Operational Readiness Project Manager

Blackfield Associates; Indiana; On-site; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Blackfield Associates are seeking an Operational Readiness Project Manager for a 12-month contract based in Indiana. You will lead readiness strategies, coordinate cross-functional teams, and drive schedules across engineering, facilities, automation, quality, and EHS to ensure timely startup and handover.

Strong PM, risk management, and stakeholder engagement are required. Experience in pharmaceutical facility startups and readiness programs is highly desirable.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a technical field.
• Experience in project management within pharmaceutical/regulated environments.
• Experience supporting operational readiness, facility startups, commissioning, qualification, or large-scale capital projects.
• Strong understanding of PM principles, readiness methodologies, and startup planning.
• Experience coordinating multidisciplinary teams across engineering, operations, automation, quality, facilities, and EHS functions.
• Proven ability to develop integrated schedules, manage priorities, and drive execution in fast-paced projects.
• Strong risk management, problem-solving, and stakeholder engagement skills.
• Experience with scheduling/tracking tools such as Smartsheet or equivalents.

Responsibilities

• Lead the development and execution of operational readiness strategies to support facility startup and handover.
• Partner with site leadership and cross-functional teams to define readiness requirements, deliverables, and plans.
• Develop and maintain integrated readiness schedules aligned with milestones.
• Coordinate cross-functional teams to ensure timely readiness execution.
• Provide status updates, metrics, and reporting to stakeholders and site leadership.
• Identify risks, mitigate, and drive actions to achieve project objectives.
• Support startup processes, business systems, procedures, training plans, and organizational readiness initiatives.
• Drive continuous improvement of readiness frameworks and tools.
• Facilitate stakeholder alignment, issue resolution, and decision-making across functions.
• Promote project management best practices and guide readiness teams.

Skills

Project management

Stakeholder engagement

Risk management

Scheduling

Leadership

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Chemistry, Life Sciences, or related technical discipline

Tools

Smartsheet

Job description

Blackfield Associates are currently partnered with a global pharmaceutical manufacturer to support their search for an Operational Readiness Project Manager to join their project based in Indiana on an initial 12-month contract.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the development and execution of operational readiness strategies to support successful facility startup and operational handover.
• Partner with site leadership, SMEs, and functional teams to define readiness requirements, deliverables, and implementation plans across all business areas.
• Develop and maintain integrated operational readiness schedules aligned with construction, commissioning, qualification, and startup milestones.
• Coordinate cross-functional teams across Engineering, Facilities, Operations, Automation, Quality, EHS, Supply Chain, and Manufacturing to ensure timely readiness execution.
• Monitor progress against readiness plans, providing status updates, performance metrics, and reporting to project stakeholders and site leadership.
• Identify operational readiness risks, develop mitigation strategies, and drive actions to ensure project objectives are achieved.
• Support the development and implementation of startup processes, business systems, operating procedures, training plans, and organizational readiness initiatives.
• Drive continuous improvement of readiness frameworks, tools, and processes to improve efficiency and execution performance.
• Facilitate stakeholder alignment, issue resolution, and decision-making across multiple project and business functions.
• Promote project management best practices and provide leadership and guidance to readiness teams throughout the project lifecycle.

Experience Required

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Chemistry, Life Sciences, or a related technical discipline.
• Sufficient experience in project management within pharmaceutical, biotechnology, or regulated manufacturing environments.
• Experience supporting operational readiness, facility startups, commissioning, qualification, or large-scale capital projects.
• Strong understanding of project management principles, operational readiness methodologies, and startup planning processes.
• Experience coordinating multidisciplinary teams across engineering, operations, automation, quality, facilities, and EHS functions.
• Proven ability to develop integrated schedules, manage competing priorities, and drive execution in fast-paced project environments.
• Strong risk management, problem-solving, and stakeholder engagement skills.
• Experience with project scheduling and tracking tools, including Smartsheet or similar platforms.
• Excellent communication, leadership, and organizational skills, with the ability to influence stakeholders across all levels of the organization.
• Experience supporting pharmaceutical facility startups, operational handovers, or manufacturing readiness programs is highly desirable.