Assoc. Dir., Development Project Manager (Hybrid)

MSD•Rahway, NJ

3d•Hybrid

About The Position

Global Project and Alliance Management (GPAM) is part of the Research and Development organization at our Company. Development Project Managers in GPAM are enterprise leaders that leverage a strong Project Management foundation to enable pipeline progression through integrated planning, aligned project execution, and problem solving. The GPAM Associate Director, Project Manager, is a core member of Drug Development Teams, partnering with team leaders to develop strategies and execute our Company's drug and vaccine development efforts to progress the Research & Development pipeline and realize its full potential. The Associate Director is expected to provide project management leadership and drive cross-functional teams with sufficient influence and mastery of project management to take on challenging assignments with minimal guidance. Projects could span any therapeutic area in which our company is actively engaged. In addition to project work, the Associate Director is expected to contribute to ongoing business process improvement and talent development in Global Project and Alliance Management (GPAM). This position may be based in either Rahway, NJ or Upper Gwynedd, PA.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree required; concentration in a scientific or applied discipline preferred
Minimum of five (5) years of experience in project management or a related role required
Adaptability
Change Management
Clinical Research
Cross-Functional Leadership
Data Analysis
Drug Development
Multiple Therapeutic Areas
Process Optimization
Publications Management
Regulatory Compliance
Risk Management
Sourcing and Procurement
Strategic Planning
Strategic Thinking
Terminology Management

Nice To Haves

Advanced degree (e.g., MS, MBA, Ph.D., PharmD) preferred
Product development experience strongly preferred (ideally in pharmaceutical/biotech industry)
Experience and knowledge of clinical drug development strongly preferred; including the different phases of development and how the various functional areas contribute to a comprehensive strategy
Project management certification (PMP) and/or formal coursework/training in project management strongly preferred

Responsibilities

Managing the end-to-end drug development process, including projects of significant complexity; driving cross-functional teams and leading by influence to develop comprehensive strategies and ensure successful execution.
Act as enterprise leaders by guiding teams through the creation, approval, and execution of integrated project plans appropriate to the project's phase of development and complexity.
Building and maintaining project schedules and critical project information in enterprise project management systems and databases.
Using these tools to integrate activities across key team members, proactively identify risks, address uncertainty, escalate appropriately, assess program status, and ensure clear and effective communication with key team, management, and cross-departmental stakeholders.
Leveraging relationships and networks to improve and enhance team dynamics; proactively identifying and removing obstacles to drive business results.
Navigating our company's process and organizational norms to enable teams to understand corporate governance and business requirements, thereby enabling decision-making.
Leading key team meetings including creating thoughtful agendas, ensuring appropriate participation, contributing project management insights, and following up to ensure the team continues to make progress while holding others accountable.
Actively participating and completing ongoing training and personal development activities to increase leadership competency and to gain knowledge and skill in the discipline of project management and the business and science of pharmaceutical product discovery and development.
Participating in Global Project and Alliance Management (GPAM) departmental initiatives and workstreams aimed at improving the way that we work and the way that we interact with one another as well as other departments.
Improving business processes to find new efficiencies and connect people to the information that they need.
Providing mentoring, coaching, and oversight to partner project managers working on common projects.
Sharing lessons learned and best practices to impact the Global Project and Alliance Management (GPAM) community positively.