Senior Project Manager

SEQUENTIAL; Cambridge; On-site; GBP 50,000 - 60,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

25 days' annual leave

Share options through EMI Scheme

Workplace pension

Babraham Research Campus location

Professional development support

Job summary

Sequential is hiring a Senior Project Manager to run multi-omic skin studies for global skincare, cosmetic and pharmaceutical clients from our Babraham Research Campus lab in Cambridge. You will own study delivery from protocol to final report, coordinating cross‑site teams across the UK, US and Asia.

The role requires a life-science degree and at least five years in CRO project management, with hands‑on use of Jira/Asana/Monday.com and budgeting expertise.

Qualifications

• A degree in a life science, or equivalent experience.
• At least 5 years' project management experience in a CRO, biotech, diagnostics or pharmaceutical setting.
• Hands-on experience with PM software and building boards, workflows, and reporting dashboards.
• Confident managing budgets, timelines and scope changes.
• Clear written and spoken English; able to explain technical work to clients and teams.
• Right to work in the UK.

Responsibilities

• Lead a portfolio of concurrent client studies from kick-off to final report, owning scope, timelines, budget and deliverables.
• Build and maintain detailed project plans covering sample collection, logistics, lab processing, sequencing, bioinformatics and reporting.
• Track sample flow and lab capacity; identify bottlenecks and coordinate with the lab team to clear backlogs.
• Coordinate clinical operations and sample collection teams in New York and Singapore, and with external partners.
• Manage changes in scope through a clear change-control process, with cost and timeline impact agreed before work proceeds.
• Act as the main day-to-day contact for clients; run meetings and status updates; translate needs into lab requirements.

Education

Life science degree or equivalent experience

Tools

Jira

Asana

Monday.com

Smartsheet

Microsoft Project

Microsoft 365

Google Workspace

Job description

Do you enjoy turning complex science into results that land on time and on budget? Sequential is hiring a Senior Project Manager to run multi-omic skin studies for global skincare, cosmetic and pharmaceutical clients, from our new lab at the Babraham Research Campus, Cambridge.

At a glance

• Salary: £50,000 – £60,000 per year, depending on experience
• Contract: Permanent, full time
• Reports to: Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer
• Works with: Lab operations, bioinformatics, clinical operations (New York, Singapore) and business development

Do you enjoy turning complex science into results that land on time and on budget? Sequential is hiring a Senior Project Manager to run multi-omic skin studies for global skincare, cosmetic and pharmaceutical clients, from our new lab at the Babraham Research Campus, Cambridge.

At a glance

• Location: Babraham Research Campus, Cambridge, UK (on site)
• Salary: £50,000 – £60,000 per year, depending on experience
• Contract: Permanent, full time
• Reports to: Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer
• Works with: Lab operations, bioinformatics, clinical operations (New York, Singapore) and business development

About Sequential

Sequential is the world's leading specialist CRO, trusted by more than 100 international brands to unlock the science behind personal care products. Backed by millions of clinical biomarker data points, we help accelerate research and innovation across skin, scalp, oral, intimate care, and supplements.

The role

You will own the delivery of Sequential's client studies — on time, on budget and to the quality pharma and consumer-health clients expect. Each study runs from protocol and sample collection through lab processing, sequencing and analysis to the final report, often across three countries.

The role exists because we are growing. Laboratory work is consolidating in Cambridge, pharmaceutical clients are auditing and piloting our platform, and we are working towards formal lab accreditation. We need one person who holds the full picture of every study and keeps clients, scientists and operations aligned.

Key responsibilities

Study delivery

• Lead a portfolio of concurrent client studies from kick-off to final report, owning scope, timelines, budget and deliverables.
• Build and maintain detailed project plans covering sample collection, logistics, lab processing, sequencing, bioinformatics and reporting.
• Track sample flow and lab capacity at Babraham; identify bottlenecks early and work with the lab team to clear backlogs.
• Coordinate clinical operations and sample collection teams in New York and Singapore, and external partners such as sequencing providers and clinical sites.
• Manage changes in scope through a clear change-control process, with cost and timeline impact agreed before work proceeds.

Client management

• Act as the main day-to-day contact for clients once a study is contracted.
• Run kick-off meetings, regular status updates and close-out reviews.
• Translate client needs into clear technical requirements for the lab and data teams, and scientific results back into client language.
• Spot opportunities for follow-on work and pass them to business development.

Quality, compliance and audits

• Make sure studies follow protocols, SOPs and data-handling requirements, including GDPR and client data-privacy terms.
• Prepare for and support client and vendor audits, due-diligence questionnaires and pilot studies with pharmaceutical clients.
• Support the company's work towards lab accreditation (for example ISO or CLIA/CAP), including document control and records.
• Keep complete study documentation: protocols, chain of custody, deviations and approvals.

Process and team

• Own the project management toolset (for example Jira and Confluence): set up the workflows, boards, timelines and dashboards that give clients and leadership a live view of every study.
• Improve how projects are run: templates, trackers, reporting and handover between teams.
• Report portfolio status, risks and margins to senior leadership.
• Mentor junior project or study coordinators as the team grows.

Essential qualifications and experience

• A degree in a life science (for example molecular biology, microbiology, biochemistry or biomedical science), or equivalent experience.
• At least 5 years' project management experience in a CRO, biotech, diagnostics or pharmaceutical setting.
• A track record of running several client-facing studies at once, from start to finish.
• Hands-on experience with project management software such as Jira, Asana, Monday.com, Smartsheet or Microsoft Project, including building boards, workflows, Gantt timelines and reporting dashboards.
• Strong skills in Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace, including advanced Excel or Google Sheets for budget and resource tracking.
• Good working knowledge of laboratory workflows and sample handling, ideally including molecular methods such as DNA/RNA extraction, qPCR or next-generation sequencing.
• Experience working within quality systems (GLP, GCP, ISO 9001/17025 or similar) and supporting audits.
• Confident managing budgets, timelines and scope changes.
• Clear written and spoken English; able to explain technical work to clients and commercial teams.
• Comfortable working across time zones with teams in the US and Asia.
• Right to work in the UK.

Desirable

• A PhD or MSc in a relevant field.
• A formal project management qualification (PMP, PRINCE2, APM, or Agile/Scrum certification).
• Experience with microbiome, multi-omics, dermatology or consumer clinical studies, including cosmetic claim substantiation.
• Experience supporting clinical studies or working with clinical sites and ethics submissions.
• Experience with lab and quality systems such as LIMS and eQMS or document control
• Familiarity with collaboration and CRM tools such as JIRA, Slack ,Google and HubSpot.
• Experience in a fast-growing start-up or scale-up.

What we offer

• A salary of £50,000 – £60,000 per year, depending on experience.
• 25 days' annual leave plus UK bank holidays.
• Share options through our EMI Scheme
• Workplace pension.
• A role at the centre of a growing company, with real influence over how we deliver studies.
• Work with leading personal care and pharmaceutical clients on new skin science.
• A base at the Babraham Research Campus, one of Europe's leading life-science campuses.
• Support for professional development and training.