Director, External Manufacturing

Job description

At Johnson & Johnson, we believe health is everything. Our strength in healthcare innovation empowers us to build a world where complex diseases are prevented, treated, and cured, where treatments are smarter and less invasive, and solutions are personal. Through our expertise in Innovative Medicine and MedTech, we are uniquely positioned to innovate across the full spectrum of healthcare solutions today to deliver the breakthroughs of tomorrow, and profoundly impact health for humanity. Learn more at jnj.com As guided by Our Credo, Johnson & Johnson is responsible to our employees who work with us throughout the world.  We provide an inclusive work environment where each person is considered as an individual.  At Johnson & Johnson, we respect the diversity and dignity of our employees and recognize their merit. Job Function: Supply Chain Manufacturing Job Sub Function: Multi-Family Supply Chain Manufacturing Job Category: People Leader All Job Posting Locations: Horsham, Pennsylvania, United States of America, Titusville, New Jersey, United States of America Job Description: About Innovative Medicine Our expertise in Innovative Medicine is informed and inspired by patients, whose insights fuel our science-based advancements. Visionaries like you work on teams that save lives by developing the medicines of tomorrow. Join us in developing treatments, finding cures, and pioneering the path from lab to life while championing patients every step of the way! Learn more at https://www.jnj.com/innovative-medicine We are searching for the best talent for a Director, External Manufacturing to join our Team! This is an onsite/hybrid role. Position Summary The Director, of External Manufacturing Operations leads operations across the North America external manufacturing (EM) network—a critical leadership role connecting manufacturing excellence with reliable supply for patients. Leading a team of virtual plant managers, the Director drives the operational performance of external sites supplying both new and established commercial medicines, with direct impact on critical patient and business needs. This is an opportunity to shape network performance, strengthen sophisticated external partnerships, and translate strategy into results across a complex manufacturing environment. The Director champions the highest standards of quality, operational and compliance readiness, and cost competitiveness, improving partnership value and minimizing total cost of ownership. Through disciplined performance management, accelerated technology transfers, innovation, operational excellence (OPEX), and continuous process improvement, the role advances both immediate execution and long-term network effectiveness. Success requires influential leadership and extensive collaboration with internal and external partners at site and above-site levels. The Director designs the team’s operating structure and allocates accountabilities to deliver short- and long-term priorities for the Innovative Medicine Supply Chain (IMSC), Manufacturing and Technical Operations (MTO), and External Manufacturing Platform. Managing spend of more than $50MM, the Director brings external-market insight and strong business judgment to decisions across and on behalf of the platform—turning operational leadership into meaningful impact for patients and the business. Responsibilities Operational Leadership: Leads pharmaceutical manufacturing operations across the regional external manufacturing network, translating deep site-based operational experience into reliable medicine supply and sustained manufacturing performance. Mobilizes virtual plant leaders and cross-functional teams to deliver near-term commitments while building the operational capabilities and resilience required for long-term success. Applies manufacturing expertise, technical judgment, and business acumen to anticipate and resolve supply, process, quality/compliance, and financial risks before they affect patients or business performance. Sets clear operational targets and forward-looking performance metrics that drive supply reliability, process effectiveness, inspection readiness, sustained compliance, and cost competitiveness. Brings together Procurement, Planning/Network, External Quality, and MSAT to address complex manufacturing challenges, align priorities, and deliver coordinated action—from supplier strategy and contractual commitments to supply and purchase-order optimization, proactive compliance risk management, and evolving regulatory expectations. Leads operational execution of technology transfers, new product launches, line extensions, and product changes at external manufacturers to ensure readiness and timely product availability. Builds an operating culture grounded in early risk visibility, rigorous problem-solving, decisive action, and shared accountability. Deepens external partnerships to mitigate operational and compliance risks, accelerate innovation, and strengthen long-term network resilience. Partners with Procurement to improve overall cost performance and capture cost-reduction opportunities. Defines and prioritizes requirements, expectations, results, and partner needs across IMSC functions and external partners, connecting manufacturing execution to patient and business outcomes. Strategy: Shapes the external network and influences and supports IMSC strategy by translating deep operational knowledge and external-market insight into forward-looking choices for External partnerships. Builds differentiated external partnerships that enable earlier transparency to operational readiness, technology, capacity, regulatory, and industry shifts and create shared road maps for innovation, resilience, and performance. Benchmarks other J&J sites, partner companies, and adjacent industries to identify innovations, continuous improvement opportunities, and best-in-class processes that support External Manufacturing and business development initiatives. Anticipates emerging operational, supply, quality, and compliance risks; drives preventive actions that reduce risk profiles; and helps evolve governance and compliance approaches in line with changing regulatory expectations. Ensures the team acts as a single point of contact to connect and implement strategic initiatives—including J&J Digital Strategy, capacity expansions, OPEX, and asset management. People Leadership: Leads and develops a high performing team and to ensure strong results through effective performance management and development planning. Coaches team members to influence business and patient outcomes via thorough understanding of the external and internal supply landscape and end to end product flows. Minimum Qualification A minimum of a master’s degree is required, other advanced degree preferred. 10+ years of experience in the areas of both pharmaceutical manufacturing operations (general manufacturing, business unit lead, etc) with preference in drug product manufacturing and business management (business development, procurement, value chain management). Strong demonstrated knowledge of pharmaceutical industry and specifically manufacturing 3+ years of People Management experience, demonstrated cross-cultural people and team leadership. Demonstrated knowledge of functions including Quality, Technical Operations, Finance, Planning and Procurement. Understanding of end-to-end supply chain considerations and methods of driving continuous improvement. Demonstrated experience delivering negotiated agreements. Demonstrated experience in strategy development. Other requirements: Required General Manager supply chain and/or site based operational leadership experience. Preferred small molecule/synthetics DP/Packaging experience. Preferred External Manufacturing experience and leadership Demonstrated ability to translate operational insights into clear, actionable enterprise priorities and influence decisions across a large, complex, matrixed