Executive Director, Strategic Sourcing and Supply Chain

Kyverna Therapeutics is a patient-centered, clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing cell therapies for patients suffering from autoimmune diseases. The Kyverna therapeutic platform leverages advanced T cell engineering to suppress and eliminate autoreactive immune cells at the origin of autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. Be at the forefront of cell therapy innovation by joining scientists, industry veterans and healthcare visionaries and help transform how autoimmune diseases are treated

Title: Executive Director, Strategic Sourcing & Supply Chain

Reporting to: SVP, Manufacturing, Sourcing and Supply

Location: Emeryville (Hybrid)

Kyverna is recruiting a highly motivated Strategic Sourcing Head responsible for building the Strategic Sourcing operation at Kyverna to source, evaluate, select and manage critical components of the Kyverna business, and continuing to build manage and optimize the Supply Chain function across the Kyverna portfolio of products, clinical sites and regions where Kyverna products are made available. The ideal candidate will contribute to our goals of navigating what’s next in synthetic biology, immunology and cell engineering while living our core values: Bring Intellectual Rigor, Elevate Each Other, and Stay True To Why.

The Strategic Sourcing and Supply Chain Head will be responsible for establishing the Sourcing and Procurement functions, managing the selection and implementation of critical supply components to the Kyverna Business across the supply chain including suppliers of critical materials, Build vs Buy opportunities for manufacturing of cell products, logistics services, and other fundamental components of the business to optimize the value chain in line with the Corporate Strategy. 

Responsibilities

• Build and establish the Sourcing function and operations including the components of the operations needed to evaluate and select critical supply components of the business.
• Source, Evaluate, and Select components of the Supply Network including, but not limited to, Manufacturing Organizations, Technology Providers, Critical Material providers (Vector, LNP, Cells, Cell Lines, and Other). 
• Lead and provide the tools and framework for the cross functional assessment of suppliers, vendors and partners for their capabilities, business stability, and quality of service. 
• Negotiate and implement major contracts related to manufacturing, development, procurement of critical materials, and logistics management with a balanced focus on cost, time and capabilities. Make strategic recommendations to the Kyverna Leadership on areas of growth, expansion, exit or contraction.
• Monitor the landscape, assess, categorize and communicate opportunities to evaluate the on-going directory of potential suppliers/services that help advance Kyverna's business. Maintain the directory, eliminating suppliers/providers with unfavorable prior assessments and adding new suppliers/providers as they are identified.
• Provide strategic input, including capacity and capability planning and management, supporting the expansion of the Kyverna footprint globally. Assist teams in building the full business case with risks, opportunities and recommendations that support the growth of Kyverna.
• Identify areas of need for supply redundancy based on business risk. 
• Recommend and establish strategic partnerships and opportunities for consolidation that reduces overall business complexity and risk.
• Partner with stakeholders in Business Development, Legal, Manufacturing, Quality, Technical Development, Clinical Development and Life-cycle Leadership to identify, evaluate, and implement opportunities to establish efficient supply networks that support the corporate vision and strategy.
• Manage and optimize the Supply Chain function to ensure timely, cost-effective, and robust management of all materials and products to all regions where Kyverna product is provided.
• Set up Supply Lanes and evaluate requirements in new regions where clinical trials are being considered, assessing import/export requirements, taxes, tariffs, and supply constraints for autologous cell therapy products.
• Provide the Supply Plan to S&OP and set targets that ensure robust supply planning and forecasting.
• Strategically allocate supply across the supply network to ensure redundancy, un-interrupted supply, and cost effectiveness.
• Set-up and manage inventory of all materials managed by Kyverna. Source Depots for import/export management, and warehouses for storage of samples and critical materials. Set re-supply levels.
• Build, manage and develop the team of sourcing, supply chain and procurement personnel into a high-functioning team. Plan algorithms for additional personnel based on work volume, drum-beat and regional presence. 

Requirements

• A bachelor’s degree in life sciences is required.
• An advanced degree in life science and/or an MBA is preferred.
• 15+ years in Pharmaceutical or Biopharmaceutical operations with 5+ years managing sourcing or supply chain. Experience is cell therapy required.
• Proven track-record of excellence in managing complex supply chains with internal and external stakeholder and optimizing cost and performance.
• Proven leader able to manage teams and collaborate with cross-functional groups and executives of the company to advance ideas and implement solutions while balancing speed, cost, quality, and risk.
• Accountable, independently motivated, detail oriented and good problem-solving ability.
• Able to understand business needs, recommend options with realistic alternatives, and make decisions based on changing priorities.
• Demonstrated ability to engage and influence internal and external team members at all levels in a matrixed environment to achieve objectives and effectively communicate challenging goals and objectives.
• Highly collaborative team player who fosters open communication and facilitates mutual understanding and cooperation between all stakeholders.
• Strategic and critical thinker who has excellent judgement when making trade-off decisions for program scope, costs and strategy.
• A mentor and leader: all team members deserve an engaged, thoughtful culture and people leader.
• Excellent verbal, written and presentation skills and effectively communicates with all levels of management.
• Ability to build strong relationships throughout the organization by being transparent, reliable, and delivering on commitments.
• Self-starter who works effectively in teams.

The base salary range for candidates residing in the California Bay Area for this position is $260,000 to $300,000 annually. This salary range is an estimate of what we reasonably expect to pay for this posted position, and the actual salary may vary based on various factors that may include but are not limited to quality and length of experience, education, geographic location and alignment with market data.

Kyverna is an Equal Opportunity Employer and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any kind. Kyverna is committed to the principle of equal employment opportunity for all employees and does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, sex, gender identify, sexual orientation, age, non-disqualifying physical or mental disability, national origin, veteran status or any other legally protected status. EOE/AA/Vets

Kyverna is an Equal Opportunity Employer and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any kind. Kyverna is committed to the principle of equal employment opportunity for all employees and does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, sex, gender identify, sexual orientation, age, non-disqualifying physical or mental disability, national origin, veteran status or any other legally protected status. EOE/AA/Vets