Associate Director - Ops Procurement

Company: Eli Lilly and Company
Location: Houston
Posted on: February 23, 2026

Job Description:

At Lilly, we unite caring with discovery to make life better for people around the world. We are a global healthcare leader headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. Our employees around the world work to discover and bring life-changing medicines to those who need them, improve the understanding and management of disease, and give back to our communities through philanthropy and volunteerism. We give our best effort to our work, and we put people first. We’re looking for people who are determined to make life better for people around the world. Lilly is currently constructing an advanced manufacturing facility for production of API molecules located in Houston, TX. This facility is one of Lilly’s largest investments in manufacturing capacity and is intended to provide APIs for current and future products. This is a unique opportunity to be a part of the Houston Plant team for the startup of a greenfield manufacturing site, and the successful candidate will help to build the organization, the facility and the culture to enable a successful startup into GMP manufacturing operations. This position will initially support site readiness from a procurement perspective including the coordination of key procurement activities and the establishment of vendor/supplier relationships. The role will transition to be responsible for ongoing procurement activities once the site is operational. Do you have high learning agility and experience partnering across diverse functions of business? This is an exciting opportunity to impact on the future of Lilly manufacturing. Consider joining the Lilly family today! Key Objectives/Results: · Plan and execute the sourcing and purchasing of goods and services to support the site’s construction and later operations, following established policies and procedures (including negotiating with third-party suppliers, converting purchase requisitions into purchase orders, executing authority to commit and releasing orders to suppliers, and updating SAP data accordingly) · Develop strong understanding of the site and ensure that the procurement strategy aligns with the site’s key operational, performance, and supply objectives. Communicate consistently with site leadership to ensure this alignment is maintained. · Build and maintain strong relationships with Lilly’s Global Procurement organization as well as counterparts at other Lilly sites. · Establish and cultivate relationships with local site suppliers (including negotiations) while integrating global suppliers into the site’s supply chain. · Support Lilly’s supplier diversity initiatives. · Establish, maintain, and update master supply agreements for which Houston ss a lead site or key influencer. Apply expertise and guidance from Global Procurement and align with global strategies. · Lead all stages of supplier relations management activities for strategic third-party suppliers. Drive action items, resolve issues, and continuous improvement initiatives with suppliers. · Negotiate with third-party suppliers, finalize agreements, and prepare contracts · Seek out and implement quality, reliability, efficiency, and cost savings projects with suppliers. Consolidate and present gathered and forecasted site savings, in agreement with Global Procurement methodology. · Make and/or support decisions regarding quality of materials/suppliers and settlement of material/supplier issues, while maintaining high-quality supplier relations. · Conduct benchmarking analysis to evaluate market landscape for supported categories. · Work with Global Procurement and Site Finance to establish strong arguments for the formation of new supplier relationships and for the establishment of new service lines with existing suppliers. · Form and maintain close working relationships with demand planners and buyers as appropriate to ensure supply continuity, security, integrity while optimizing processes and minimizing waste, and accurate materials data (e.g., safety stock needs, pricing). · Ensure compliance with Lilly procurement and financial policies and procedures, and regulatory commitments. Minimum Requirements · Bachelor’s degree or higher in business, engineering, or similar field. · 5 or more years of experience in supply chain, manufacturing, and/or procurement related functions · Qualified candidates must be legally authorized to be employed in the United States. Lilly does not anticipate providing sponsorship for employment visa status (e.g., H-1B or TN status) for this employment position. Additional Preferences · MBA · Green or Black Belt training · Experience working in a regulated environment · Previous project management and vendor negotiation experience · Ability to work autonomously, prioritize responsibilities, and be oriented toward action. · Independent decision maker with ability to influence diverse organizations, both internally and externally. · Strong teamwork, presentation, and relationship-building skills. · Ability to adapt to continual change within a startup environment. Lilly is dedicated to helping individuals with disabilities to actively engage in the workforce, ensuring equal opportunities when vying for positions. If you require accommodation to submit a resume for a position at Lilly, please complete the accommodation request form ( https://careers.lilly.com/us/en/workplace-accommodation ) for further assistance. Please note this is for individuals to request an accommodation as part of the application process and any other correspondence will not receive a response. Lilly is proud to be an EEO Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, religion, gender identity, sex, gender expression, sexual orientation, genetic information, ancestry, national origin, protected veteran status, disability, or any other legally protected status. Our employee resource groups (ERGs) offer strong support networks for their members and are open to all employees. Our current groups include: Africa, Middle East, Central Asia Network, Black Employees at Lilly, Chinese Culture Network, Japanese International Leadership Network (JILN), Lilly India Network, Organization of Latinx at Lilly (OLA), PRIDE (LGBTQ Allies), Veterans Leadership Network (VLN), Women’s Initiative for Leading at Lilly (WILL), enAble (for people with disabilities). Learn more about all of our groups. Actual compensation will depend on a candidate’s education, experience, skills, and geographic location. The anticipated wage for this position is $127,500 - $187,000 Full-time equivalent employees also will be eligible for a company bonus (depending, in part, on company and individual performance). In addition, Lilly offers a comprehensive benefit program to eligible employees, including eligibility to participate in a company-sponsored 401(k); pension; vacation benefits; eligibility for medical, dental, vision and prescription drug benefits; flexible benefits (e.g., healthcare and/or dependent day care flexible spending accounts); life insurance and death benefits; certain time off and leave of absence benefits; and well-being benefits (e.g., employee assistance program, fitness benefits, and employee clubs and activities).Lilly reserves the right to amend, modify, or terminate its compensation and benefit programs in its sole discretion and Lilly’s compensation practices and guidelines will apply regarding the details of any promotion or transfer of Lilly employees. WeAreLilly

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