AGILE / Learning Lead for Vaccine Business Unit (Hikari Plant)

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Job Description

OBJECTIVES/PURPOSE

• As a member of the Business Excellence team, lead the AGILE team comprised of AGILE OE Coaches and AGILE Champions.
• Responsible for the development of the site AGILE roadmap with the Business Excellence Lead in close collaboration with QS&I and DD&T team.
• Develop capabilities of AGILE OE Coaches and AGILE Champions as the future leaders
• Lead AGILE initiatives at the site.
• Collaborate across the Takeda network to adopt and share best practices
• Supervise training business partners, LMS administrators and the site instructional designer(s) to lead site learning strategy and manage implementation for both GxP and non-GxP.
• Work with their assigned Global Learning Team Business Partner to ensure robust Learning system elements are in place and appropriate technical learning solutions are provided for site’s use.

ACCOUNTABILITIES

AGILE Program Lead:

• Lead implementation of the AGILE program at the site, ensuring delivery of the site roadmap and alignment with global AGILE initiatives.
• Build AGILE capabilities within the team, including selection and development of AGILE Champions, coaching them toward certification, and monitoring their progress.
• Provide technical coaching and support for the AGILE team, and coach AGILE concepts, mindsets, behaviors, and soft skills across the organization, including the Senior Leadership Team (SLT).
• Support the VBE Lead in building strong SLT engagement with the AGILE program through site boot camps, workshops, coaching initiatives, and Kaizen workshops.
• Actively participate in the global AGILE program coordinated by the AGILE PMO, and collaborate with Technical Training and PMO teams to provide aligned AGILE support to the site.
• Drive business process optimization and implement automation solutions to enhance efficiency, reduce waste, and support continuous improvement.
• Apply structured problem-solving methodologies (e.g., root cause analysis, A3 thinking) to resolve operational challenges and address performance gaps.
• Promote and sustain 5S principles and visual management to maintain workplace organization, operational discipline, and transparency of performance.
• Utilize AOS tools and data analytics to monitor performance, identify improvement opportunities, and prioritize initiatives based on impact.
• Foster a collaborative learning environment that encourages growth, knowledge sharing, and innovation across teams.
• Ensure effective change management and stakeholder engagement to enable smooth adoption of new processes, tools, and ways of working.
• Drive accountability and shared responsibility for agreed actions, ensuring timely execution and achievement of measurable results.
• Continuously develop own AGILE capabilities to provide appropriate guidance and thought leadership to the local team.

Learning Lead:

• Supervise Vaccine Business Excellence learning team.
• Assess training needs across functions at the site to develop and deliver site learning plan to meet performance needs.
• Manage the development and implementation of learning strategy for the site within VBU, based on the VBU Learning Strategy, including creating of technical competency and career maps.
• Partner with VBU Global Learning Team to assess and improve site learning system based on results from Learning System Maturity Assessment or similar. Serve as site representative on Global Learning Forum. Partner with site Training Leads to prioritize key learning interventions in support of customer requirements and evolving Regulatory requirements.
• Oversee the administration of Learning Management System (s) (LMS).
• Leverage and continuously improve technology to effective learning solutions to managers and employees.

DIMENSIONS AND ASPECTS

Technical/Functional (Line) Expertise

• Knowledge of pharmaceutical operations
• Strong Operational Excellence/Digital and Project Management capabilities
• Solid knowledge of Bio-pharmaceutical manufacturing, quality, manufacturing operations, cGMPs, global regulatory or product development required
• Automation expertise to lead/implement business process automation using RPA tools such as UiPath and MS power platform.
• Business process optimization and efficiency improvement skills.
• SME on Learning Systems/Process development and implementation
• Excellent coaching experience
• Proven record of delivery of results and colleague development

Leadership

• Excellent communication abilities
• Drives change and supports others in the change management process
• Experienced people manager
• Strong influencing skills

Decision-making and Autonomy

• Delivers AGILE and Learning roadmap for the site
• As a member of the VBE team, communicates business decisions to AGILE and Learning team
• Lead and participate in cross-functional teams to create value for Takeda as needed

Interaction

• Interacts with all levels of the organization and collaborates strongly with the global OE team, global Learning team, QS&I, PMO, and other AGILE & Learning Leads
• Develops strong relationships with key stakeholders across the Takeda network.

Innovation

• Strong innovative mindset
• Passionate about digital technology and advances site digital program
• Identifies best practices, shares and adopts equally.

Complexity

• Capable of operating across company culture
• Appropriate structured problem solving techniques will be required to address business problems with focus on compliance and business risk in all solutions.

EDUCATION, BEHAVIOURAL COMPETENCIES AND SKILLS:

• Bachelors degree in a technical field/business required, Advanced degree is preferred
• At least 2-4 years of experience in a Quality, Supply Chain, or Operations environment required, three years of experience in bio/pharmaceuticals, biotechnology or life sciences industry is desired
• Demonstrated passion for not accepting the status quo and self-driven to improve the business
• Courage of conviction and open to critical feedback
• A positive and resilient leader
• Program management capabilities
• Exceptional coaching, teaching, presentation (oral and written), and facilitation skills
• Courage/experience to provide coaching/feedback to all levels of the organization including superiors
• Excellent listening skills and emotional intelligence
• Flexible and learning agile, demonstrating the ability to assimilate new knowledge and standards quickly
• Business level of both English and Japanese skill and experience in verbal and written communications
• Demonstrates openness and adaptability to leveraging AI and digital technologies to drive change, proactively seeking innovative solutions and embracing new ways of working.
• Demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) in the workplace.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with a data-driven mindset.
• Demonstrated accountability for delivering high-quality results on time.
• Lean Six Sigma certification (Yellow Belt or higher) required or strongly preferred.
• AGILE certification (Scrum Master, SAFe, or equivalent) preferred.
• Experience with automation technologies, digital transformation tools, and data analytics platforms (Power BI, Tableau).
• Knowledge of Operational Excellence frameworks (Lean, Kaizen) and structured problem-solving techniques (A3, DMAIC).
• Change Management certification (e.g., Prosci) preferred.
• Strong cross-cultural communication skills for global collaboration.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

• Some international travel will be required.
• This job description is not designed to be a complete list of all duties and responsibilities required of the position.

Takeda Compensation and Benefits Summary:

• Allowances: Commutation, Housing, Overtime Work etc.

• Salary Increase: Annually, Bonus Payment: Twice a year

• Working Hours: Headquarters (Osaka/ Tokyo) 9:00-17:30, Production Sites (Osaka/ Yamaguchi) 8:00-16:45, (Narita) 8:30-17:15, Research Site (Kanagawa) 9:00-17:45

• Holidays: Saturdays, Sundays, National Holidays, May Day, Year-End Holidays etc. (approx. 123 days in a year)

• Paid Leaves: Annual Paid Leave, Special Paid Leave, Sick Leave, Family Support Leave, Maternity Leave, Childcare Leave, Family Nursing Leave.

• Flexible Work Styles: Flextime, Telework

• Benefits: Social Insurance, Retirement and Corporate Pension, Employee Stock Ownership Program, etc.

Important Notice concerning working conditions:

• It is possible the job scope may change at the company’s discretion.

• It is possible the department and workplace may change at the company’s discretion.

Locations

Hikari, Japan

Worker Type

Employee

Worker Sub-Type

Regular

Time Type

Full time