Project Director, Advanced Supply Chain Solutions

BioSpace; Rockville (MD); On-site; USD 170,000 - 242,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Healthcare options

Retirement savings

Job summary

USP in Rockville, MD seeks a Project Director to lead a portfolio of donor- and customer-funded initiatives strengthening pharmaceutical supply chains and advanced manufacturing capabilities. You will serve as Principal Investigator and senior technical lead, translating complex customer needs into funded, executable work while ensuring governance, budgets, and timelines are met.

This on-site, full-time role requires strong leadership and cross-functional collaboration; competitive salary,

Qualifications

• Advanced degree in pharmaceutical sciences, chemistry, biochemistry, molecular biology, engineering, or related field.
• Minimum 10 years leading technical programs or customer‑facing initiatives in pharmaceutical manufacturing, quality or CMC, supply chain.
• Minimum 5 years in an accountable leadership role for externally funded technical work.
• Ability to lead complex initiatives with multiple contributors and resources.
• Strong communication, judgment, and presence with customers and senior partners.

Responsibilities

• Serve as Principal Investigator or senior accountable lead for donor‑funded initiatives, with scope, quality, timelines, and outcomes.
• Set direction for project planning, delivery cadence, decision‑making, risk management, and performance monitoring.
• Translate customer priorities into actionable workplans that are technically credible and financially realistic.
• Maintain accountability for implementing contract obligations, donor commitments, governance, and stewardship of resources.
• Lead technical work across the AMT portfolio on pharmaceutical supply chain resilience, GMP, and quality.

Skills

Leadership

Communication

Program management

Donor-funded initiatives

Cross-functional teams

Education

Doctoral degree preferred

Job description

Who is USP?

The U.S. Pharmacopeial Convention (USP) is an independent scientific organization that collaborates with the world’s leading health and science experts to develop rigorous quality standards for medicines, dietary supplements, and food ingredients. At USP, we believe that scientific excellence is driven by a commitment to fairness, integrity, and global collaboration. This belief is embedded in our core value of Passion for Quality and is demonstrated through the contributions of more than 1,300 professionals across twenty global locations, working to strengthen the supply of safe, high-quality medicines worldwide.

Description

Who is USP?

The U.S. Pharmacopeial Convention (USP) is an independent scientific organization that collaborates with the world’s leading health and science experts to develop rigorous quality standards for medicines, dietary supplements, and food ingredients. At USP, we believe that scientific excellence is driven by a commitment to fairness, integrity, and global collaboration. This belief is embedded in our core value of Passion for Quality and is demonstrated through the contributions of more than 1,300 professionals across twenty global locations, working to strengthen the supply of safe, high-quality medicines worldwide.

At USP, we value inclusive scientific collaboration and recognize that attracting diverse expertise strengthens our ability to develop trusted public health standards. We foster an organizational culture that supports equitable access to mentorship, professional development, and leadership opportunities. Our partnerships, standards, and research reflect our belief that ensuring broad participation in scientific leadership results in stronger, more impactful outcomes for global health.

USP is proud to be an equal employment opportunity employer (EEOE) and is committed to ensuring fair, merit-based selection processes that enable the best scientific minds—regardless of background—to contribute to advancing public health solutions worldwide. We provide reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities and uphold policies that create an inclusive and collaborative work environment.

Brief Job Overview

The USP Advanced Manufacturing & Technologies team’s mission through 2030 is to move the medicines industry forward by advancing new ways of making and testing medicines while building competitive, resilient industries. Advanced Supply Chain Solutions is a flagship AMT capability focused on strengthening the resilience of the global pharmaceutical supply chain and enabling greater availability of relied-upon medicines. The Project Director leads a portfolio of donor‑ and customer‑funded initiatives that strengthen pharmaceutical supply chains, expand advanced manufacturing solutions, and translate USP expertise into practical programs. This role serves as Principal Investigator and senior technical lead, with accountability for converting complex customer needs into well‑scoped, fundable, and executable work.

How will YOU create impact here at USP?

As part of our mission to advance scientific rigor and public health standards, you will play a vital role in increasing global access to high‑quality medicines through public standards and related programs. USP prioritizes scientific integrity, regulatory excellence, and evidence‑based decision‑making to ensure health systems worldwide can rely on strong, tested, and globally relevant quality standards.

Additionally, USP’s People and Culture division, in partnership with the Equity Office, invests in leadership and workforce development to equip all employees with the skills to create high‑performing, inclusive teams. This includes training in equitable management practices and tools to promote engaged, collaborative, and results‑driven work environments.

