The Fountain Group is a national staffing firm and we are currently seeking a Business Operations Manager - P2P Process Improvement for a prominent client of ours. This position is in Irvine, CA 92612. Details for the position are as follows:
Manager, RDAA Business Operations (Project Manager III)
Pay Rate: $102.00–$109.00/hour
Contract Length: Through May 2027
Overview
We are seeking an experienced Manager, RDAA Business Operations (Project Manager III) to support a high-performing R&D organization focused on operational excellence, procurement execution, and business process improvement.
This role will serve as a key operational partner supporting procure-to-pay (P2P) processes, vendor management, invoice resolution, operational analytics, and continuous improvement initiatives across a complex, matrixed environment. The ideal candidate is highly organized, analytical, proactive, and comfortable partnering cross-functionally with Finance, Procurement, Accounts Payable, and business stakeholders to drive efficiency and resolve operational challenges.
This is a strong fit for candidates with experience in business operations, procurement operations, finance operations, or process improvement within pharmaceutical, healthcare, or other regulated industries.
Key Responsibilities
- Procure-to-Pay / Procurement Operations
- Drive efficiency across end-to-end procure-to-pay processes, including purchase order creation, vendor onboarding, service contracting support, and invoice resolution
- Act as a key operational contact for procurement-related questions, escalations, and issue resolution
- Partner with internal teams including Procurement, Finance, and Accounts Payable to ensure timely execution of purchasing activities
- Interface with external vendors as needed to resolve procurement and payment inquiries
- Monitor procurement workflows and proactively identify bottlenecks or delays
- Business Operations & Process Improvement
- Analyze existing operational workflows and identify opportunities for increased efficiency, automation, and process optimization
- Support root cause analysis, issue resolution, and continuous improvement initiatives
- Help develop scalable business processes, tools, and best practices
- Partner cross-functionally to improve operational transparency and execution across the organization
- Reporting, Metrics & Analytics
- Build and maintain dashboards, trackers, and reports to monitor operational performance, trends, and risks
- Extract, clean, and analyze data from systems including Excel, Smartsheet, and related business tools
- Translate data insights into actionable recommendations and executive-ready presentations
- Support business case development using qualitative and quantitative analysis
- Knowledge Management / Tools
- Support SharePoint site development and maintenance, including SOPs, process documentation, templates, and knowledge resources
- Leverage tools such as Power BI, Excel, Smartsheet, and AI-enabled platforms to improve workflows and reporting efficiency
- Contribute to operational documentation and knowledge-sharing initiatives
- Special Projects
- Support strategic business operations projects based on organizational priorities and candidate strengths
- May include:
- Process digitization / workflow automation
- Dashboard development / analytics
- AI productivity initiatives
- Cross-functional operational excellence programs
Required
- Bachelor’s degree required
- 8+ years of total professional experience
- 6+ years of business operations, procurement, finance, accounting, or related experience
- 3+ years supporting purchasing, procurement, vendor management, or financial operations
- Experience with SAP, purchase orders, invoice resolution, vendor setup/onboarding, and procurement workflows
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
- Advanced Excel skills with experience managing large data sets and reporting
- Experience working in complex, cross-functional environments
- Strong communication skills with ability to work effectively with leadership and business stakeholders
- Pharmaceutical, biotech, medical device, healthcare, or other regulated industry experience
- Experience with Smartsheet, Power BI, SharePoint
- Operational excellence / continuous improvement experience
- Lean / Six Sigma exposure
- Experience supporting service contracting workflows
- Familiarity with AI tools for workflow productivity or analytics