Director, External Supply

Company Description

Abb Vie's mission is to discover and deliver innovative medicines and solutions that solve serious health issues today and address the medical challenges of tomorrow. We strive to have a remarkable impact on people's lives across several key therapeutic areas – immunology, oncology, neuroscience, and eye care – and products and services in our Allergan Aesthetics portfolio. For more information about Abb Vie, please visit us at  Follow @abbvie on X, Facebook, Instagram, You Tube, Linked In and Tik Tok.

Purpose The External Supply Manager will build and lead a team of Supplier Leads to manage, develop, and optimize cross-site supplier relationships for Abb Vie’s global manufacturing network. This role is accountable for supplier performance, assurance of supply, capacity planning, and cross-functional supplier management to ensure quality, compliance, and strategic business objectives are achieved.

• Shape team objectives and program structure to meet intended outcomes.
• Lead cross-functional supplier engagement teams for assigned suppliers, driving supplier performance and alignment with Abb Vie’s objectives. Manage and facilitate cadenced operational reviews with suppliers across multiple sites; ensure actions and deliverables are tracked and completed. Communicate supplier highlights to appropriate leadership team and cross-functional forum.
• Measure and report supplier Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), driving continuous improvement initiatives with partners.
• Consolidate and communicate global demand forecasts; ensure adherence to contractual obligations for assigned suppliers across categories and regions.
• Ensure robust long-term supply capacity by coordinating AoS (Assurance of Supply) activities, including business case development, toolset implementation, and investment execution.
• Manage and resolve daily supply and quality escalations in collaboration with site procurement, quality, and category managers; leverage scale across sites to optimize outcomes.
• Partner with Quality and Science & Technology (S&T) to drive supplier engagement in quality resolution and development of technical solutions.
• Develop and implement joint strategies with suppliers, setting performance and capacity goals and improvement plans thereof.
• Lead and support business case development for capacity expansion and investment to meet Abb Vie’s midufthansa and long-term needs.
• Drive supplier-led cost improvement and productivity initiatives, ensuring year-over-year benefit realization.
• Ensure both Abb Vie and the supplier comply with all contractual, technical, regulatory, and quality requirements.
• Secure and allocate appropriate supplier resources to meet Abb Vie’s supply, quality, and technical requirements.
• Represent procurement as required in various Abb Vie manufacturing, supply chain and various operations forum.

• Bachelor’s degree in a technical field required;
  Master’s or Doctorate preferred.
• Minimum 15 years of professional experience, including substantial individual technical contributions and project management.
• At least 8 years in supply chain, external manufacturing, procurement, or supplier management within pharmaceuticals, biotech, or other regulated industries.
• Demonstrated progression as supervisor, manager, and leader of operations teams (Manufacturing, Quality, Supply Chain, Engineering, etc.).
• Strong business acumen and functional leadership in complex operations.
• Proven success leading cross-functional supplier or operations teams.
• Deep understanding of supply agreements, KPIs, capacity planning, and global forecasting.
• Experience managing strategic suppliers, vendor negotiations, and issue resolution.
• Familiarity with supporting quality and technical requirements in cGMP environments.
• Ability to influence suppliers and stakeholders at all levels.
• Excellent communication, project management, and analytical skills.
• Willingness to travel domestically and internationally up to [xx]% as required.
• Preferred Qualifications:
• Experience developing and implementing supplier strategies at regional or global scale.
• Experience with new product introductions and/or…