Manufacturing and Operational Excellence Project Manager (Contract)

Vertex Pharmaceuticals; Boston (MA); On-site; USD 110,000 - 117,000; Full time

Job summary

Vertex Pharmaceuticals is seeking a VMC Operational Excellence Project Manager to lead process improvement efforts on a 12-month, full-time on-site contract in Boston. You will drive process discovery, SIPOC development, and value stream mapping while applying Lean Six Sigma to identify waste and opportunities.

You will plan and facilitate cross-functional workshops, manage stakeholder alignment, and own data collection and reporting dashboards.

Qualifications

• Demonstrated experience independently leading Operational Excellence, Lean Six Sigma, Continuous Improvement, or business process improvement initiatives.
• Hands-on experience developing SIPOC diagrams, process maps, and value stream maps.
• Strong facilitation and stakeholder-management skills, including experience leading cross-functional workshops, root cause analysis, and consensus-building activities.
• Strong analytical capability using Excel and at least one advanced analytics approach or tool, such as Python, SQL, Power BI, or a comparable platform, to analyze operational performance and quantify improvement opportunities.

Responsibilities

• Lead process discovery and assessment activities across manufacturing and business operations.
• Develop SIPOCs, process maps, and Value Stream Maps.
• Apply Lean Six Sigma tools to identify waste, bottlenecks, rework, delays, and improvement opportunities.
• Facilitate root cause analysis and future-state design to translate findings into actionable recommendations.
• Own the data pull and visual assembly for recurring reporting (e.g. project updates).
• Build a standardized value stream data architecture with reusable schema definitions.
• Create ROI calculator and integrated OpEx Value Register tying baseline to intervention to outcome.

Skills

Operational Excellence

Lean Six Sigma

Process Improvement

SIPOC diagrams

Process Mapping

Value Stream Maps

Facilitation

Stakeholder Management

Excel

Python

SQL

Power BI

Education

Tools

Power BI

Snowflake

Visio

Miro

Lucidchart

Python

SQL

Job description

Job Description

Role/Title: VMC Operational Excellence Project Manager

W2

Full time on site in Boston

12 month contract

Proposed Role & Responsibilities

Operational Excellence & Process Improvement

• Lead process discovery and assessment activities across manufacturing and business operations.
• Develop SIPOCs, process maps, and Value Stream Maps.
• Apply Lean Six Sigma tools to identify waste, bottlenecks, rework, delays, and improvement opportunities.
• Facilitate root cause analysis and future-state design to translate findings into actionable recommendations.

Facilitation and Stakeholder Engagement

• Plan and facilitate workshops that drive alignment, consensus, and decision-making across stakeholder groups.
• Manage competing perspectives and resolve process definition gaps to establish a shared understanding of current-state operations.
• Communicate findings, recommendations, risks, and progress updates to operational teams and leadership audiences.

Operational Support

• Own the data pull and visual assembly for recurring reporting (e.g. project updates).
• Maintain project tracking and status synthesis for daily check-ins and leadership updates.
• Serve as first responder on ad-hoc data and analysis requests from stakeholders.

Value Stream Data Architecture

• Design and build a standardized value stream data architecture with reusable schema definitions.
• Consolidate historical Value Stream Analysis (VSA) work into a single, quarriable baseline dataset.
• Build a standard benefits logic library, ROI calculator, and integrated Value Register that ties baseline to intervention to measured outcome.

Benefits Framework

• Build standard benefits logic library defining calculations for time savings, throughput improvement, cycle time reduction, rework reduction, and cost avoidance
• Develop ROI calculator tool enabling consistent, defensible benefit quantification
• Create integrated OpEx Value Register linking baseline > intervention > measured outcome > dollar value with supporting evidence

Skills Needed

Required:

• Demonstrated experience independently leading Operational Excellence, Lean Six Sigma, Continuous Improvement, or business process improvement initiatives.
• Hands-on experience developing SIPOC diagrams, process maps, and value stream maps.
• Strong facilitation and stakeholder-management skills, including experience leading cross-functional workshops, root cause analysis, and consensus-building activities.
• Strong analytical capability using Excel and at least one advanced analytics approach or tool, such as Python, SQL, Power BI, or a comparable platform, to analyze operational performance and quantify improvement opportunities.

Preferred:

• Experience in pharmaceutical or biotechnology manufacturing, including familiarity with GxP environments.
• Lean Six Sigma Green Belt, Black Belt, or equivalent certification and applied experience.
• Experience developing business cases, ROI models, value registers, benefits-tracking frameworks, and value realization methodologies.
• Experience with advanced analytics, process visualization, or process-mapping tools such as Power BI, Snowflake, Visio, Miro, Lucidchart, or similar platforms.

Deliverables

Operational Excellence & Process Improvement

• Develop validated SIPOC diagrams, process maps, and Value Stream Maps for targeted business and manufacturing processes.
• Conduct process assessments that identify bottlenecks, waste, rework, delays, handoff issues, and improvement opportunities.
• Facilitate root cause analysis and future-state design activities, resulting in actionable recommendations and prioritized improvement opportunities.
• Deliver executive-ready summaries that communicate key findings, recommendations, expected benefits, and implementation considerations.

Stakeholder Engagement

• Plan and facilitate cross-functional workshops, interviews, and process discovery sessions.
• Establish stakeholder alignment on current-state process definitions, key pain points, and future-state opportunities.

Operational Support

• Ad-hoc data pulls, analysis and project update requests.
• (Optional) Build a small library of reusable slide layouts for recurring reporting formats.

Value Stream Data Architecture + Benefits Framework

• Standardized value stream baseline schema with canonical definitions for cycle time, queue time, rework loops, gate timestamps, resource allocation, and yield
• Consolidated historical VSA dataset in standardized schema forming a single, comparable dataset across programs and time periods.
• Build Power BI monitoring dashboards to track TAT trends, flags regressions, and shows before/after for active improvement initiatives.
• Documented standard benefits logic with locked assumptions for each benefit type we commonly claim (time savings, throughput improvement, cycle time reduction, rework reduction, cost avoidance)
• Build a lightweight ROI calculator (one tool, select benefit type, plug in values, get a defensible number).

Integrated Value System

• Build the OpEx Value Register: single source of truth logging every initiative with baseline, intervention, measured outcome, benefit type, calculated ROI, and linked evidence.
• Integrate the Value Register with the VSA dataset (shared identifiers, traceable chain from value stream state to intervention to outcome to dollar value).
• Scenario modeling capability using baseline dataset (e.g., "if we cut queue time at Gate X by 20%, what's the expected TAT impact?").
• Establish a repeatable workflow for exec-ready value stories that pulls from the Register and VSA data rather than rebuilding from scratch.

Pay Range

$80 - $85/HR

Requisition Disclaimer

This job posting is for a temporary role with a third-party agency partner on assignment at Vertex Pharmaceuticals (“Vertex”). The individual selected for this role will be offered the role as an employee of a third- party agency partner; compensation, medical benefits, fringe benefits and other terms and conditions of employment shall be presented by the third-party agency partner upon offer. The pay rate range provided is a reasonable estimate of the anticipated compensation range for this job at the time of posting. The actual pay rate will be based on a number of factors, including skills, competencies, experience, location and/or being pursued and other job-related factors permitted by law. In addition, this role will be eligible for overtime pay, in accordance with federal and state requirements