Sr Director, Supply Chain, Demand Planning - Inventory Optimization

Role Summary: 

Kaiser Permanente is searching for an innovative and strategic Sr. Director of Supply Chain - Inventory Optimization to lead inventory performance and operational advancement nationally across all our markets. This visionary leader will drive enterprise-wide inventory initiatives, standardize best practices, and champion data-driven solutions for supply continuity and risk mitigation. In addition to building and guiding a high-performing team, the Sr. Director will collaborate cross-functionally with IT, clinical, finance, and supply chain leaders, acting as a trusted partner driving improved inventory availability and working capital improvements. Ideal candidates will bring extensive experience in utilizing sophisticated inventory optimization tools and advanced analytics platforms with a proven ability to deliver measurable results through innovation and collaboration. Join Kaiser Permanente and be at the forefront of transforming healthcare inventory management in a dynamic workplace dedicated to excellence, teamwork, and continuous improvement. 

As part of Kaiser Permanente, you-ll be empowered to shape the future of supply chain and inventory management for one of the nation-s leading healthcare organizations. Enjoy the opportunity to make a broad impact, competitive compensation, comprehensive benefits, and a workplace culture that champions innovation, collaboration, and continuous improvement. 

In addition to the responsibilities listed below, this position is also responsible for advocating for cutting edge strategies used for data analysis on historical purchasing trends to determine future forecasts and inventory needs; maintaining progressive strategies to improve the creation and analysis of demand forecasts and performing Return on Investment (i.e., ROI) analysis for Kaiser Permanente centrally owned inventory; driving strategic improvements to identify, communicate, and resolve highly complex and high impact product shortages, including escalations, and driving innovative strategies for the identification of acceptable alternatives for shortage items, in partnership with sourcing / suppliers / clinicians, and the communication to suppliers/vendors and supply chain teams; championing state-of-the-art strategies for the spend savings process on behalf of supply chain in partnership with finance; maintaining progressive strategies to improve inventory readiness and depletion for new products, and conversions; guiding the development of innovative strategies to improve automated replenishment activities across the majority of inventory categories, as well as setting statistical stock/par levels at the consumption point; and championing innovative strategies for inventory data and analysis.

