Associate Director- Cold Chain Transportation COE

Position Summary

The Associate Director actively drives the Global Transportation and Cold Chain strategic and operational agenda. The role combines driving strategic and operational initiatives as well as hands-on operational execution for transportation activities with project management leadership for key COE initiatives that advance Lilly's global logistics network. This role will actively support the transportation transformation initiative enabled by the implementation of Regional Transportation Hubs.

This is a working leadership role for a candidate who can move fluidly between operational problem-solving (carrier issues, excursion management, customs holds, lane performance) and structured project delivery (productivity initiatives, cold chain qualifications, compliance programs). The ideal candidate brings deep cold chain and transportation expertise, working knowledge of GDP, and the discipline to support Transportation Quality and regulatory processes across multiple geographies.

Key Responsibilities

Transportation Center of Excellence

• Execute the global transportation strategy across all temperature-controlled lanes and modes
• Maintain GDP/GMP-compliant standards for cold chain shipments across markets
• Maintain and execute business continuity plans for transportation disruptions
• Drive IoT monitoring use and own the operational response to temperature excursions

• Oversee multi-modal transportation operations (air, ocean, ground, parcel)
• Provide operational oversight of carriers, freight forwarders, and 3PLs against SLAs and KPIs
• Support import/export operations including customs clearance, documentation andnINCOTERMS application,
• Optimize lanes and networks for cost, service, sustainability, and compliance
• Collaborates with TMS adoption, real-time visibility tooling, and analytics rollouts
• Partner with Import/Export Compliance teams to ensure trade, customs, and hazmat compliance across jurisdictions
• Support thermal packaging selection, qualification, and lane-specific validations

Operational Execution

• Serve as the COE's operational point of accountability for transportation business processes
• Triage and resolve in-flight transportation issues, escalations, and exceptions
• Run operational governance cadences (carrier reviews, lane performance, excursion reviews)
• Drive root-cause analysis and corrective/preventive actions on recurring operational issues

Project Management for Key Initiatives

• Lead end-to-end project management for COE initiatives (scoping, planning, stakeholder alignment, execution, closeout)
• Manage cross-functional workstreams across Manufacturing, Quality, Procurement, Trade Compliance, IT, and Commercial
• Maintain integrated project plans, risk/issue logs, and executive-ready status reporting
• Apply structured PM methodology (stage-gate, Agile, or hybrid) appropriate to each initiative

Transportation Quality & Regulatory Compliance

• Apply GDP knowledge to support compliance with Transportation Quality and regulatory processes
• Partner with Quality on deviations, CAPAs, change controls, and audit readiness for transportation activities
• Ensure sound risk analysis and documentation for our transportation processes
• Support inspections and audits (internal, regulatory, customer) related to transportation and cold chain

Leadership & Cross-Functional Responsibilities

Operational Excellence

• Support KPI definition and governance across the COE's global transportation and cold chain operations
• Drive continuous improvement using Lean / Six Sigma methods
• Support the Global Transportation transformation initiative, including the Regional Transportation Hubs rollout

Stakeholder Engagement

• Partner daily with Manufacturing, Quality, Procurement, Trade Compliance, and Commercial teams
• Maintain working relationships with logistics service providers and cold chain solution providers
• Represent the COE in cross-functional forums and operational reviews

Change Management

• Champion adoption of new transportation processes, systems, and digital tools
• Build cross-functional alignment on operational changes driven by COE initiatives
• Coach and develop more junior team members and matrixed contributors on transportation operations and project delivery

Basic Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain, Logistics, Engineering, Science or related field
• 5+ years in global transportation or logistics operations with direct accountability for carrier management, lane performance, and cross-border shipment execution — including 3+ years specifically in cold chain or temperature-controlled logistics in a regulated industry

• Qualified applicants must be authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis. Lilly will not provide support for or sponsor work authorization or visas for this role, including but not limited to F-1 CPT, F-1 OPT, F-1 STEM OPT, J-1, H-1B, TN, O-1, E-3, H-1B1, or L-1.

Additional Preferences

• Master's degree in Supply Chain Management or MBA
• Hands-on TMS experience (SAP TM, Oracle TMS, MercuryGate, or equivalent) and IoT monitoring platforms (Sensitech, Berlinger, Controlant, or equivalent)
• Import/export operational experience: trade documentation, INCOTERMS, customs clearance across multiple jurisdictions
• Accountable project lead on cross-functional initiatives with defined scope, schedule, and stakeholder reporting from initiation through closeout
• Pharmaceutical or regulated-industry background on the shipper side — not exclusively CDMO or 3PL
• APICS CSCP, CLTD, or CTL certification
• PMP, PRINCE2, or equivalent project management certification
• Lean Six Sigma Green or Black Belt
• Hands-on experience managing temperature excursion investigations end-to-end and serving as a named contributor or lead on cold chain packaging qualification studies (thermal, lane, or modal)
• GDP applied in a regulated transportation environment: authored or reviewed deviation reports, supported CAPAs, and participated in transportation audits

Certifications (Preferred)

• APICS CSCP, CLTD, or CTL certification
• PMP, PRINCE2, or equivalent project management certification
• Lean Six Sigma Green or Black Belt

Core Competencies

• Technical Expertise: Cold chain transportation operations, GDP compliance, import/export, TMS, supply chain analytics
• Project Management: Structured delivery of cross-functional initiatives from scoping through closeout
• Operational Acumen: Hands-on problem-solving for in-flight transportation issues
• Collaboration: Strong cross-functional partnership across Quality, Procurement, Manufacturing, and external providers
• Communication: Clear written and verbal communication with operational and executive audiences

Industry Knowledge

• Global regulatory landscape for pharmaceuticals, biologics, or high-value temperature-sensitive goods
• International trade compliance and import/export operations
• Transportation Quality standards and audit/inspection readiness

Working Conditions

• Full-time on-site at Corporate Headquarters
• Up to 15% international travel
• Occasional after-hours availability to support global operations across time zones