Director, Operational Excellence- Cell Therapy Manufacturing

About the role, the Director, Operational Excellence (OE) leads the network-wide OE agenda for AstraZeneca's autologous Cell Therapy. You will establish basic conditions and eliminate waste across the vein-to-vein value stream. You will operate in a matrix with site-based OE Leads. It sets strategy, governs the improvement portfolio, and delivers measurable outcomes in cost, productivity, service, quality, safety, and compliance. Additionally, it builds sustainable capabilities for scale.

Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end value stream mapping. Deploy Hoshin/strategy deployment to translate targets, such as COGM, capacity, and service, into a governed portfolio. This portfolio have clear owners, milestones, risks, and benefits. Additionally, create standardized COGM/productivity dashboards and benefit tracking with Finance.

• Lead programs (cycle time, labor models, MES/EBR enablement, yield, changeovers/scheduling, deviation reduction, automation/technology insertion). Apply the AZ Lean Model (A3, VSM, standard work, daily/tier management, leader standard work, adapted SMED).

• Facilitate development of business processes for training, batch execution, deviations, and patient/lot scheduling and logistics.

• Lead Kaizen events; scale best practices across the Cell Therapy Development and Operations.

• Define basic conditions for Cell Therapy Manufacturing Sites and build capability at all levels; coach leaders and value stream owners

• Partner with Supply Chain to vein-to-vein flow, slotting, and cold-chain logistics, safeguarding Chain of Identity/Chain of Custody.

• Ensure improvements uphold safety, patient focus, and cGMP for ATMPs (including GAMP and data integrity). Partner with Quality to reduce human error and increase First Pass Success and right-first-time performance.

• Align senior leaders on priorities and resources; communicate impact through governance forums.