Construction Manager - GFD

100 Eli Lilly and Company; Indianapolis (IN); On-site; USD 131,000 - 211,000; Full time

Job summary

Eli Lilly and Company in Indianapolis seeks a Construction Manager to lead field construction for global capital programs, ensuring safety, cost, schedule, and quality across brownfield and greenfield sites.

You will supervise Lilly employees and contract leaders, manage budgets, resolve disputes, and coordinate with program leadership to deliver high‑impact outcomes that advance patient care and manufacturing excellence.

Qualifications

• Bachelor of Science in engineering, construction management, or a related technical field.
• Ten years of capital project construction delivery experience in industrial/manufacturing facilities, including greenfield and brownfield projects.
• Experience overseeing multiple construction contractors or CM firms simultaneously.
• Authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis; no visa sponsorship is provided.

Responsibilities

• Lead and manage a team of Lilly employees and contract construction leaders for large-scale capital programs (>= $200M).
• Oversee field construction execution from detailed design to mechanical completion, ensuring safety, cost, schedule, and quality.
• Collaborate with legal, procurement, and other parties on dispute resolution.
• Manage field execution budget and capital spend, including forecasting and change management.
• Serve as primary liaison between field teams and program leadership; ensure clear communication and issue resolution.
• Maintain compliance with company policies, GMP requirements where applicable, and regulatory frameworks.

Skills

Team leadership

Safety leadership

Budget management

Project management

GMP experience

Communication

Field execution

Education

Bachelor of Science in engineering or related field

Tools

PE certification

CCM certification

PMP certification

Job description

At Lilly, the work is demanding because patients are waiting. We unite caring with discovery to help make life better for people around the world, knowing that every decision, every detail, and every day matters. Headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, our over 50,000 employees around the globe take on complex challenges to discover and deliver life‑changing medicines, strengthen how health is understood and managed, and support the communities we serve. This is hard, urgent, selfless work—but it’s work worth doing. If you’re driven by purpose and ready to bring your best to work that truly matters for patients, we invite you to join us.

Position Brand Description

The Global Facilities Delivery (GFD) Organization, part of Manufacturing & Quality, delivers new and renovated capital assets around the world. Our mission is accomplished through a highly leveraged organization of design, construction, and qualification contractors. Many of the assets delivered focus on medical innovation and delivering innovative solutions to patients. Some of the assets delivered will expand the supply of existing medicines or strengthen the supply chain. The Construction Manager leads field construction execution for GFD, supervising a team of Lilly employees and contract construction leaders to safely execute large‑scale capital programs at both brownfield and greenfield sites. This role is accountable for field construction execution from detailed design through mechanical completion, as well as the field execution budget and capital spend across assigned programs. The Construction Manager reports to the AVP of Construction Management and HSE in GFD and serves as the primary point of contact between field contract construction teams and program leadership.

Key Objectives/Deliverables

• Team Leadership: Lead and manage a team of Lilly employees and contract construction leaders to safely execute large‑scale capital programs of at least $200M USD in business‑critical capital assets within the framework of the contract, including vetting invoices, change orders, etc.
• Field Construction Execution: Hold accountability for field construction execution from detailed design through mechanical completion, ensuring contractor teams deliver on safety, cost, schedule, and quality objectives on both brownfield and greenfield sites.
• Dispute Resolution: Play a key role in partnership with legal, procurement, and other necessary parties for any disputes that may arise with the contract construction team.
• Budget & Capital Spend: Hold accountability for the field execution budget and capital spend across assigned programs, including cost forecasting, change management, and adherence to financial controls.
• Interface/Communication: Serve as the primary point of contact between field contract construction teams and program leadership, developing and maintaining effective communication with GFD, project leadership, project teams, governance bodies, business partners, and site stakeholders, and facilitating issue resolution, proactively identifying and solving field issues, and implementing construction work safely and with quality, speed, and value.
• Compliance: Lead with a disciplined, structured approach to construction management based on compliance with Company policies and procedures, including construction quality standards, GMP requirements where applicable, and applicable regulatory frameworks.

