Team Leader - Sterile

About Julphar

Julphar is undergoing a broad cultural transformation, with a mission to improve family well-being by delivering high-quality solutions and meaningful value with professionalism and care. The company emphasizes respect, collaboration, innovation, integrity, compassion, diversity, inclusion, and equal opportunity, while aiming to positively influence patient lives, support talent growth, foster a healthy workplace, and achieve goals through advanced research and committed employees.

Role Overview

The Team Leader - Sterile will oversee sterile production operations at J-II, ensuring safety, quality, supply delivery, team development, cost control, and project execution. The role requires strong knowledge of sterile manufacturing, cGMP, and regulatory expectations, along with the ability to lead improvements and coordinate across functions.

Safety

• Make sure all production activities in J-II follow local regulations and Julphar EHS standards.
• Keep operations safe by confirming that appropriate safety measures are available, implemented, and consistently used.
• Observe supervisors and operators to ensure PPE is worn according to EHS requirements.
• Own departmental safety risk assessments for the production area in J-II, identifying hazards, documenting them, and making sure controls and corrective actions are in place.
• Promote a strong safety mindset by encouraging the team to report hazards, risks, and near misses.
• Build the team’s capability in safety activities such as assessments, reporting, inspections, and control awareness.
• Take part in investigations related to incidents, events, and near misses.
• Ensure any change in the production area is assessed from a safety perspective.
• Support the Technical Operation Director on safety issues, projects, and continuous improvement ideas.
• Escalate safety incidents to the Sterile Value Stream Manager in line with Julphar policy.
• Drive the continuous improvement framework in J-II and benchmark against other value streams to identify improvement opportunities.
• Track J-II safety KPIs to support Julphar annual objectives.

Quality

• Ensure all production activities in J-II comply with global quality standards, regulatory requirements, and Julphar cGMP/GxP policies.
• Confirm that manufacturing is performed in line with cGMP expectations and that quality control measures, including CCS (Contamination Control Strategy), are effective and in use.
• Develop quality risk assessments for sterile J-II covering operational, process, and sterility risks, and ensure mitigation measures are implemented.
• Manage QMS-related activities in J-II, including CAPA implementation, change actions, and other related follow-ups.
• Lead production quality deviation handling by managing investigations efficiently and ensuring root cause analysis is completed within an optimized timeline.

Supply

• Manage the monthly J-II plan by checking resource availability, material readiness, and overall practicality of the schedule.
• Review daily production progress, including productivity trends and related issues.
• Run problem-solving sessions to remove supply and productivity blockers.
• Work with the supply team to build the best production setup while meeting sales orders and urgent requirements.
• Report any supply issues that could affect the J-VIII delivery plan.
• Coordinate with the Central Packaging Value Stream to support the production plan.

People

• Prepare succession plans for key roles and connect them with development plans for direct reports and team members.
• Ensure succession coverage is in place to reduce people-related business risk.
• Lead the annual appraisal process for direct reports and make sure evaluations are carried out accurately and fairly.
• Promote a speak-up culture that supports a healthy work environment and long-term sustainability.
• Oversee training programs for team members so that qualification status remains current, including technical and soft skills linked to role needs.
• Coach and mentor teams to help them achieve strong performance.

Other Responsibilities

• Control costs in J-II by managing OPEX items efficiently.
• Lead CAPEX execution in J-II according to the approved list and Julphar’s strategic direction.
• Manage sterile product tech transfer projects across Julphar facilities to improve cost, quality, and productivity outcomes, including transfers from R&D and third parties.

Qualification and Functional Knowledge

Applicants should hold a bachelor’s degree in pharmacy, pharmaceutical science, or biotechnology, along with 7+ years of experience in sterile production. Strong knowledge of cGMP principles and regulatory requirements is required. Lean Six Sigma is preferred.

Equal Opportunity

Julphar welcomes candidates from diverse backgrounds and supports an inclusive work environment.