R&D Operations & Capital Projects PMO Lead

Biopharma Careers; Lexington (VA); On-site; USD 175,000 - 225,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental & vision coverage

401(k) plan

Tuition reimbursement

Life insurance

Disability insurance

Flexible benefits

Job summary

Novo Nordisk is seeking an Associate Director for US R&D Operations to drive the IPG CAPEX program and provide leadership for operations portfolio. You will oversee PMO functions, prioritization, and governance across sites, while coordinating with EH&S, facilities, and global IPG teams.

The role emphasizes capital planning, execution discipline, and strategic operations leadership. The position reports to the Head of US R&D Operations with a dotted line to the Head of R&D Investments and

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree from an accredited university and 9+ years of experience or a Master's degree and 7+ years of experience is required
• Proven experience in operations leadership roles, preferably in a multi-site environment
• Excellent communication, presentation and negotiation skills, complemented by strong leadership abilities, strategic thinking and a results-oriented approach
• Experience in project management & process improvement methodologies, change management and driving organizational transformation
• Proven track record of delivering capital projects on time, within budget and to the required standard
• Familiarity of building codes, life safety, health and safety regulations
• Experience as owner’s rep for pharmaceutical or biotech R&D lab design & operations and lab/office space optimization preferred
• Strong leadership and team management skills, among distributed teams in a dynamic environment
• Ability to work under pressure and manage competing priorities

Responsibilities

• Lead PMO and execution controls for the IPG CAPEX program, including integrated scope, schedule, cost, risk, change control and performance reporting, supporting the Project Director
• Establish and maintain effective delivery processes to ensure predictable execution
• Coordinate and integrate delivery across design, procurement, construction, commissioning and operational readiness
• Drive stakeholder engagement and communications across functions and regions; prepare executive updates for governance and steering forums
• Support the Project Director through leadership of CAPEX workstreams/projects
• Contribute to continuous improvement of PMO practices, tools and templates
• Provide engineering governance and project leadership for operations-driven initiatives across sites
• Lead early project development: define business needs, develop concepts, perform feasibility/estimate work
• Partner with Operations and IPG to align priorities and capital planning
• Manage strategic relationships with design and construction partners
• Develop and maintain a capital project plan and execute capital projects (IPG)
• Ensure projects are delivered on time, within budget, scope and as designed
• Provide technical expertise and strategic guidance to facility operations, R&D, EH&S as required
• Drive Stakeholder Management and Communication
• Manage budgets and expenses related to the engineering department and capital projects

Job description

Novo Nordisk is seeking an Associate Director for US R&D Operations to drive the IPG CAPEX program and provide leadership for operations portfolio. You will oversee PMO functions, prioritization, and governance across sites, while coordinating with EH&S, facilities, and global IPG teams.

The role emphasizes capital planning, execution discipline, and strategic operations leadership. The position reports to the Head of US R&D Operations with a dotted line to the Head of R&D Investments and