The Project Director, Advanced Supply Chain Solutions, has the following responsibilities:

Project Leadership and Accountability

• Serve as Principal Investigator or senior accountable lead for donor‑funded initiatives, with responsibility for scope, quality, timelines, and outcomes.
• Set direction for project planning, delivery cadence, decision‑making, risk management, and performance monitoring.
• Translate customer priorities into actionable workplans that are technically credible, financially realistic, and operationally achievable.
• Maintain accountability for implementing contract obligations, donor commitments, internal governance, and sound stewardship of project resources.

Technical Direction and Solution Design

• Lead technical work across the AMT solutions portfolio, with emphasis on pharmaceutical supply chain resilience, advanced manufacturing, CMC, and quality.
• Apply scientific and technical judgment to manufacturing readiness, process development, technology transfer, scale‑up, GMP manufacturing, and product characterization questions.
• Translate assessments into clear recommendations, implementation approaches, and decision‑support products that are rigorous, practical, and fit for purpose.
• Guide technical, regulatory, quality, and supply chain gap assessments, due diligence, and risk‑based evaluations.
• Support development of methods, tools, and offerings that strengthen USP’s supply chain, manufacturing, and quality capabilities.

Technical Engagement and Relationship Development

• Engage credibly with customers, public‑sector stakeholders, donors, and strategic collaborators in discussions that require technical judgment, scientific credibility, and practical implementation insight.
• Build relationships through technical problem‑solving, clear communication of USP capabilities, and a practical understanding of customer supply chain and manufacturing challenges.
• Lead technical project discussions with clients to clarify needs, test assumptions, define feasible approaches, and keep stakeholders aligned around scope, expectations, and delivery risks.
• Translate external technical challenges into integrated USP responses by connecting internal expertise across technical and operational areas.

Opportunity Development and Portfolio Growth

• Recognize where strong delivery can lead to expanded work, adjacent opportunities, or longer‑term customer engagement.
• Contribute to capture discussions, proposal strategy, technical narratives, scopes of work, budgets, and customer solution framing.
• Help define customer problems in ways that lead to clear, differentiated, and actionable USP offerings.
• Balance disciplined execution with the leadership needed to sustain and grow an expanding portfolio of work.

Who is USP Looking For?

Minimum Qualifications

• Advanced degree in pharmaceutical sciences, chemistry, biochemistry, molecular biology, engineering, or a related scientific field; doctoral degree preferred.
• Minimum of 10 years of relevant experience leading technical programs or customer‑facing initiatives in pharmaceutical manufacturing, quality or CMC, supply chain, or related areas.
• Minimum of 5 years in an accountable leadership role for externally funded technical work, with responsibility for scope, quality, timelines, budgets, and deliverables.
• Ability to lead complex initiatives involving multiple contributors, workstreams, decision points, compliance considerations, and resource constraints.
• Demonstrated ability to synthesize scientific, manufacturing, quality, regulatory, and supply chain information into practical recommendations.
• Strong communication, judgment, and presence with customers, donors, manufacturers, and senior partners.
• Ability to influence without direct authority and integrate technical, operational, commercial, and programmatic perspectives.
• Demonstrated people management experience.

Additional Desired Preferences

• Experience with government agencies, multilateral donors, foundations, manufacturers, or other institutional customers.
• Experience developing proposals, scopes of work, technical approaches, donor deliverables, briefing documents, or customer‑facing solution offerings.
• Knowledge of pharmaceutical manufacturing and supply chains, including CMC, quality, biologics or small‑molecule development, technology transfer, scale‑up, or advanced manufacturing.
• Experience with analytical development, validation or transfer, comparability, stability, GMP manufacturing/compliance, or quality.
• Experience conducting scientific reviews, data analysis, technical due diligence, gap assessments, or risk‑based evaluations to inform program decisions.
• Program leadership experience, including donor‑funded programs, cross‑functional team leadership, resource planning, and operational execution.

Supervisory Responsibilities

This is a supervisory role.

Number of direct reports and titles: 1 Scientific Technical Advisor

Benefits

• USP provides the benefits to protect yourself and your family today and tomorrow. From company‑paid time off and comprehensive healthcare options to retirement savings, you can have peace of mind that your personal and financial well‑being is protected.

Compensation

• Base Salary Range: USD $170,132.00 – 242,439.00 annually.
• Target Annual Bonus: % Varies based on level of role.
• Individual compensation packages are based on various factors unique to each candidate’s skill set, experience, qualifications, equity, and other job‑related reasons.

Note: USP does not accept unsolicited resumes from 3rd party recruitment agencies and is not responsible for fees from recruiters or other agencies except under specific written agreement with USP.

Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities

This employer is required to notify all applicants of their rights pursuant to federal employment laws.

For further information, please review the Know Your Rights (https://www.eeoc.gov/poster) notice from the Department of Labor.

Job Category: Project Management

Job Type: Full-Time