Procurement Lean Practitioner, Productivity & Portfolio / S&OPEX

Job Description:

At AstraZeneca we work together across global boundaries to make an impact and find answers to challenges. We do this with the upmost integrity even in the most difficult situations because we are committed to doing the right thing. We continuously forge partnerships that help pursue world-class medicines in new ways, combining our people’s exceptional skills with those of people from all over the globe and we turn ideas into life changing medicines. Working here means being entrepreneurial, thinking big and working together to make the impossible a reality.  Procurement is a function of approximately 450 highly skilled professionals globally that touches on all parts of the AstraZeneca business from the identification of new drug targets through to the supply of our medicines to patients. Procurement actively leads the sourcing of over $9BN of goods and services needed every year by AZ, building relationships with reputable suppliers.  

In AstraZeneca Procurement, we have a strong and long-term ambition to drive a Lean transformation and embed mature Lean ways of working - identifying what to do, how to do it, who should do it and when it should be done.  All of which will improve both Lean maturity and Business Performance.

As part of our ongoing commitment to Lean, a new opportunity has arisen in the Strategy & Operational Excellence Team which is responsible for driving performance, risk & compliance, commercial strategy, portfolio & productivity and people & supplier performance globally across the procurement function.

Job Brief:

Working closely with the Lean Expert for Procurement you will support the deployment of Lean process improvement across the Procurement network. You will partner with Procurement Leaders and their teams to execute performance improvement activities using lean methodologies across the Procurement Function. Utilizing various Lean tools and techniques you will diagnose, analyse and improve Procurement processes. You will coach Procurement teams and demonstrate the hands-on application of development of Lean tools and methodologies to improve processes. In this role, you will promote a culture of continuous improvement utilizing process improvement principles and challenging the status quo. You will lead deep process analysis through value stream mapping to measure stagnation of processes and information and lead kaizen to improve process performance.

Responsibilities to include:

• Process mapping of priority processes across Procurement driving to task level and identifying the areas for improvement
• Building tactical implementation plans for process improvement and monitoring of delivery against the plan
• You will ensure Lean Implementation processes and practices from start to finish are understood and applied in an effective and efficient manner
• You will drive a continuous improvement and consistency in process improvement implementation and ensure that you leverage and incorporate internal & external best practice

Key Requirements:

• In depth understanding of multi-location business challenges and how process improvement principles support and drive continuous improvements
• Expertise in End to End delivery of Project Management and process improvement
• Demonstrable coaching, training and mentoring of process improvement
• Track record of delivering business impact and sustained change and demonstrated understanding and application of change management principles
• Good facilitation and workshop delivery skills
• Great communication and experience of working with Global teams
• Expertise in the application of analytical problem-solving methodology
• Ability to work with teams and individually in a highly dynamic and exciting environment

Date Posted

Closing Date

AstraZeneca embraces diversity and equality of opportunity.  We are committed to building an inclusive and diverse team representing all backgrounds, with as wide a range of perspectives as possible, and harnessing industry-leading skills.  We believe that the more inclusive we are, the better our work will be.  We welcome and consider applications to join our team from all qualified candidates, regardless of their characteristics.  We comply with all applicable laws and regulations on non-discrimination in employment (and recruitment), as well as work authorization and employment eligibility verification requirements.