Principal Project Governance Leader

Avantor•Cambridge, MA

6d•$122,000 - $196,075•Remote

About The Position

The Principal Project Governance Leader is a global leadership role responsible for establishing, governing, and continuously improving Avantor’s Project Management Office (PMO) capability across regions, business units, and functions. The role provides enterprise-wide governance of Avantor’s $150 million annual capital expenditure (Capex) portfolio, helping ensure investment is aligned with strategic priorities and that the most important projects are selected and delivered. The position leads project governance, portfolio management, delivery oversight, project controls, and PMO systems. It establishes consistent approaches to investment planning, execution, and performance tracking across a complex, multi-regional organization, and provides senior leaders and governance bodies with consolidated information about portfolio performance, finances, risks, dependencies, and outcomes. The role is accountable for both governance and value realization. It ensures that projects meet their original business-case KPIs, benefits, and strategic objectives, including verification at Gate 5c closure. It also drives global consistency, investment discipline, and adoption of PMO standards and methodologies. This is a remote role with 20% travel.

Requirements

Degree in Business, Engineering, Project Management, or a related field.
10 or more years of progressive PMO leadership experience, including experience in chemical, life sciences, pharmaceutical, or similarly regulated business environments.
Demonstrated experience leading global PMO organizations and PMO functions in global, multi-regional organizations.
Experience in complex global environments with significant capital investment responsibility.
Proven ability to govern enterprise Capex portfolios and prioritize strategic investments.
Strong expertise in benefits realization management and business-case validation.
Experience ensuring projects meet defined outcomes at closure, such as Gate 5c or an equivalent.
Deep knowledge of project controls, governance, and portfolio management.
Ability to influence senior leaders on prioritization and investment decisions.

Nice To Haves

Professional certifications such as PMP, PgMP, PRINCE2, MSP, or Agile.

Responsibilities

Lead the global PMO Governance function and align it with enterprise strategy and Capex investment priorities.
Define and maintain a global PMO operating model for oversight of the annual $150 million Capex portfolio.
Establish standards and frameworks that focus the organization on high-priority, high-value initiatives and promote accountability, transparency, and outcome-based delivery.
Provide leadership, coaching, and capability development across global and regional teams.
Establish and govern a global portfolio management framework, including demand management, prioritization, and Capex investment planning.
Support executive governance forums and investment committees with data-driven decision-making and alignment between strategic priorities and capital allocation.
Oversee resource and capacity planning across the Capex portfolio and maintain a consolidated view of performance, value delivery, and dependencies.
Define and enforce global project lifecycle frameworks, including Gate 5c closure requirements, and ensure consistent delivery methodologies across regions.
Provide assurance oversight for strategic and high-value Capex programs; monitor performance against approved baselines and business-case commitments.
Verify that projects deliver intended KPIs, benefits, strategic outcomes, and original business-case objectives, including at Gate 5c closure.
Facilitate cross-regional coordination and manage global dependencies.
Implement an integrated project-controls framework and standardize measurement of cost, schedule, scope, risk, and benefits.
Track business-case KPIs from initiation through Gate 5c closure; oversee Capex financial tracking, forecasting, and variance analysis.
Establish benefits-realization governance and provide executive reporting linking investment, delivery performance, and realized value.
Define global requirements for PMO and PPM tools; support project prioritization, governance, visibility, and automated performance and benefits reporting.
Ensure data integrity and consistency across global systems and integrate project, financial, and operational systems.
Establish standards for project documentation and Gate 5c closure artefacts; maintain centralized repositories and audit-ready records of Capex decisions and outcomes.
Promote continuous improvement through lessons learned and post-implementation reviews.
Build organizational capability in prioritization, delivery, and benefits realization; develop outcome-based delivery training and coach teams on business-case KPIs.
Drive adoption of global PMO standards and governance practices.