Strategic Programme Manager

VRS; England; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A pioneering diagnostics company in the UK seeks a Strategic Programme Manager to oversee R&D and clinical translation projects. Responsibilities include managing a portfolio of initiatives and facilitating stakeholder engagement. Ideal candidates will have advanced project management experience, a relevant PhD or MSc, and a strong strategic focus. This position offers a flexible hybrid working environment and benefits like private medical insurance.

Benefits

Private medical insurance

Employee share options

Flexible working

Qualifications

• Advanced experience managing complex, multi-phase R&D programmes.
• Project leadership experience from discovery through to clinical translation.
• Familiarity with regulatory frameworks and external funding proposals.

Responsibilities

• Plan, manage, and deliver R&D programmes and clinical translation initiatives.
• Align scientific and product leads on strategy and resource allocations.
• Communicate effectively with project sponsors and stakeholders.

Skills

Advanced project management

Strong technical judgment

Excellent communication

Strategic awareness

Risk management

Education

PhD or MSc in life sciences or related discipline

Job description

Overview

A pioneering diagnostics and breath-biopsy company is recruiting a Strategic Programme 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.

Responsibilities

Plan, manage, and deliver a portfolio of R&D programmes and discovery-to-clinical translation initiatives. Work 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, align scientific and product leads on strategy, timelines, resource allocations, and delivery constraints; externally, be the key point of contact for project sponsors, funding bodies, and collaborators, communicating progress, risks, and outcomes with clarity and rigor.

Qualifications

• 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 preferred
• 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.

About the team

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.

How to apply

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