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Senior Category Manager, Early Research & Development, Sourcing , San Rafael, California,Full Time (MK)

Central Business Solutions, Inc
San Rafael, CA Full Time
POSTED ON 8/15/2026
AVAILABLE BEFORE 9/14/2026
Job  Description 

Industry: Pharmaceutical / Biotech
Job Category: Finance / Accounting - Other Finance / Accounting
Description

Who We Are

Our company is a leading rare disease biotechnology company focused on genetically defined conditions.

Guided by our purpose to develop medicines that make a profound impact on people’s lives, our global teams have delivered a portfolio of therapies since our founding in 1997. Our revolutionary treatments for conditions like achondroplasia (the most common form of dwarfism), PKU (phenylketonuria), CLN2, a form of Batten disease, and a number of forms of MPS (mucopolysaccharidosis) offer new possibilities for patients and families who previously had few, if any, available options. More recently, with the close of the Amicus acquisition, our portfolio has expanded to include therapies for Fabry disease and Pompe disease, expanding our ability to reach more people living with rare genetic conditions.

Our success comes from our unwavering commitment to excellence, our deep understanding of patient needs, our scientific expertise, and our world-class manufacturing capabilities. At the heart of our company is a dedicated team of the brightest minds in the industry working together to deliver innovative therapies to patients and families around the world.

About Corporate Groups

It takes a village, and at our company, our general and admin teams are the village behind our success. From the IT experts who manage our technology to the human resources professionals who hire the people who make it all possible, these teams support our organization and span all areas of operations.

Global Sourcing and Procurement Organization:
The Global Sourcing and Procurement (GSP) organization is accountable for driving and delivering Procurement value to support stakeholders’ and organizational strategic objectives.   The GSP function delivers value to the company by leading transformation change and implementing industry leading category strategies that directly support business needs.  The GSP organization leverages market intelligence, subject matter expertise and business insights in the procurement of good and services and management of the company's growing third party spend of $1B . Through collaboration with our external suppliers and internal business partners, GSP helps bring innovative new medicines to patients.   The Early Research & Development Senior Category Manager is an individual contributor role.  This role reports to the Associate Director of R&D Services, in Global Sourcing and Procurement. The R&D Services team is part of the broader Indirect Procurement function, in which the functions Senior Director, who reports to the Chief Procurement Officer.    The primary customer group is the Worldwide Research & Development organization which Translates Genetic Discoveries into Transformative Medicines, with specific focus on the Research and Early Development (RED) organization. This function covers a broad range of Preclinical sciences and includes external support needs in both GLP and non-GLP environments.   
 
Role Scope: 
 
The Senior Category Manager must support development and implementation of industry leading procurement practices, develop deep relationships with stakeholders, drive innovation and continuous improvement in the ways of working. Provide mentoring and management to ensure colleague engagement and professional development. Cultivate long term strategic goals that align with business requirements and drive financial rigor and cost savings throughout.   The role is primarily focused on developing and executing category strategies in the Early Research and Development area, including but not limited to the following: Preclinical Research Services Bioanalytical and Translational Sciences In-Vivo Animal Research and Toxicology Academic Research and Independently Sponsored Research   The role will work with other category managers to ensure alignment on related services or overlapping suppliers supporting other categories. Focusing on aligning early development outsourcing strategies to any impacted downstream activities within Clinical R&D or GMP environments.   This role will collaborate closely with category leaders from across the Global Sourcing & Procurement organization to ensure that all Worldwide Research and Development, as well as laboratories in the Technical Operations Organization are fully supported and optimized.  
 
Strategy & Leadership:      
Business Strategies: ability to plan strategically and align projects with the company and functional goals; design, develop and shepherd sourcing and category strategies that support business strategy and enable world class procurement execution. See ambiguity as an opportunity to drive change, establish new ways of working and create clarity.
Stakeholder Management: align early to understand stakeholder needs, build credibility through strong relationships and solid track record of results, via a collaborative approach ability to manage senior stakeholders across various functions and foster cross-functional alignment; become the point of procurement accountability for the RED team; develop productive relationships with key suppliers. 
Leadership: leading through influence and provide excellent procurement thought leadership, a have a strong understanding of all GSP capabilities and strategies, be a strong advocate for the GSP organization across the company.
Finance Collaboration: closely partnership with Finance organization in support of the functional stakeholders.
External perspective: maintain an active understanding of industry trends and functional practices through participation in industry organizations, bringing knowledge to the team and stakeholders.
Ways of working: Be the subject matter expect on evolving procurement practices and standards that may be rapidly changing internally and externally.
Communication: skilled in written and verbal communication.  

