The Global Project & Program Manager (GPPM) will lead cross-functional teams in the management and execution of projects/programs within the Portfolio with minimum supervision, ensuring successful delivery on time, within scope, and within budget. S/He will be responsible for managing full project lifecycles, from project proposal to completion / operational handover, ensuring alignment with corporate strategy and business objectives.

The GPPM will work with all relevant stakeholders, including project sponsors, the portfolio lead, program leads, governance / steering teams and assigned project team members to initiate, plan and execute complex cross-functional projects to required quality standards. The individual will be responsible for several cross-functional projects and will lead the project teams to successfully deliver on project objectives, effectively identify and manage project risks and resolve project issues.

The GPPM will be a strong leader with a strategic mindset, results driven, who can manage both technical and / or business projects in a pharma / bio-pharmaceutical environment, while maintaining focus on quality and compliance. S/He will provide strong stakeholder communications, establish / lead Governance / Steering teams as appropriate to facilitate successful project delivery.

Essential Functions / Responsibilities

Project Leadership, Planning and Execution:

• Establish the project’s strategic alignment, business criticality and prioritisation, aligned to company strategy.

• Work with the Project Sponsor and key functional leads to build a cross-functional project team, capable of delivering the project.

• Ensure all pre-requisite project intake parameters are met and documented, including appropriate project governance, scope, budget, resources, prioritisation.

• Work with relevant Stakeholders to develop the project charter including scope, milestones schedule, budget, deliverables, risks, RACI.

• Work with the Project Sponsor and project team to formally launch the project, ensuring the project team are fully conversant with project deliverables, budget, and timelines.

• Manage the project through its lifecycle phases, ensuring all relevant criteria are met prior to each stage-gate approval.

• Lead day‑to‑day execution, managing project schedule, scope, budget, risks, reporting dashboards, and milestone tracking.

• Lead project team meetings, governance updates, and status reporting to stakeholders to drive the execution of project deliverables within scope, time and budget constraints.

Budget and Resource Management:

• Lead cost management activities – partnering with project team leads and Finance, to develop and manage the budget and ensure spends are controlled / tracked accurately.

• Monitor project resources and ensure they are allocated efficiently across different stages of the project, partnering with functional / site leaders as necessary to anticipate / react to project resource demand variations.

• Implement change management to document project scope changes as appropriate. 

Risk and Issue Management:

• Work with the Project Team in leading and proactively identifying project risks and issues, developing robust mitigation plans, and implementing mitigation action plans in a timely manner to keep the project on track.

• Communicate / escalate high risks to key stakeholders / senior leadership as appropriate, ensuring prompt resolution plans are in place to mitigate project impact.

Team Leadership:

• Guide and motivate global project team members, ensuring professional resolution of conflict in a timely manner.

• Provide leadership, mentorship and guidance to more junior or less experienced Project Personnel, helping to develop their project management skills and advance their knowledge.

Communication and Stakeholder Management:

• Serve as the point of contact for project teams, senior leadership, external stakeholders.

• Develop strong sponsor relationships and establish project governance / steering committee groups internally / externally as appropriate to enable project success.

• Manage all project communications with key stakeholders, including accurate progress status updates, to ensure alignment on project goals and deliverables.

• Conduct accurate updates to and reporting of assigned projects through company systems/tools, as agreed with the Portfolio Lead.

• Engage regularly with other Project Managers to identify and mitigate impact of cross project / cross functional dependencies that may impact projects delivery.

Regulatory and Compliance:

• Ensure projects with regulatory compliance requirements comply with relevant regulatory standards (e.g. FDA, EMA), industry best practices, and company policies.

• Support applicable regulatory submissions / approvals to meet project timelines.

• Ensure projects comply with all relevant health, safety and environmental regulations.

• Foster a culture of quality and compliance throughout the project lifecycle.

External Partnerships and Vendor Management:

• Manage relationships with external Partners, Vendors, CMO’s, ensuring deliverables / contractual obligations are met and projects stay within scope, schedule and budget.

