Senior Manager, Process Development Operational Excellence

Job Description

We are seeking a highly motivated individual with a strong Operational Excellence (OE) background to join us as a Senior Manager in the Cell Therapy Technical Operations, Process Development (PD) Business Operations organization.  The successful candidate will lead and support cross-functional projects and operational improvement initiatives to enable our Process Development organization to advance our exciting and expansive CAR T and TCR pipelines and next generation adaptive immunotherapy.

This position will assist in implementing the Operational Excellence program in PD, operating across the four dimensions of the program:

• Gaining Leadership Engagement
• Employee Focus and Empowerment
• Implementing a Continuous Improvement Mindset
• Delivering Results

Responsibilities:

• Apply operational excellence principles and tools in leading and supporting initiatives to optimize operational efficiency within PD. 
• Assist with the implementation of the Kite Operational Excellence Belt Program, including delivering training and coaching candidates through projects
• Work with the Kite Operational Excellence Center of Excellence and cross-functional core team representatives to align on OE implementation strategy across Kite.
• Drive the implementation of the OE program within the PD organization and provide facilitation and coaching on OE tools and principles to support projects. This will include facilitating workshops / Kaizen events to take teams through continuous improvement efforts.
• Provide technical mentorship to junior members of the team.  May have supervisory responsibilities with future direct reports in the future.

Requirements:

• MA/MS degree with 6+ years relevant industry experience in the biopharma / cell therapy industry or;
• Bachelor’s degree with 8+ years relevant industry experience in the biopharma / cell therapy industry or;
• HS Diploma with 12+ years of relevant industry experience. 

Additional Qualifications:

• Engineering degree preferred.
• Lean Six Sigma Green Belt Certification/Black Belt Certification preferred.
• Experience/knowledge working in the biopharmaceutical/cell therapy field preferred.
• Excellent organizational, interpersonal, verbal and written communication skills
• Strong understanding of MS Office Suite of tools, (including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Project, Visio).  Experience working with Smartsheet a plus.
• Strong project management skills and demonstrated ability to collaboratively lead and work in cross-functional teams
• Strong track record of integrity and courage, with demonstration of intellectual honesty and ethical decision-making
• Comfortable in a fast-paced company environment with minimal direction and able to prioritize multiple tasks from multiple customers.