Build the Supply Chain Backbone of a Growing Global Pharma Business
Pharma Solutions is a growing business within Croda, serving pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and veterinary-health customers through innovative excipients, vaccine adjuvants, peptide technology, lipid technologies, and formulation expertise. As the business scales globally, reliable supply execution is essential to customer trust, operational performance, and sustainable growth.
The Head of Supply Chain will build and lead the global supply-chain operating model for Pharma Solutions, connecting commercial demand, manufacturing capability, inventory strategy, inbound material security, warehousing, logistics, and customer service through one disciplined and scalable process.
This is a visible global leadership role with the opportunity to create new capabilities in the organization and directly influence customer experience, working-capital performance, and long-term growth.
What Success Looks Like
Supply Chain Transformation & S&OP Leadership
- Design and implement a globally aligned S&OP / Integrated Business Planning process across Pharma Solutions.
- Create a disciplined monthly planning rhythm connecting commercial demand, manufacturing capability, inventory strategy, and customer commitments.
- Improve forecast quality, planning transparency, and cross-functional decision-making.
- Establish Supply Chain as a strategic business partner and trusted source of operational insight.
Customer Service Reliability & Supply Continuity
- Own global accountability for OTIF performance and customer-facing supply reliability.
- Improve responsiveness, communication, and escalation of customer supply and delivery risks.
- Build resilient continuity plans across sites, logistics networks, and critical raw materials.
- Strengthen customer confidence through realistic, consistent, and transparent supply commitments.
Inventory, Working Capital & Network Excellence
- Establish a global inventory strategy that balances service, risk, cash, and obsolescence.
- Drive working-capital improvement and clear inventory ownership across the global network.
- Define and optimize warehousing, distribution, and logistics strategies, including regulated and temperature-sensitive requirements.
- Strengthen supply-chain visibility, planning systems, and performance through data-driven decision-making.
Builder Mindset & Execution
- Build the global supply-chain capabilities required to support future growth.
- Personally drive implementation and adoption across a complex matrix organization.
- Balance strategic thinking with hands-on execution and accountability
Operating Style
This is a hands-on leadership role focused on building capability rather than managing a large organization. The successful candidate will be expected to:
- Build new processes, governance, and ways of working from the ground up.
- Personally drive implementation and adoption across a complex global matrix.
- Influence stakeholders across functions, sites and regions without relying on extensive direct authority.
- Balance strategic thinking with practical execution and a willingness to personally solve problems.
- Remain close to the detail while helping shape the long-term direction of the business.
- Bring deep pharmaceutical supply chain expertise and apply it pragmatically to improve planning, inventory, customer service and supply reliability.
Core Capabilities
Strategic Perspective: Connect long-term business priorities with practical supply-chain solutions that enable growth and customer success.
Delivery: Translate strategy into measurable operational improvement through disciplined execution and accountability.
Working Together: Build alignment across Commercial, Operations, Finance, Procurement, Customer Service, Quality, and regional teams.
Adaptability: Navigate complexity, ambiguity, and organizational change while maintaining focus on business outcomes.
Curiosity: Challenge assumptions, identify root causes, and continuously improve planning and supply-chain processes.
Authenticity: Build trust through transparency, consistency, and strong stakeholder relationships.
Experience & Expertise
- Leadership experience in supply chain, planning, and integrated business planning within pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, CDMO or biologics; experience with pharmaceutical excipients like lipids, peptides, vaccine adjuvants and CDMO models are advantageous.
- Proven success leading global or multi-site S&OP / IBP, demand and supply planning, inventory strategy, and customer service performance.
- Experience improving working capital, inventory optimization, supply reliability, and continuity.
- Knowledge of warehousing, logistics, GDP expectations, and cold-chain or temperature-sensitive distribution.
- Ability to operate through a complex matrix and influence stakeholders across functions, sites, regions, and cultures without relying solely on direct authority.
- Strong analytical capability and familiarity with SAP, ERP, and modern planning or IBP technologies.
- A hands-on builder who can design new processes, personally drive adoption, and remain calm under service pressure.
- Ability to communicate clearly around supply risk, inventory strategy, allocations and recovery plans. Experience supporting commercial pharmaceutical customers is advantageous.
- A relevant degree is required; APICS, CPIM, CSCP, Lean Six Sigma, MBA, or equivalent qualifications are advantageous.
Role Scope
Global end-to-end Pharma Solutions supply chain across sites, contract manufacturing partners, inbound raw materials, warehousing, logistics, and customer supply. The role reports to the Vice President, Pharma Solutions, with a dotted-line relationship to Croda Global Supply Chain leadership.
