Technical Service and Customer Quality Assurance Manager, Asia Pacific - Medical Devices and Pharmaceuticals
IRC Global Executive Search Partner
HR Partners, IRC Global Executive Search Partners - Singapore/China/Taiwan
Search:
Technical Service and Customer Quality Assurance Manager, Asia Pacific
Client/Industry:
Global Medical Devices and Pharmaceutical client
Situation:
The client was looking for an experienced individual to fill their newly created position in injectable pharmaceuticals, with a regional Asia Pacific portfolio. The successful candidate must possess prior relevant experience with highly developed communication and problem solving skills, and operate in a matrixed organization with no direct reports.
Assessment:
This position was quite a new specialized position within the company and represents a major growth initiative as the other products lines have become more commoditized.
Challenge:
The budget for this position did not allow for an expatriate candidate, and this is further compounded by the fact that the targeted country of search had only 1 pharmaceutical company which specialized in this type of product and thus, manufacturing processes. The candidate would not be able to function well if not exposed to the aseptic fill finish manufacturing technology.
Methodology/Solution:
The consultants were briefed on the position profile and key questions on position pre-requisites, soft skills and likely profiles were discussed in detail. As there were limited targeted companies, HR Partners ‘expanded’ the targets to include current position holders not just I n technical service but also in operations, engineering, QA and project management. In addition, potential candidates that have moved on or left the main pharmaceutical company was exhaustively tracked down and assessed. The list was further expanded by including specialized aseptic fill finish manufacturing and turnkey equipment and plant vendors. The manufacturing clean room environment was ultra “clean” so although initially, semiconductor wafer fabrication and front end candidates were approached, it became apparent very quickly that the absence of pharmaceutical knowledge will pose a major handicap.
Candidate:
The selected candidate had prior pre-requisite aseptic fill-finish manufacturing and technology experience, intelligent with very good communication skills. Despite initial hiccups of frequent travelling and matrixed reporting, the candidate did well to overcome the obstacles.
Post-mortem:
The candidate had done well in his position and has since been promoted a higher regional leadership position responsible for P&L.