Operational Focus:
Sourcing and category management strategies: spearhead creation and implementation of sourcing strategies to drive savings and risk mitigation, drive process improvement through transformational projects; support the team in the implementation of such strategies.
Supplier Relationship Management: create and implement collaborative business plans with strategic suppliers; optimizes supplier performance with a company view, seek opportunities to right size the supply base.

Negotiations:
Lead complex negotiations that require a detailed strategic plan and have a direct correlation with the company's operational and business goals.

Results Focused:
Drive to measurable outcomes by delivering hard and soft savings, develop appropriate SLA’s/ KPI’s to track performance.
Create a multi-year road map of opportunities.

Source to Pay Transformation:
Provide strategy and operational input into transformation efforts, process and technology solutions; collaborate across the value stream to optimize outputs.

Compliance:
Ensure compliance with all policies and procedures, collaborate closely with the Quality organization, actively support internal audit efforts, as needed.  

Skills Required:
Demonstrated experience with sourcing and procurement in the pharmaceutical industry, including the regulations associated with the pharmaceutical industry.
Specific knowledge and expertise in sourcing pre-clinical services and research services; solid understanding of the drug development process and early research requirements for pre-IND candidates
Experience and knowledge related to drug life cycle, supporting the business in critical downstream elements that should be considered during external R&D for clinical or GMP use
Strong people management and team leadership experience.
Experience in supplier management and complex contract negotiations
Results-driven mindset and capabilities Excellent communicator and interpersonal skills with comfort working cross-functionally to gather information and resolve conflicts -          Motivated, high-energy, curious, self-starter and strong business mindset
Experience with procurement technology, preference for Ariba/ SAP

Qualifications:  
Minimum Level of Education Required: Bachelor’s degree in business, Supply Chain Management or related field. 
Scientific degree and MBA / post-graduate qualifications in a related field would be an advantage.  
Area of Specialization: Sourcing & Procurement, research and development/ scientific sourcing experience. Extensive experience in procurement and R&D management in a global capacity, preferably within the pharmaceutical sector.
8 years of experience in Procurement/ Sourcing/ Supply Chain. 
Knowledge of Procurement tools such as sourcing, request for proposal management, quotation analysis, contract negotiation, supplier review, supplier development and others; specific expertise with Ariba and SAP preferred
Demonstrated expertise in managing in scope categories, particularly category strategy development and implementation, stakeholder management and supplier relationship management
In-depth understanding of external environment and supplier relationship models
Strong knowledge of finance (cost benchmark, financial audit with key suppliers) and legal matters (contracting)
Clear understanding of business value, business priorities, and potential implementation risks
Significant experience working in a matrix (global/ regional) business environment
Strong networking skills and a proven ability to build productive and collaborative relationships with stakeholders and business partners
Strong analytical, written and verbal communications, and influencing skills
Ability to work in high pressure environment, often under tight deadlines
Workstyle:

This role is hybrid requiring an onsite presence at our Headquarters in San Rafael, CA.  Two times each week.  This role may not be performed remotely.

Note: This description is not intended to be all-inclusive, or a limitation of the duties of the position. It is intended to describe the general nature of the job that may include other duties as assumed or assigned. 

Equal Opportunity Employer/Veterans/Disabled

An Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, or protected veteran status and will not be discriminated against on the basis of disability.
Security Clearance Required: No
Visa Candidate Considered: No
Compensation
Base Salary - USD $128,800 to $177,100
*** Never repost ***
Full-time
Benefits - Full
Relocation Assistance Available - Yes
Commission Compensation - No
Bonus Eligible - Yes
Overtime Eligible - No
Interview Travel Reimbursed - Yes
Candidate Details
5 to 7 years experience
Seniority Level - Mid-Senior
Management Experience Required - No
Minimum Education - Bachelor's Degree
Willingness to Travel - Occasionally
Screening Questions
Candidate commits to be onsite in San Rafael, CA every week - Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

Salary : $128,800 - $177,100

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