Continuous Improvement:

• Connect regularly with other Project Managers and key stakeholders to exchange knowledge, develop opportunities for improvement and share lessons learned.

• Play a lead role in developing and implementing meaningful improvements to project/program management capabilities, processes, tools and infrastructure to ensure ongoing efficiency and effectiveness improvements across the PMO.

• Support the PMO in developing and implementing best practices to enhance project/program delivery experience for Stakeholders.

• Support the PMO in developing and implementing best-in-class metrics / KPI’s to enhance performance reporting capability.

Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

Demonstrable expertise in Project and Program Management:  

• Substantial practical experience of project/program management, within global pharma / bio-pharmaceutical or similar environments.

• Recognised as a Subject Matter Expert in the Project Management field.

• Proven track record of independently managing / leading cross-functional project teams to deliver projects on time, within scope, within budget, with minimum direction.

• Ability to create, maintain, and execute detailed project plans using Microsoft Project, and / or other planning tools used by the company.

• Strong advocate of project management tools, techniques and disciplines.

• Demonstrated project finance management, to review, compile, report on project finances.

• Experienced in robust project risk management, proactive mitigation of project risks.

Management / Leadership skills:

• Strong organisational capability, with the ability to simultaneously lead several cross-functional project teams, with members from diverse backgrounds and geographies.

• Experience at managing internal matrixed and external collaborations, alliances and other relationships through influencing without direct authority.

• Experience in mentoring and developing junior team members, fostering a collaborative and high-performance environment.

• Excellent team player, with strong collaboration, integrity and interpersonal skills, including awareness and sensitivity to diverse cultures.

Communication and Partnering:

• Excellent communication skills, including written, verbal, listening, and presentation skills.

• Ability to build relationships effectively across all layers of a global organisation.

Influence and Persuasion:

• Ability to influence stakeholders and to drive alignment across project / program teams.

• Skilled in managing differing perspectives and fostering consensus in decision-making processes.

Continuous Improvement:  

• Continuous improvement mind-set, with desire to improve professionally through applying industry best practices and data analytics in pursuit of project delivery excellence.

• Advocate for robust business and voice of the customer processes, with experience of seeking and driving continual process improvements.

• Proactive contributor to high performance team culture.

Problem-Solving / Analytical Skills:

• Ability to perform in a fast-paced environment with competing priorities under tight deadlines.

• Ability to prioritise and create clarity from ambiguity to give clear direction to the team.

• Experience at guiding project teams in critical thinking and timely resolution of project life cycle issues, employing a solution-oriented approach to mitigate delays and risks.

• Strong analytical skills, ability to establish detailed project plans with identified critical paths and interdependencies.

Adaptability and Flexibility:

• Adaptability and flexibility to manage a diverse range of technical and / or business projects by applying robust project management practices, tools, structure and know-how.

• Experience at serving as an advocate for change, with an open mind, welcoming the thoughts, views and opinions of others.

In depth knowledge in the Pharmaceutical Industry:

• Demonstrated knowledge of successfully managing change projects/programs within the pharma / bio-pharmaceutical environment: including for example geographical expansions / product launches, technical transfers (drug product, drug substance, packaging), scale-up’s, asset builds, strategic change projects.

• Ability to maintain a strong focus on quality within a pharmaceutical environment, ensuring that all aspects of the project comply with relevant standards and policies.

• Understanding of pharmaceutical regulatory requirements (e.g., FDA, EMA) and the ability to navigate compliance and quality standards.

• Strong change management expertise, navigating change within a matrixed environment.

Required/Preferred Education, Experience and Licenses

• Bachelors’ Degree with extensive pharmaceutical / bio-pharmaceutical Industry experience, working as a Project/Program Manager.

• Project Management Professional (PMP) or significant Pharmaceutical related Project/Program execution experience.

• Cross functional team leadership experience.

• Mentoring / training of peers or more junior colleagues

• Proficient with Microsoft Office, including Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Project, Teams, and Project Portfolio Enterprise System.

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