Director Global Packaging Solutions in City of Westminster

This role is in support of Cencora's global logistics and storage services marketed through our World Courier business. Reporting to this role will ensure World Courier creates and maintains a business-wide knowledge of industry-leading packaging technology, cost comparisons, and, where applicable, local low-cost options. The role will lead conversations around global, regional, and local packaging choice selection, ensuring World Courier meets all market needs. The role will recommend the choice of all 'Owned & Rented' packaging globally and build and maintain control models to constantly challenge cost and drive efficiency and value. The role will function as the technical 'Owner' of packaging standards and be available to support Sales & Marketing to position World Courier as 'Industry Leading' when required. The role will lead technically aligned initiatives around visibility and monitoring to place World Courier as the best in the industry. Additionally, this role will focus on fostering collaboration across departments, driving innovation in sustainable packaging solutions, ensuring compliance with evolving regulatory requirements, and embedding external market intelligence to serve all service lines.

Responsibilities

• Global Packaging Strategy and Visibility: Build visibility of global options in all temperature ranges, including footprint availability, capability, and cost.
• Global Packaging Strategy and Visibility: Propose and lead the implementation of solutions to meet all market needs based on the above.
• Global Packaging Strategy and Visibility: Embed external market intelligence into the packaging strategy to ensure all service lines are supported effectively.
• Sales Enablement and Innovation: Equip the sales team with packaging knowledge and frameworks to better enable them to identify areas where our offer can support a customer's aims.
• Sales Enablement and Innovation: Collaborate with Sales & Marketing to position World Courier as an industry leader in packaging solutions.
• Sales Enablement and Innovation: Link the sales innovation funnel into the roadmap to ensure packaging solutions serve all service lines.
• Pricing and Cost Management: Work with the pricing team to regularly review and maintain external packaging pricing to ensure it covers total cost-to-serve and captures the value delivered.
• Pricing and Cost Management: Build and implement cost-control models to optimize packaging cost-effectiveness globally.
• Pricing and Cost Management: Ensure pricing strategy linkage into the broader business model to align packaging costs with overall financial objectives.
• Technical Leadership and Innovation: Lead the Temperature Control Expert group, focusing on supporting major sales bids and driving packaging innovation.
• Technical Leadership and Innovation: Regularly review and maintain a perspective on customer needs and competitive offerings.
• Technical Leadership and Innovation: Lead initiatives to enhance visibility and monitoring technologies for packaging solutions, ensuring World Courier remains at the forefront of the industry.
• Technical Leadership and Innovation: Develop and execute a sustainability roadmap that integrates packaging solutions into World Courier's broader environmental and operational model.
• Onboarding and Vendor Management: Oversee the onboarding of all strategically chosen packaging options into World Courier systems, ensuring seamless integration and operational readiness.
• Onboarding and Vendor Management: Identify and manage relationships with key suppliers, ensuring alignment with strategic goals and maintaining high standards of quality, reliability, and cost-effectiveness.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration and Enablement: Work closely with Operations, Quality Assurance, and Regulatory teams to ensure packaging solutions meet operational and compliance standards.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration and Enablement: Drive the internal enablement of packaging characteristics across all functions to ensure alignment and understanding of packaging capabilities.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration and Enablement: Act as a central point of contact for regional and country management on packaging-related topics.
• Data-Led Decision Making: Leverage internal and external data to track key performance indicators, identify trends, and develop action plans to address identified gaps.
• Data-Led Decision Making: Utilize advanced analytics tools and methodologies to inform packaging strategies and decision-making processes.

Qualifications

• Minimum of 8-12 years of experience in product management, packaging solutions, supply chain, or logistics, with at least 3-5 years in a leadership role.
• Demonstrated experience managing the lifecycle of a product or service, including strategy, development, implementation, and continuous improvement.
• Experience in the pharmaceutical, healthcare, or cold-chain logistics industry is highly desirable.
• Bachelor's degree in Product Management, Business Administration, Engineering, Supply Chain Management, or a related field is required.
• Advanced degree (MBA or Master's in Product Management, Business, or a related discipline) is highly preferred.
• Proven track record of successfully launching and managing innovative, customer-centric products or solutions in a global or regional market.
• Strong understanding of global regulatory requirements for packaging in the pharmaceutical or healthcare industries (e.g., GDP, FDA, EMA).
• Knowledge of sustainable packaging practices and environmental management (e.g., ISO 14001) is an advantage.
• Experience collaborating with cross-functional teams, including Sales, Marketing, Operations, and Quality Assurance, to deliver product solutions that meet business and customer needs.
• Proficiency in leveraging data analytics tools and methodologies to drive product decisions and measure success.
• Experience working in a multinational organization, with a strong understanding of regional and local market dynamics.