Associate Director, Project Controls

Lonza•Portsmouth, NH

1d•Onsite

About The Position

We are seeking an elite, highly analytical project controls and commercial management professional to join our Global Engineering team as the Associate Director, Project Controls. Reporting directly to the US Project Controls Lead, this senior position is responsible for leading all project controls functions across a high-complexity portfolio of major capital expense (CAPEX) programs and large growth investment projects (typically exceeding $100M+). Operating under general direction with broad autonomy, you will establish rigorous governance, drive integrated reporting, and deliver data-driven insights post-CAR approval. This role serves as a key organizational anchor—collaborating with multi-million dollar program leaders, guiding a specialized team of internal and external controls specialists, and protecting site execution budgets, schedules, and strategic corporate objectives.

Requirements

15+ years of deep, advanced project controls management experience within a highly regulated environment (pharmaceutical, biotechnology, or chemical processing industries highly preferred).
Proven history of success managing controls for large-scale capital portfolios exceeding $100M+.
Strong digital platform proficiency with deep working knowledge of enterprise capital management and scheduling tools—including Primavera (P6), Unifier, SAP, and advanced data manipulation applications (Excel pivot tables, macros).
Niche analytical skillset linking complex, multi-disciplinary technical engineering understandings to definitive financial project goals, risk quantified models, and commercial outcomes.
Solid collaboration and influencing capabilities to guide cross-functional leadership teams (Finance, Procurement, Operations, Automation) and interact seamlessly with executive stakeholders.
Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering, Finance, Business, or a related Scientific discipline is required.
Proactive communicator who thrives within fast-paced environments, actively manages ambiguity, balances shifting organizational priorities, and takes absolute personal accountability for team outcomes.

Nice To Haves

A Master's Degree in an engineering or business discipline is highly preferred.

Responsibilities

Establish, govern, and continuously optimize integrated cost, schedule, risk, and change management processes across multiple major projects and large capital programs.
Act as the primary strategic partner to Project Leads (PLs) during delivery, executing advanced cost and schedule controls to maintain target project performance baselines.
Oversee the development, verification, and governance of complex, integrated project schedules (Levels 1–4), ensuring rigorous critical path analysis and quantified schedule risk modeling.
Lead comprehensive financial cost control operations, including multi-million dollar budgeting, deep Estimate-at-Completion (EAC) forecasting, accrual validations, and robust variance analyses.
Manage and vet Project Change Orders (PCOs), ruthlessly evaluating their cumulative cost, timeline schedule, and commercial risk impacts before escalation.
Monitor third-party and contractor performance against contractual commitments, spearheading commercial validation activities such as GMP/GMAX contract reviews and complex invoice audits.
Deliver transparent, highly accurate executive-level reporting that details cost/schedule KPIs, emerging trends, deviations, and cashflow projections to enable proactive senior management decision-making.
Drive total execution alignment between construction sequences, commissioning schedules, and final Validation (CQV) milestones across all site stakeholders.
Directly manage and mentor a dedicated project controls squad consisting of 2–4 direct reports and up to 10 indirect internal and external/contingent workers.