of our internal customers
• Have the ability to take information and run with it
• Be a team player and a collaborative peer
• Have a high attention to detailBe organized and have the ability to keep track of many different purchases/projects/stakeholders at one time
• Have excellent communication skills, both written and verbal, and strong ability to “manage up” within the organization
• Have demonstrated skills in problem identification, analysis, and resolution
• Be based out of GRAIL’s Durham, NC or Menlo Park, CA office.
• GRAIL will consider remote work on a case to case basis.

Your background ideally would include:

• 10+ years procurement experience in the pharmaceutical industry (e.g., medical device, pharma, biopharma)
• Significant experience in clinical development, medical or regulatory category management. 
• Significant experience in indirect purchasing (corporate services or commercial)
• Leadership on complex and multi-issue cost model and contract negotiations
• Familiarity with Source-to-Pay process management
• Strong Project Management skills
• Ability to work cross functionally within various departments to address needs and requirements
• Experience with an ERP and Finance related systems, i.e. NetSuite, Coupa, Concur, SAP
• Experience working with Accounts Payable and Finance departments especially around savings classification and sign-off
• Bachelors degree in a life-science related field, business-related field, or equivalent relevant experience.

Based on the role, colleagues may be eligible to participate in an annual bonus plan tied to company and individual performance, or an incentive plan. We also offer a long-term incentive plan to align company and colleague success over time.

In addition, GRAIL offers a progressive benefit package, including flexible time-off, a 401k with a company match, and alongside our medical, dental, vision plans, carefully selected mindfulness offerings.

GRAIL is an Equal Employment Office and Affirmative Action Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, disability or any other legally protected status. We will reasonably accommodate all individuals with disabilities so that they can participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation. GRAIL maintains a drug-free workplace.