• Builds organizational capacity and prepares high potentials for growth opportunities and advancement; builds collaborative networks inside and outside the organization for self and others. Provides framework for soliciting and acting on performance feedback; drives collaboration to set goals and provide open feedback and coaching to foster performance improvement. Models and drives continuous learning and oversees the recruitment, selection, and development of talent; stays current with industry trends, benchmarks, and best practices; ensures performance management guidelines and expectations to achieve business needs. Acts as a thought leader on industry trends, benchmarks, and best practices; shares best practices within and across teams to drive improvement. Motivates and empowers teams; maintains a highly skilled and engaged workforce by aligning cross-functional resource plans with business objectives. Provides guidance when difficult decisions need to be made; creates opportunities for expanded scope of decision making and impact across teams.
• Oversees the operation of multiple units and/or departments by identifying member and operational needs; ensures the management of work assignment allocation and completion; translates business strategy into actionable business requirements; ensures products and/or services meet member requirements and expectations while aligning with organizational strategies. Engages strategic, cross-functional business units to champion and drive support for business plans and priorities; assumes responsibility for decision making; sets standards, measures progress, and ensures resolution of escalated issues. Sets and communicates goals and objectives; analyzes resources, costs, and forecasts and incorporates them into business plans; obtains and distributes resources. Anticipates and removes obstacles that impact performance; addresses performance gaps and implements contingency plans accordingly; ensures teams accomplish business objectives; serves as a subject-matter expert and trusted source to executive leadership; provides influence and consultation in the development of the larger organizational or business strategy.
• Ensures long-term asset accounting by: guiding and providing support, when needed, for the asset approval (e.g., vehicles, medical equipment), transfer, and disposal processes; maintaining progressive strategies to improve the maintenance of dispositions in the accounting system; maintaining cutting-edge policies, compliance procedures, by proposing strategies for cost reduction that achieves accountability for the misuse of assets; and promoting highly innovative strategies to identify, evaluate, and implement cost restructuring and cost reductions.
• Ensures ongoing quality customer services by: championing state-of-the-art strategies to improve the resolution of customer issues; defining cutting-edge strategies to improve the resolution of backorder problems, delivery delays, repairs, and returns; and driving state-of-the-art strategies to improve the efficiency of product returns and limit and address recalls.
• Ensures adequate levels of inventory are maintained by: developing innovative strategies to resolve major disruptions in inventory and championing advanced strategies for administering of transactions and requests for supplies, equipment, and services; championing progressive strategies to ensure future inventory demand are met to minimize obsolescence or expiration; championing advanced strategies for maintaining automated inventory and ordering systems to support inventory reconciliation and engaging others on the team to implement; driving strategic long-term plans to confirm a wide range of highly complex and long-term reorder levels are updated, maintained, and adhered to so that proper product rotation remains valid, and inventory levels are accurate; and working collaboratively as an expert internal consultant and external spokesperson to maintain the inventory control system for company-wide initiatives (e.g., ensure accuracy of product line, proper level of stock, rotation of product, cleanliness of product/carts), and engaging others on the team to implement.
• Maintains and improves supply chain and operations by: directing complex and long-term activities (i.e., shipping logistics, carrier, and inventory system evaluation) to optimize, maintain, and transform current processes for increased efficiency; developing and championing research plans to identify new/existing business operating models according to supply chain future state functional and technical design, and engaging others on the team to implement; and, as an expert internal consultant and external spokesperson, directing and championing processes on initiatives to determine end-to-end sourcing, procurement, and logistics.
• Ensures purchasing strategy is consistent with the overall national sourcing strategy by: championing state-of-the art strategies for improving the processing of purchase requests; maintaining strategies for purchase standardization, quality, amounts or equivalency across all product categories; advocating progressive strategies to resolve future purchase-related problems and promoting highly innovative cost savings strategies; defining cutting-edge strategies that establish order quantities, and championing highly innovative strategies for improving product evaluations and trials; and driving state-of-the-art strategies to determine cutting-edge strategies to select of new products and equipment.
• Ensures ongoing compliance with state and federal regulations, and company policy/procedures pertaining to purchasing, inventory management, and distribution by: championing state-of-the-art strategies for applying best standards and practices; championing state-of-the-art strategies for managing quotations for new stock and non-standard items, fulfilling contracts, monitoring the external environment, and internal trends, to ensure compliance; advocating highly complex strategies for implementing policies and procedures for compliance monitoring (e.g., Joint commission, Sarbanes-Oxley [SOX]) and performance management audits to ensure staff performance is consistent with established standards; driving progressive strategies for improving the implementation and the resolution of deficiencies of corrective action as necessary on a timely basis and in accordance with company policy; and defining cutting-edge content for educational and training programs for managers/product users.
• Ensures suppliers/vendors performance and relationships by: championing cutting-edge strategies to evaluate suppliers/vendor compliance with policies and regulations; providing guidance as needed to streamline processes, guiding contract negotiation, onboarding new suppliers/vendors, and serving as an external spokesperson regarding suppliers/vendor policy, practices, and strategy, to ensure their continued ability to support KP; championing state-of-the-art strategies for corrective actions at scale; promoting highly innovative strategies for managing the resolution of suppliers/vendor issues; and leading progressive strategies to broadly improve strategies for meeting operational and cost targets across suppliers/vendors.
• Provides technical analysis and reporting services for others by: advising on analyses and integrating results on utilization, quality, inventory levels, and courier routes of a wide range of highly complex and long-term projects; promoting state-of-the-art strategies to continually enhance customer services, member satisfaction, and advocating cutting-edge strategies for the implementation of proven quality improvement procedures; championing tools, techniques, and assumptions to ensure highly complex analyses are appropriate to support operational and business decisions; and distributing reports in response to business needs for company-wide initiatives documenting complex analytical results.