Senior Project Manager, R&D: Drug Development

CSL (EMEA); United Kingdom; Hybrid; GBP 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

A global biotherapeutics leader in the UK is seeking a Drug Development Project Manager to drive scientific, technical, and operational progress. The role involves coordinating global programmes and ensuring timely delivery. The ideal candidate should have extensive biotech experience, strong leadership skills, and proficiency in project management tools. Join to make a meaningful difference in patients' lives.

Benefits

Health care benefits

Financial protection resources

Support for family planning

Qualifications

• 7+ years in biotech or pharmaceutical R&D, including 5+ years managing cross-functional programmes.
• Broad understanding of drug development, clinical, CMC and regulatory processes.
• Demonstrated success in delivering projects on time, within budget and to agreed quality standards.

Responsibilities

• Translate project strategy into executable plans with clear timelines, budgets and risk management.
• Lead and motivate multidisciplinary teams across discovery, clinical, regulatory and CMC.
• Anticipate challenges and evaluate scenarios.

Skills

Biotech experience

Project management

Communication skills

Influencing skills

Cross-functional management

Education

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent in science

Tools

Microsoft Project

Job description

CSL's R&D organization is accelerating innovation to deliver greater impact for patients.

With a project‑led structure and a focus on collaboration, we’re building a future‑ready team that thrives in dynamic biotech ecosystems. Joining CSL now means being part of an agile team committed to developing therapies that make a meaningful difference worldwide.

The Role

We’re looking for a Drug Development Project Manager – someone who understands how discovery turns into development, and development turns into real therapies for patients. This is not a generic project‑management position; it’s about driving the scientific, technical and operational progress that determines whether a potential medicine succeeds.

You’ll be the connection between scientific strategy and operational delivery, coordinating complex, global programmes that draw on expertise from discovery, clinical, regulatory, CMC and commercial functions. Your focus will be keeping teams aligned, assessing scenarios and making decisions in a timely fashion. This ensures that every milestone moves us closer to patients who need new treatment options.

Why This Job

This role sits along the central axis of some of CSL’s most strategically important development programmes – the kind of projects where coordination and clarity make the difference between momentum and delay. It’s an opportunity to work at the point where science, strategy and execution meet; to see the bigger picture while ensuring every moving part is in sync. For an experienced drug‑development project manager, this is the chance to apply your skills where they truly shape outcomes, not just track them.

CSL is at an inflection point. We’re undergoing a massive transformation in R&D. It represents a tremendous opportunity to be involved, to work with key decision makers and have influence on project progression. We have exciting, new assets coming out of our research portfolio as well as an existing portfolio of medicines which we’re looking into further transforming to improve the quality of patients’ lives.

What You’ll Do

• Translate project strategy into executable plans with clear timelines, budgets and risk management.
• Lead and motivate multidisciplinary teams across discovery, clinical, regulatory and CMC.
• Anticipate challenges, evaluate scenarios and keep teams aligned on critical path activities.
• Present concise updates and recommendations to senior stakeholders.
• Coach and mentor colleagues in project‑management best practice and delivery discipline.

What You’ll Bring

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent in science, engineering or related discipline (advanced degree preferred).
• 7+ years in biotech or pharmaceutical R&D, including 5+ years managing cross‑functional programmes.
• Broad understanding of drug development, clinical, CMC and regulatory processes.
• Demonstrated success in delivering projects on time, within budget and to agreed quality standards.
• Excellent communication and influencing skills; ability to work effectively across cultures and time zones.
• Strong proficiency in project‑management tools and methodologies (e.g. Microsoft Project, PMP certification advantageous).

Our Benefits

CSL employees that work at least 30 hours per week are eligible for benefits effective day 1. We are committed to the wellbeing of our employees and their loved ones. CSL offers resources and benefits, from health care to financial protection, so you can focus on doing work that matters. Our benefits are designed to support the needs of our employees at every stage of their life. Whether you are considering starting a family, need help paying for emergency back‑up care or summer camp, looking for mental health resources, planning for your financial future, or supporting your favorite charity with a matching contribution, CSL has many benefits to help achieve your goals.

Please take the time to review our benefits site to see what’s available to you as a CSL employee.

About CSL Behring

CSL Behring is a global biotherapeutics leader driven by our promise to save lives. Focused on serving patients’ needs by using the latest technologies, we discover, develop and deliver innovative therapies for people living with conditions in the immunology, hematology, cardiovascular and metabolic, respiratory, and transplant therapeutic areas. We use three strategic scientific platforms of plasma fractionation, recombinant protein technology, and cell and gene therapy to support continued innovation and continually refine ways in which products can address unmet medical needs and help patients lead full lives.

CSL Behring operates one of the world’s largest plasma collection networks.

Our parent company, CSL, headquartered in Melbourne, Australia, employs 32,000 people, and delivers its lifesaving therapies to people in more than 100 countries.

We Want CSL to Reflect the World Around Us

At CSL, Inclusion and Belonging is at the core of our mission and who we are. It fuels our innovation day in and day out. By celebrating our differences and creating a culture of curiosity and empathy, we are able to better understand and connect with our patients and donors, foster strong relationships with our stakeholders, and sustain a diverse workforce that will move our company and industry into the future. Learn more Inclusion and Belonging | CSL.

Do Work That Matters at CSL Behring!