Supply Chain

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Nearly 37 million Americans are currently affected by Chronic Kidney Disease. 37 million.

At Akebia we take that number very seriously and every day we come to work, with the purpose of bettering the lives of each person impacted by kidney disease and the renal community that serves them.
Our tenacious, passionate employees' challenge the status quo and work to develop unique therapeutics that have the potential to set new standards of care for people living with kidney disease.

This is life-changing work, and we are all in, are you?

Reporting to the Senior Vice President and Chief Technical Officer, this role is responsible for building, leading, and overseeing all aspects of clinical and commercial supply including distribution. The incumbent will support the development and implementation of tools and systems related to clinical and commercial inventory management, supply allocation, and global distribution. The incumbent will lead the organizational evolution of the supply chain team by addressing gaps in core capabilities and associated technology/systems upgrade. The leader will collaborate closely with Technical Operations, Quality Assurance, Clinical Operations, Regulatory, Finance, and Commercial teams to advance Akebia's lifecycle management strategies.

The Senior Director of Global Supply Chain will:

• Interact and collaborate with Technical Operations, Quality Assurance, Clinical Operations, Regulatory CMC, Finance, and Commercial teams to execute Akebia's strategic objectives.
• Establish performance and financial goals for the Supply Chain and Logistics Management team.
• Utilize commercial data/forecast(s) to execute Supply Chain planning and allocation activities.
• Lead and enhance both Commercial and Clinical Sales, Inventory, Operations Planning (SIOP/CIOP) forums to communicate and strategize with respect to key data/information related to forecasting, inventory planning, and supply allocation as well as communication of key metrics and supply-related trends.
• Coordinate with CMC Manufacturing, Quality and Commercial teams to prepare and disseminate manufacturing and delivery schedules to key stakeholders.
• Lead the development of the Supply Chain & Logistics organizational structure that will support the current and future tactical and strategics needs of the company.
• Lead inventory management / ERP implementation efforts, as appropriate, and subsequently maintain data within ERP or other systems as it relates to supply chain and inventory management.
• Lead the creation and implementation of a robust forecast, inventory management, supply planning and manufacturing scheduling processes to assure supply continuity for all Akebia clinical and commercial programs.
• Oversee purchasing, planning, warehousing, and/or control of materials from receipt to the delivery of finished goods inventory to clinical sites or commercial distribution depots.
• Assure fulfillment of all supply milestones across all Akebia commercial and development programs. Activities include demand forecasting, inventory allocation, resupply planning and delivery, and global distribution strategies.
• Manage, oversee, and validate, as necessary, the global distribution/supply lanes to support all Akebia programs.
• Manage supply planning and delivery activities to support clinical trial sites, the scope of which includes investigational and comparator drugs as well as ancillary supplies, as applicable.
• Oversee shipments to ensure smooth transit through all logistical paths, including international shipping lanes.
• Lead the optimization of the current inventory tracking, reporting, auditing in collaboration with Finance. Establish controls to ensure company is operating at the highest level of performance based on key performance metrics and minimized supply chain risk.
• Manage key supplier risk strategies aligned with the corporate enterprise risk program.
• Deliver logistics process performance measurements, implementing key performance indicators and continuous improvement measures aligned with process outcome to corporate strategy.* Hands-on experience with import/export and Global Trade Compliance management.
• Strong Written and Communication skills with the ability to effectively interact with internal and external teams at all levels.

Basic Qualifications:

• 15+ years (BA/BS) or 10+ years (Master's Degree; MBA preferred) progressive experience in supply chain, inventory management, and materials management roles.8+ years in the pharma or biopharma industry. Certifications a plus.
• 5-10 years of direct management experience in a medical device or regulated environment.
• Established, direct, and hands-on experience with respect to commercial forecasting, planning, and inventory allocation as well as commercial supply chain/logistics management required. Commercial launch planning and execution experience strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated direct, and hands-on experience in deployment/management of ERP systems and planning tools with emphasis in the Warehouse, Inventory Management, Supply Allocation and Commercial Forecast Analysis experience required.
• Management and Supply Chain Logistics.
• Ability to create and deploy supply planning tools to support analysis of key commercial and clinical trial demand/forecast data.
• Understanding of worldwide GxP requirements and Quality systems for commercial and clinical products.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Strategic thinker with confidence and speed in execution.
• Proven leadership skills in building and managing large teams with a history of success.
• Superior negotiation and influencing skills.
• Leads by example and highly collaborative with the proven ability to work in a cross-functional team. Flexible.
• Experience in the approval and launch of products supporting a variety of worldwide markets.
• Excellent verbal and written communication, organizational, and presentation skills; detail-oriented personality, and ability to work and drive change across functions.
• Ability to work successfully with contract manufacturing (CMOs) and research organizations (CROs).
• Experience interacting with regulatory health authorities at pre- and post-approval inspections.
• Ability to contribute to Quality and compliance decisions or to seek expert advice if necessary, on a wide area of topics.
• Expertise in small molecule API chemical process development and in oral solid dose formulation development.
• Expertise in building and leading commercial manufacturing organizations.
• Strong strategic planning skills, project management, budget management, and process improvement abilities.
• Experience in mentoring advanced level subject matter experts in pharmaceutical development areas and Technical Operations teams.

Are you an Akebian?

An Akebian is curious, empathetic, and values making connections to people and ideas. Akebian's aren't afraid of diving in and owning a process or a problem, because we all want to deliver a great solution. Akebian's believe that we are better together because we are all working toward a common purpose - to better the life of each person impacted by kidney disease. Want to learn more about what it means to be an Akebian? Visit our website:

COVID 19 Vaccination: All Akebia new hires will be required to provide documentation that they are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or, if not, that they are legally entitled to an accommodation due to a medical condition or a sincerely held religious belief. Requests for accommodation will be considered on a case-by-case basis, and Akebia will consider, among other things whether a proposed accommodation would create an undue hardship. Please note that it is unlikely that accommodations can be granted for customer-facing positions.

Akebia is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes all job applicants. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, disability, or any other factors prohibited by law.