Associate Director Materials Management - 12 months Secondment / FTC

Location: Macclesfield, UK
Competitive Salary & Benefits Package

AstraZeneca is a global, science-led, patient-focused biopharmaceutical company that focuses on the discovery, development and commercialisation of prescription medicines for some of the world’s most serious diseases. But we’re more than one of the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies.

This opportunity places you at the center of our end-to-end supply engine. You will unite suppliers, planning, manufacturing, and global partners to keep materials available, costs controlled, and risks minimized—so our teams can focus on making medicines that matter. You will join a forward-looking leadership group, translating strategy into execution while elevating standards for data accuracy, compliance, and continuous improvement.

Introduction to role:

Are you ready to lead material flows that power life-changing medicines and keep pace with a rapid drumbeat of new product launches? Do you see yourself orchestrating complex supply networks, using data and collaboration to ensure every production order lands on time and in full?

Accountabilities:

• Tactical Supply Chain Leadership: Direct the tactical management of critical material supply chains, resolve major issues at speed, and redesign flows to accommodate changes in supply capability—protecting production continuity.
• Strategy Deployment: As a member of the Planning Leadership Team, turn enterprise priorities into an executable site plan, aligning materials strategy with sourcing and supply goals.
• Materials Availability and OTIF: Ensure materials are available for on-time-in-full production orders in a cost- and time-effective manner, enabling reliable asset utilization.
• Data and Analytics: Exploit information systems to surface actionable insights; improve data visibility and accuracy to support transactional actions and decision making; assure the quality of outputs.
• Forecasting and Demand Planning: Partner with sites and central functions to build accurate forecasts based on deep understanding of the supply chain.
• KPI Governance and Performance Management: Provide and interpret KPIs and balanced scorecard reporting; highlight exceptions and drive improvement on data accuracy, analytics adoption, stock write-off, order conversion, order due date performance, and quality targets.
• Stakeholder Collaboration and Stock Policy: Establish stock targets across locations using working, safety, and policy stock definitions; act as the central point of contact to synchronize plans, data, and material flows with internal and external partners.
• Compliance and Continuous Improvement: Drive a culture of compliance; lead root cause analysis to understand failures and implement preventive actions;
• Global Network Representation: Represent the site in regional and global forums; contribute scalable improvements and ways of working other sites can adopt; serve as the subject matter expert for UK materials on major change programs.
• Budget: Own the financial budget for write-off and waste; minimize obsolescence and cost through disciplined inventory and lifecycle management.
• Team Leadership and Change: Lead and develop a high-performing team through organizational and program change, building resilience and clarity amid ambiguity.