Minimum Requirements

• Bachelor of Science in engineering, construction management, or a related technical field.
• Minimum of ten (10) years of experience in capital project construction delivery in industrial or manufacturing facilities, including previous experience executing greenfield and large‑scale brownfield construction projects.
• Demonstrated experience directly managing or overseeing multiple construction contractors or construction management firms simultaneously.
• Qualified applicants must be authorized to work in the United States on a full‑time basis. Lilly will not provide support for or sponsor work authorization or visas for this role, including but not limited to F-1 CPT, F-1 OPT, F-1 STEM OPT, J-1, H-1B, TN, O-1, E-3, H-1B1, or L-1.

Additional Preferences

• Direct field supervision of projects or programs greater than $100MM in size.
• Prior pharmaceutical manufacturing construction experience, including construction execution in facilities such as bulk API, sterile products, secondary packaging, and devices, and to a lesser extent laboratory projects.
• Proficiency in one or more of the following areas: GMP construction, LEAN construction principles, construction quality systems, project controls, civil, structural, mechanical, and electrical disciplines, safety leadership, and scheduling.
• Proven ability to achieve results and influence through people, including contractor workforces not under direct administrative authority, and to manage and drive accountability across contract construction management organizations.
• Demonstrated sound judgment in field decision making without requiring management approval for routine issues, while keeping program leadership informed and engaged on critical matters.
• Effective written and verbal communication skills across all levels of the project and organizational hierarchy.
• Professional Engineer (PE), Certified Construction Manager (CCM), or equivalent technical certification, and/or Project Management Professional (PMP) or construction management certification.

Additional Information

This position will require full relocation to the project site, as onsite presence is required. International and domestic travel is expected in this role (approximately 15% to 30%) and may include weekends and multi‑week stays. This posting is not site specific; the role may be based at any of multiple GFD project locations. Multiple job levels can be hired against this job description, and business title will vary based on job level. Lilly is dedicated to helping individuals with disabilities to actively engage in the workforce, ensuring equal opportunities when vying for positions. If you require accommodation to submit a resume for a position at Lilly, please complete the accommodation request form (https://careers.lilly.com/us/en/workplace-accommodation) for further assistance. Please note this is for individuals to request an accommodation as part of the application process and any other correspondence will not receive a response.

Lilly is proud to be an EEO Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, religion, gender identity, sex, gender expression, sexual orientation, genetic information, ancestry, national origin, protected veteran status, disability, or any other legally protected status.

Our employee resource groups (ERGs) offer strong support networks for their members and are open to all employees.

Employee Resource Groups

• Africa
• Middle East
• Central Asia (AMECA)
• Black Employees at Lilly (BE@Lilly)
• Chinese Culture Network (CCN)
• EnAble
• Evolve
• Lilly Indian Network (LIN)
• Organization of Latinx at Lilly (OLA)
• Pride (LGBTQ+ Allies)
• Veterans Leadership Network (VLN)
• Women’s Initiative for Leading at Lilly (WILL)

Actual compensation will depend on a candidate’s education, experience, skills, and geographic location. The anticipated wage for this position is $130,500 - $211,200. Full‑time equivalent employees also will be eligible for a company bonus (depending, in part, on company and individual performance).

In addition, Lilly offers a comprehensive benefit program to eligible employees, including eligibility to participate in a company-sponsored 401(k); pension; vacation benefits; eligibility for medical, dental, vision and prescription drug benefits; flexible benefits (e.g., healthcare and/or dependent day care flexible spending accounts); life insurance and death benefits; certain time off and leave of absence benefits; and well‑being benefits (e.g., employee assistance program, fitness benefits, and employee clubs and activities).

Lilly reserves the right to amend, modify, or terminate its compensation and benefit programs in its sole discretion and Lilly’s compensation practices and guidelines will apply regarding the details of any promotion or transfer of Lilly employees.

#WeAreLilly At Lilly we strive to ensure our employees are part of a team that cares about them and our shared purpose of making life better for those around the world. How do we do this? We continue to look for ways to include, innovate, accelerate and deliver while maintaining integrity, excellence and respect for people. We hope that you seek to join us on our journey as we create medicine and deliver improved outcomes for patients across the globe!