Senior Director Functional Planning & OnePlan Transformation

Excelya; United States; Remote; USD 180,000 - 280,000; Full time

Job summary

Excelya is seeking a Senior Director – Planning Transformation Portfolio Excellence to drive the design and deployment of planning capabilities across a major enterprise program.

You will lead workshops, build scalable planning frameworks, and ensure alignment between governance and portfolio management processes.

Qualifications

• Extensive experience in planning transformation and portfolio governance.
• Proven track record leading cross-functional planning initiatives and strategic workshops.
• Expertise in planning methodologies, governance, WBS, milestones and operating models.
• Experience with major planning tools (OnePlan/Planisware/Planview).

Responsibilities

• Lead multiple planning transformation workstreams and facilitate strategic planning workshops.
• Design and implement functional planning frameworks, templates, governance models, and milestone structures.
• Drive stakeholder alignment and decision-making across business functions.
• Develop cross-functional dependency maps and planning standards to support scalable execution.
• Translate workshop outcomes into implementation-ready deliverables for planning platform deployment.
• Partner with business and technical teams to ensure planning solutions are practical, scalable, and aligned with governance requirements.
• Support pilot deployments and adoption activities for new planning processes and tools.
• Advise senior leadership on planning maturity, portfolio governance, and operating model evolution.
• Standardize planning practices across functions and contribute to broader transformation initiatives.
• Mentor project management and planning resources involved in the program.

Skills

Pharma/Life sciences domain knowledge

Cross-functional leadership

Stakeholder management

Facilitation

Planning frameworks

English fluency

Education

MBA or MSc in life sciences or related

Project management certification (PMI/PMP)

Tools

OnePlan

Planisware

Planview

Clarity

Microsoft Project

Job description

Join Excelya, where Audacity, Care and Energy define who we are and how we work. We believe in creating ambitious solutions and fostering an inclusive environment where collaboration and individual growth go hand in hand.

We are seeking a Senior Director – Planning Transformation Portfolio Excellence to drive the design and implementation of planning capabilities across a major enterprise transformation program. Acting as a planning expert, you will lead cross-functional workshops, define scalable planning frameworks, and ensure alignment between business functions, governance structures, and portfolio management processes.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead multiple planning transformation workstreams and facilitate strategic planning workshops.
• Design and implement functional planning frameworks, templates, governance models, and milestone structures.
• Drive stakeholder alignment and decision-making across business functions.
• Develop cross-functional dependency maps and planning standards to support scalable execution.
• Translate workshop outcomes into implementation-ready deliverables for planning platform deployment.
• Partner with business and technical teams to ensure planning solutions are practical, scalable, and aligned with governance requirements.
• Support pilot deployments and adoption activities for new planning processes and tools.
• Advise senior leadership on planning maturity, portfolio governance, and operating model evolution.
• Standardize planning practices across functions and contribute to broader transformation initiatives.
• Mentor project management and planning resources involved in the program.

Requirements

• Strong experience in pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, life sciences, healthcare, or related industries.
• Strong experience in drug development, portfolio management, project management, or planning transformation.
• Proven track record leading cross-functional planning initiatives and strategic workshops.
• Expertise in planning methodologies, portfolio governance, Work Breakdown Structures (WBS), milestone frameworks, and operating models.
• Experience with planning and PPM tools such as OnePlan, Planisware, Planview, Clarity, or Microsoft Project.
• Excellent stakeholder management, facilitation, and communication skills.
• Ability to work independently and influence senior stakeholders in complex environments.
• Fluent English.

Benefits

Why Join Us?

At Excelya, we combine passion for science with enthusiasm for teamwork to redefine excellence in healthcare.

Here’s what makes us unique—We are a young, ambitious health company representing 900 Excelyates, driven to become Europe’s leading mid-size CRO with the best employee experience.

Our one-stop provider service model—offering full-service, functional service provider, and consulting—enables you to evolve through diverse projects.

Working alongside preeminent experts, you will help improve scientific, operational, and human knowledge to enhance the patient's journey.

Excelling with caremeans benefiting from an environ