Associate Director – Launch Operations

Jobtailor; Dublin; On-site; EUR 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Jobtailor in Ireland is seeking a senior Program Manager to lead integrated launch plans across cross-functional teams, ensuring milestones, owners, dependencies, and decisions are well-governed.

You will drive launch readiness, Day 0 planning, governance forums, and executive reporting, while translating strategic priorities into actionable execution and maintaining RAID discipline across complex pharmaceutical initiatives.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required; advanced degree preferred
• 8+ years of program / project management experience, preferably across complex pharmaceutical launches, commercialization initiatives, product launches, or large cross-functional business transformations
• Experience managing multiple workstreams, senior stakeholders, and launching critical milestones preferred
• Strong preference for experience managing pharmaceutical launch teams, launch readiness programs, governance forums, cross-functional planning, and execution management in complex commercial or medical environments
• Professional PM training or certification preferred, such as PMP or Agile
• Proficiency with launch planning systems such as Launch Hub, Smartsheet, MS Project, AI-enabled productivity tools, and executive reporting tools
• Ability to lead large cross-functional teams without direct authority, influence senior stakeholders, drive accountability, manage ambiguity, and convert strategic priorities into structured execution

Responsibilities

• Build and maintain integrated launch project plans across workstreams, milestones, deliverables, owners, dependencies, and decision points
• Define launch roadmaps, critical paths, readiness gates, and cross-functional interdependencies through post-launch transition
• Run the Launch Hub / launch operating system as the integrated plan of record
• Translate functional plans into integrated cross-functional execution plans
• Design and manage launch operating cadence, governance forums, decision points, escalation pathways, and action tracking
• Align functional SPOCs and sub-team leads on priorities, ownership, interdependencies, and outputs
• Coordinate cross-functional resource planning and capacity trade-off discussions
• Identify, manage, and resolve cross-functional dependencies
• Track commitments, decisions, action owners, due dates, escalations, and follow-through
• Assess launch readiness, maintain readiness trackers, and surface gaps, trade-offs, and risks
• Maintain RAID discipline across risks, assumptions, issues, and dependencies
• Drive contingency planning, scenario readiness, and Day 0 / Day 0+ planning
• Convert LRR, IPST, and governance outputs into actionable execution plans
• Synthesize complex inputs into decision-ready recommendations for senior leadership
• Maintain visibility to asset status, readiness, risks, dependencies, milestones, and decisions
• Prepare executive reporting and reinforce enterprise alignment
• Support launch execution, Day 0 readiness activities, go-live simulations, and post-launch action tracking
• Lead post-launch debriefs, lessons learned, and transition planning
• Identify process improvements and reusable standards for future launches

Skills

Program Management

Pharmaceutical Launch Experience

Cross-Functional Planning

PMP Certification

Launch Planning Systems

Education

Bachelor's degree

Advanced degree preferred

Tools

Launch Hub

Smartsheet

MS Project

AI-Enabled Productivity Tools

Job description

• Build and maintain integrated launch project plans across workstreams, milestones, deliverables, owners, dependencies, and decision points


• Define launch roadmaps, critical paths, readiness gates, and cross-functional interdependencies through post-launch transition


• Run the Launch Hub / launch operating system as the integrated plan of record


• Translate functional plans into integrated cross-functional execution plans


• Design and manage launch operating cadence, governance forums, decision points, escalation pathways, and action tracking


• Align functional SPOCs and sub-team leads on priorities, ownership, interdependencies, and outputs


• Coordinate cross-functional resource planning and capacity trade-off discussions


• Identify, manage, and resolve cross-functional dependencies


• Track commitments, decisions, action owners, due dates, escalations, and follow-through


• Assess launch readiness, maintain readiness trackers, and surface gaps, trade-offs, and risks


• Maintain RAID discipline across risks, assumptions, issues, and dependencies


• Drive contingency planning, scenario readiness, and Day 0 / Day 0+ planning


• Convert LRR, IPST, and governance outputs into actionable execution plans


• Synthesize complex inputs into decision-ready recommendations for senior leadership


• Maintain visibility to asset status, readiness, risks, dependencies, milestones, and decisions


• Prepare executive reporting and reinforce enterprise alignment


• Support launch execution, Day 0 readiness activities, go-live simulations, and post-launch action tracking


• Lead post-launch debriefs, lessons learned, and transition planning


• Identify process improvements and reusable standards for future launches

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree required; advanced degree preferred


• 8+ years of program / project management experience, preferably across complex pharmaceutical launches, commercialization initiatives, product launches, or large cross-functional business transformations


• Experience managing multiple workstreams, senior stakeholders, and launching critical milestones preferred


• Strong preference for experience managing pharmaceutical launch teams, launch readiness programs, governance forums, cross-functional planning, and execution management in complex commercial or medical environments


• Professional PM training or certification preferred, such as PMP or Agile


• Proficiency with launch planning systems such as Launch Hub, Smartsheet, MS Project, AI-enabled productivity tools, and executive reporting tools


• Ability to lead large cross-functional teams without direct authority, influence senior stakeholders, drive accountability, manage ambiguity, and convert strategic priorities into structured execution

Core Competencies

Demonstrates expertise in program and project management, particularly in complex pharmaceutical launches and cross-functional execution. Proficient in managing dependencies, risks, and stakeholder engagement while driving accountability and strategic alignment.

Highest-signal resume keywords

• Program Management


• Pharmaceutical Launch Experience


• Cross-Functional Planning


• PMP Certification


• Launch Planning Systems

Hard Skills

• Project Management


• Launch Readiness


• Governance Forums


• Risk Management


• Action Tracking


• Decision Making


• Contingency Planning


• Process Improvement


• Executive Reporting


• Stakeholder Management

Soft Skills

• Leadership


• Influencing


• Accountability


• Managing Ambiguity


• Collaboration

Certifications & Qualifications

• PMP


• Agile Certification

Industry Keywords

• Pharmaceutical


• Commercialization


• Product Launch


• Cross-Functional Business Transformation


• Complex Environments

Tools & Technologies

• Launch Hub


• Smartsheet


• MS Project


• AI-Enabled Productivity Tools