Project Manager

Barrington James; Maple Grove (MN); On-site; USD 110,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

Barrington James is seeking a Project Manager II for a US-based pharmaceutical CDMO at a site in Minnesota. The role leads cross-functional development, tech transfer, and operations, managing budgets, forecasts and client communications to ensure timely delivery of programs from pre-clinical through commercial phases.

The role is on-site 3–4 days per week, with frequent client visits and collaboration with Supply Chain, EH&S, and site leadership to align production priorities and project

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Project Management, Business, or related pharmaceutical sciences; PMP preferred.
• 6+ years cGMP experience in oral solid dose, biotech, or biopharma manufacturing.
• Strong financial skills: invoicing, forecasting, and budget impact.
• 6+ years managing relationships between suppliers, providers and clients.
• FDA experience is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Support timelines during the quotation process and ensure a seamless handoff after contracts are signed.
• Coordinate client visits, including due diligence and person-in-plant activities.
• Own financial forecasting and invoicing accuracy, building contingency plans when things fall off track.
• Manage and forecast project budgets, ensuring change orders are processed in a timely manner.
• Lead internal and external client meetings, providing fast, consistent feedback to all stakeholders.
• Manage routine client communications — messaging, escalations, and notifications.
• Escalate client issues appropriately across the management team, relevant functions, and site/BU leadership.
• Act as a site operations business manager alongside Supply Chain leadership to align client support with production priorities and forecasts.
• Manage client inventory positions and communicate market strategy needs.
• Support the Ambassador team in delivering top-tier client service and escalation handling.
• Ensure information flows smoothly across site functions and the broader CDMO business unit.
• Facilitate handoff of client products from NPI/qualification into steady-state portfolio management.
• Drive continuous improvement, deviation investigations, and CAPA efforts for assigned clients.
• Build and maintain effective tools, templates, and meeting cadences to support client engagement.
• Partner with EH&S to ensure safe, compliant execution of on-site client activities.

Skills

Project management

Cross-functional collaboration

Financial forecasting & budgeting

Client relationship management

Communication skills

Risk mitigation

Regulatory FDA experience

Education

Bachelor's degree in Project Management, Business, or related pharmaceutical sciences

PMP certification

Job description

Project Manager II – Pharmaceutical CDMO (Oral Solid Dose / Biologics / Sterile Injectables)

Our client is a fast-growing international CDMO providing formulation development, clinical and commercial manufacturing, and packaging services across oral solid dose, liquid, semi-solid, biologics, and sterile injectable products. With manufacturing sites across North America and Asia, they support clients delivering therapies to more than 100 global markets.

The Role

We're seeking a Project Manager II to lead cross-functional project management across development, technical transfer, and operational workstreams supporting the full product lifecycle at a US manufacturing site — including purchase orders, forecasting, change orders, invoicing, and shipping coordination. This person will own the client engagement model, driving consistent, proactive communication and relationship management with both internal teams and external clients. They'll be accountable for keeping project milestones and budgets on track, including full visibility on pass-through and change order costs.

This is a highly visible role central to the site's growth in development and technical transfer work, requiring someone who can translate technical, financial, and commercial considerations into smooth project execution.

Expect to be on-site 3–4 days per week, with flexibility to prioritize client visits as needed.

What You'll Do

• Support timelines during the quotation process and partner early with Business Development to ensure a seamless handoff once contracts are signed
• Coordinate client visits, including due diligence and person-in-plant activities
• Own financial forecasting and invoicing accuracy, building contingency plans when things fall off track
• Manage and forecast project budgets, ensuring change orders are processed in a timely manner
• Lead internal and external client meetings, providing fast, consistent feedback to all stakeholders
• Manage routine client communications — messaging, escalations, and notifications
• Escalate client issues appropriately across the management team, relevant functions, and site/BU leadership
• Act as a site operations business manager alongside Supply Chain leadership to:
• Align client support with production priorities and forecasts
• Manage client inventory positions and communicate market strategy needs
• Support the Ambassador team in delivering top-tier client service and escalation handling
• Ensure information flows smoothly across site functions and the broader CDMO business unit
• Facilitate handoff of client products from NPI/qualification into steady-state portfolio management
• Drive continuous improvement, deviation investigations, and CAPA efforts for assigned clients
• Build and maintain effective tools, templates, and meeting cadences to support client engagement
• Partner with EH&S to ensure safe, compliant execution of on-site client activities

What We're Looking For

• Bachelor's degree in Project Management, Business, or a related pharmaceutical sciences discipline; PMP certification preferred
• 6+ years of cGMP experience in oral solid dose (preferred), biotech, or bio-pharmaceutical manufacturing — ideally spanning pre-clinical through commercial phases — or equivalent experience in commercial operations/client portfolio management
• Strong grasp of financial fundamentals: invoicing, forecasting, and budget impact within pharma/biopharma manufacturing
• 6+ years managing critical relationships between suppliers/providers and clients
• FDA experience, including regulatory inspection participation, a plus
• Excellent cross-functional collaboration skills, both internally and across a multi-client portfolio
• Confident, clear communicator — written and verbal — comfortable driving conversations
• Self-directed, with sound judgment on compliance matters and a proactive approach to risk mitigation
• Track record of ownership and delivery-focused execution