Strategic Program Manager

ZipRecruiter; Cambridge; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading diagnostics company in Cambridge is seeking a Strategic Program Manager to lead R&D and translational projects. You will manage complex programmes and engage stakeholders to ensure strategic goals are met efficiently. Candidates should have a PhD or MSc in life sciences and substantial project leadership experience. The role offers a vibrant work culture with hybrid flexibility and competitive benefits.

Benefits

Private medical insurance

Employee share options

Flexible work culture

Qualifications

• Advanced experience managing complex, multi-phase R&D programmes—ideally within biotech organisations.
• Experience navigating dynamic, scaling environments.
• Familiarity with regulatory frameworks is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Plan, manage, and deliver a portfolio of R&D programmes and discovery-to-clinical translation initiatives.
• Engage stakeholders internally and externally on strategy, timelines, and resource allocations.

Skills

Project leadership experience

Strong technical judgment

Excellent communication

Strategic awareness

Risk management discipline

Education

PhD or MSc in life sciences

Job description

Overview

Job Description

A pioneering diagnostics and breath-biopsy company is recruiting a Strategic Program Manager to lead high-stakes R&D and translational projects. Reporting to senior R&D leadership, you’ll bridge the gap between scientific ambition and delivery, ensuring that ambitious strategic goals are met on time, on scope, and within budget.

In this role, you will plan, manage, and deliver a portfolio of R&D programmes and discovery-to-clinical translation initiatives. Working closely with functional leads—scientific, technical, and product—translating complex scientific and regulatory requirements into structured delivery plans.

You’ll also play a major role in stakeholder engagement. Internally, you’ll align scientific and product leads on strategy, timelines, resource allocations, and delivery constraints. Externally, you will be the key point of contact for project sponsors, funding bodies, and collaborators, communicating progress, risks, and outcomes with clarity and rigor.

Responsibilities

To be considered for this role, we’re looking for individuals with:

• Advanced experience managing complex, multi-phase R&D programmes—ideally within biotech organisations
• PhD or MSc in life sciences or a related technical discipline
• Substantial project leadership experience from discovery through to clinical translation, is essential
• Experience navigating dynamic, scaling environments is .
• Strong technical judgment, excellent communication, strategic awareness, risk management discipline, and the ability to see both big-picture goals and intricate details are essential. Familiarity with regulatory frameworks, external funding proposals, dashboards, and reporting systems is a plus.

Qualifications

You’ll be joining a team with a mission to save lives and healthcare costs through non-invasive diagnostics. The company offers a vibrant, international work culture, flexibility with hybrid working, private medical insurance, an employee share options scheme, and the chance to work on technologies that have genuine global impact.

Benefits

To learn more about this exciting opportunity apply to VRS today!

Keywords: Principal Project Manager, R&D Project Leadership, Diagnostics, Biomarker Discovery, Clinical, Translation, In-vitro, Breath Biopsy, EVOC Probe, Multidisciplinary Collaboration, Grant & Funding Proposals, Risk & Stakeholder Management, Product Development, Strategy-to-Execution, Life Sciences, Biotech, VRS9137PC