Senior, Project Manager

Outer Bio; Boston (MA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Outer Biosciences is seeking a Senior, Project & Alliance Manager to own the day-to-day health and delivery of external research partnerships. You will act as the principal liaison between Outer Bio project teams and external partners, managing multiple partnerships from kickoff to final report.

The role requires cross-functional collaboration with product development, commercial, legal, and R&D, and a deep understanding of pre-clinical research. Report to the Chief Business Officer.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in a life science or related technical discipline; lab experience preferred.
• 7+ years in biotech/pharma or CRO, with at least 4 years in project or alliance management.
• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail.
• Proven track record managing multiple external research collaborations.
• Experience owning project budgets and milestone-based payments.
• Fluency with project management tools (Smartsheet/MS Project/Asana).
• Knowledge of research agreements, SOWs, IP and publication terms.
• Excellent written, verbal, and interactive communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Own the relationship and serve as the primary liaison between Outer Bio’s project team and external partners.
• Establish and refine Outer Bio’s project and alliance management playbook, templates, and tools.
• Collaborate with legal and business development on research agreements and amendments.
• Ensure contractual obligations are met and data, samples, and reports flow on time.
• Own project budgets: forecast spend, track invoices, flag variances to leadership.
• Translate research goals into integrated project plans with milestones and dependencies.
• Identify risks and develop mitigation plans; report status to leadership.
• Run partnership governance: steering committees, reviews, agendas, minutes, action tracking.
• Monitor performance against deliverables, timelines, and quality standards.
• Assess health of partnerships and recommend renewals or scope changes.

Skills

Project management

Alliance management

Cross-functional collaboration

Communication skills

Budget management

Leadership

Education

Bachelor’s degree in life science

Advanced degree preferred

Tools

Smartsheet

MS Project

Asana

Job description

Outer Biosciences’ mission is to improve human skin health by discovering and developing novel bioactives that are more effective and safer than anything available today. Founded by a scientific team with deep experience in engineering advanced organ systems, our fully integrated technology platform combines complex, long-lasting, clinically relevant ex vivo skin models with multimodal data analysis and predictive machine learning. Company overview here .

Role Overview

Outer Biosciences is seeking a Senior, Project & Alliance Manager to own the day-to-day health and delivery of Outer Bio's external research partnerships. You will ensure that partners and internal project teams stay aligned from kickoff to delivery of the final report. This person will serve as the principal liaison between Outer Bio project teams and external partners. They will simultaneously manage multiple external research partnerships, including day-to-day communication, define resource requirements, project updates and deliverables, anticipate issues, and implement solutions. They will be responsible for all facets of contract research and scientific research partnerships ensuring effective governance of the relationship, intellectual property, data-sharing, and agreement compliance. Ultimately, they are focused on maximizing the long-term value for all stakeholders. The role requires cross-functional collaboration with product development, commercial, legal, and R&D. The ideal candidate understands the operational and scientific requirements associated with pre-clinical research. This critical position requires strategic thinking, attention to detail, exceptional communication skills, and creative problem-solving abilities. This person will report directly to the Chief Business Officer.

Key responsibilities

• Own the relationship and serve as the primary liaison between Outer Bio’s project team and external research partners and clients.
• Establish Outer Bio's project and alliance management playbook, templates, and tools as the company grows.
• Work with legal and business development on research agreements, SOWs, MTAs, and amendments.
• Ensure contractual obligations are met and ensure data, samples, and reports move between partners and Outer Bio on time
• Own project budgets: forecast spend, track invoices against milestones, and flag variances to leadership.
• Translate research goals into integrated project plans with milestones, dependencies, and decision points.
• Identify project risks early, build mitigation plans, and keep leadership informed with status reporting.
• Run partnership governance: joint steering committees, quarterly business reviews, meeting agendas, minutes, and action tracking.
• Monitor partnership and project performance against agreed deliverables, timelines, and quality standards.
• Assess partnership health regularly and recommend renewals, scope changes, or exits.

Qualifications and Skills

• Minimum Education: Bachelor’s degree in a life science (Biochemistry, Bioengineering, Biology) or related technical discipline. Previous laboratory-based research experience is required. Advanced degree preferred.
• Minimum of 7 years in biotech, pharma, or at a contract research organization, including at least 4 years in project or alliance management.
• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail
• Proven track record managing multiple external research collaborations at once
• Experience owning project budgets and milestone-based payments
• Fluency with project management and collaborative tools (e.g., Smartsheet, MS Project, Asana, or similar)
• Working knowledge of research agreements, SOWs, and intellectual property and publication terms
• Continuous learner, meticulous, and thrives in dynamic environments.
• Excellent written, verbal, and interactive communication skills. Comfortable presenting to leadership and executives.
• Strong teamwork and collaboration skills with the ability to work effectively both independently and in a group.

We are deeply committed to diversity, equality, and inclusion in all its forms and practices. As a company we promote inclusion and desire to work with people from all walks of life. As we grow our team, we strive to be the change we want to see. If your experience is somewhat different from what we've described and you believe you can bring value and contribute to the role, we'd be honored to learn more about you.

Voluntary Self-Identification

For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey.Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiringprocess or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in aconfidential file.

As set forth in Outer Bio’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy,we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

If you believe you belong to any of the categories of protected veterans listed below, please indicate by making the appropriate selection.As a government contractor subject to the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), we request this information in order to measurethe effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categoriesis as follows:

A "disabled veteran" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability.

A "recently separated veteran" means any veteran during the three-year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service.

An "active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran" means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense.

An "Armed forces service medal veteran" means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985.