Manager, Chemical Supply & Market Intelligence

Description

The Manager, Chemical Supply & Market Intelligence role will serve as Phlow's subject matter expert for key starting materials, raw materials, specialty chemicals, lab consumables, and active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs). This role provides critical market, supplier, and technical sourcing insight to support drug substance development across R&D, scale-up, and commercial manufacturing.

Operating within Supply Chain and partnering closely with the Contracting & Procurement Office (CPO), this position informs sourcing decisions through deep knowledge of chemical markets, supplier capabilities, availability risks, costs trends, and global supply dynamics. While procurement authority and contractual execution remain with the CPO, this role ensures that Operations brings forward the most accurate technical requirements, supplier intelligence, and risk assessments needed to support compliant strategic purchasing activities.

This successful candidate will help strengthen Phlow's supply assurance, contribute to vendor qualification efforts, support costs and risk analysis, and provide category intelligence that enhances Phlow's CDMO operations. This role also supports emerging business development opportunities and assists in integrating material supply chains for new or acquired API programs. The ideal individual is highly collaborative, technically knowledgeable, and skilled at building strong partnerships with scientists, engineers, supply partners, and Procurement.

Requirements

Strategic Sourcing & Supplier Management

• Develop and implement holistic category insights and sourcing recommendations for key starting materials, raw materials, specialty chemicals, lab consumables, and APIs, supporting both R&D and commercial manufacturing.
• Identify, research, and technically assess potential suppliers, providing market intelligence, capability evaluations, and risk assessments to inform CPO's competitive sourcing and award decisions.
• Provide Phlow with a competitive advantage in sourcing materials utilized for execution of CDMO projects.
• Support the development of a resilient domestic and global supply chain by providing data-driven supply risk analysis, recognizing emerging constraints, pricing trends, and geopolitical influences.
• Conduct structured market research, including supply/demand analysis, cost drivers, lead-time trends, and product availability, to guide purchasing strategies executed by the CPO.
• Build and maintain strong, collaborative relationships with technical and scientific suppliers, serving as the Operations liaison for technical discussions, issue escalation, and innovative scouting.
• Partner with legal, QA, and Regulatory Affairs to provide technical input on specifications, supplier capabilities, and quality expectations that will inform CPO's negotiation of pricing, terms, and quality agreements.
• Assist CPO through vendor identification, selection, and qualification for APIs, excipients, and bulk drugs, including those for regulated markets.

Operational Support& Cross-functional Collaboration

• Ensure Operations has accurate, timely visibility into material availability through proactive communication, forecasting support, and market updates that inform CPO's planning and execution cycles.
• Provide timely turnaround on material quotations and provide input on commercial CDMO proposals.
• Collaborate with Manufacturing, MS&T, QA, QC, Regulatory, and Project Management teams to clarify technical requirements, material specifications, and supply risks across all stages of development.
• Support cross-functional budgeting and forecasting by providing market-based cost intelligence and identifying potential price or supply fluctuations.
• Partner with lab teams to maintain visibility into inventory levels for R&D-related materials, highlighting risks, replenishment needs, and potential supply constraints.
• Compliance, Documentation & Reporting
• Support the creation and maintenance of supplier qualification documentation, technical assessments, and material specifications needed for regulatory and quality compliance ensuring CPO receives complete, accurate inputs.
• Coordinate with vendors to obtain required quality and regulatory documentation, ensuring alignment with evolving cGMP, regulatory, and audit standards.
• Ensure that all sourcing activities align with internal policies and support the CPO's responsibility for FAR, GMP, and contractual compliance.
• Provide category-level insights and performance metrics to support CPO's development of KPI's, SLA's and procurement reporting dashboards.

Leadership & Innovation

• Serve as Phlow's technical category expert for chemicals, excipients, APIs, and specialty materials, supporting early-phase business development and pre-proposal scoping.
• Provide Operations with technical intelligence and supplier assessments to support integration of new API supply chains for acquisitions or strategic partnerships.
• Contribute expertise to Procurement and Operations teams, promoting cross functional alignment, knowledge sharing, and high performance team culture.
• Collaborate with the CPO to continuously improve sourcing processes, reduce risks, and introduce innovations that enhance material availability, cost control, and operational reliability.

Experience & Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Pharmacy, Chemistry, Supply Chain Management, or related field; advanced degree preferred.
• 8+ years of experience in strategic sourcing and procurement within the pharmaceutical or CDMO industry.
• Strong understanding of API and excipient sourcing, vendor qualification, GMP compliance, and global regulatory requirements.
• Demonstrated ability to collaborate with cross-functional teams and manage complex supplier networks.
• Proficiency in data analysis, market research, contract negotiation, and ERP/MIS systems.
• Excellent organizational, communication, and relationship-building skills.

Physical Requirements:

• Constantly required to see to utilize computer screens and monitors to perform job duties including reading & writing, as well as when presenting information and communicating with others.
• Frequently required to talk or hear to communicate with employees, candidates, vendors, and others, including presenting information in front of groups.
• Frequently required to reach with arms and hands performing repetitive motions and using finger dexterity to work primarily at a computer keyboard and with a mouse.
• Frequently required to sit, and occasionally required to stand or walk to move around primarily in an office environment.
• Occasionally lift and/or move up to 10 pounds.