Vendor Management Specialist I

We're here for one reason and one reason only - to cure cancer. Every moment is dedicated to developing treatments and every action moves us one step closer to our goal. We've made incredible scientific breakthroughs and our pioneering personalized CAR T-cell therapies have changed the paradigm. But we're not finished yet.

Join Kite, as we make even bigger advances in cancer therapies, and help shape where our business and medical science goes next.

We believe every employee deserves a great leader. People Leaders are the cornerstone to the employee experience at Gilead and Kite. As a people leader now or in the future, you are the key driver in evolving our culture and creating an environment where every employee feels included, developed and empowered to fulfil their aspirations. Join Kite and help create more tomorrows.

Job Description

We are seeking a highly motivated individual to join the Commercial Business Strategy and Operations team as a Vendor Management Specialist I. This role supports Commercial Operations by managing vendor coordination, procurement activities and operational process improvements. The position ensures timely and accurate purchasing, invoice processing, and vendor onboarding while partnering closely with cross-functional teams.

The successful candidate will be expected to be self-motivated and innovative, with proven experience in successfully supporting a best-in-class invoice operations program, providing best practice service delivery and actionable business insights through data.

To develop meaningful connections with stakeholders, we would prefer that this candidate be located at Kite's Santa Monica, California headquarters.

Key Responsibilities:

• Manage onboarding of new vendors and suppliers in coordination with Legal and Procurement.

• Manage end-to-end purchase order activities including creating orders, invoicing and reconciling issues.

• Maintain positive relationship with internal customers and external vendors.

• Monitor order status, triage customer inquiries, and proactively address delays or discrepancies to assist with order completion.

• Prioritize multiple procurement activities and deadlines in a fast‑paced environment, ensuring timely execution.

• Partner with Legal, Procurement, Accounting and PDM Finance to support contracting, purchase orders (PO) workflows and timely payment.

• Support continuous improvement efforts by identifying routine operational issues and recommending improvements to enhance efficiency and reduce cycle times.

• Maintain accurate supplier and PO records.

• Contribute to the development and maintenance of procurement dashboards and metrics, providing visibility into spend, cycle times and vendor performance.

• Serve as subject matter expert on procurement systems and PO workflows and provide training and guidance to cross-functional partners as needed.

• Ensure compliance with Gilead policies, procurement and financial controls, data integrity standards, and confidentiality requirements

Basic Qualifications:

• MA/MS and 0+ years of relevant experience; OR

• BA/BS and 2+ years of relevant experience; OR

• AA and 4+ years of relevant experience; OR

• HS diploma and 5+ years of relevant experience

• Experience in the pharma/biotech industry or other relevant background

Preferred Qualifications:

• Strong customer service, organizational and communication skills.

• Advanced proficiency with SAP/Ariba software, Oracle (EBS) and MS Office suites including Copilot.

• Demonstrated ability to solve a variety of routine and non-routine problems and support process improvements.

• Ability to work independently using established procedures across diverse geographical locations and cultures.

• High level of self-motivation, positive attitude, drive for achievement and strong work ethic.

The salary range for this position is: $92,820.00 - $120,120.00. Kite considers a variety of factors when determining base compensation, including experience, qualifications, and geographic location. These considerations mean actual compensation will vary. This position may also be eligible for a discretionary annual bonus, discretionary stock-based long-term incentives (eligibility may vary based on role), paid time off, and a benefits package. Benefits include company-sponsored medical, dental, vision, and life insurance plans*.

For additional benefits information, visit:

https://www.gilead.com/careers/compensation-benefits-and-wellbeing

• Eligible employees may participate in benefit plans, subject to the terms and conditions of the applicable plans.

Kite is a biopharmaceutical company engaged in the development of innovative cancer immunotherapies with a goal of providing rapid, long-term durable response and eliminating the burden of chronic care. The company is focused on chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) and T cell receptor (TCR) engineered cell therapies designed to empower the immune system's ability to recognize and kill tumors. Kite is based in Santa Monica, CA. For more information on Kite, please visit www.kitepharma.com. Sign up to follow @KitePharma on Twitter at www.twitter.com/kitepharma.

For jobs in the United States:

Kite Pharma is committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment, and is dedicated to fostering an inclusive work environment comprised of diverse perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences. Employment decisions regarding recruitment and selection will be made without discrimination based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, genetic information or characteristic, gender identity and expression, veteran status, or other non-job related characteristics or other prohibited grounds specified in applicable federal, state and local laws. In order to ensure reasonable accommodation for individuals protected by Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Vietnam Era Veterans' Readjustment Act of 1974, and Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, applicants who require accommodation in the job application process may contact ApplicantAccommodations@gilead.com for assistance.

For more information about equal employment opportunity protections, please view the 'Know Your Rights' poster.

NOTICE: EMPLOYEE POLYGRAPH PROTECTION ACT

YOUR RIGHTS UNDER THE FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE ACT

Kite Pharma will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, (c) consistent with the legal duty to furnish information; or (d) otherwise protected by law.

Our environment respects individual differences and recognizes each employee as an integral member of our company. Our workforce reflects these values and celebrates the individuals who make up our growing team.

Kite Pharma provides a work environment free of harassment and prohibited conduct. We promote and support individual differences and diversity of thoughts and opinion.

For Current Kite Pharma Employees and Contractors:

Please apply via the Internal Career Opportunities portal in Workday.