Senior Project Manager

Planet Pharma; Waltham (MA); On-site; USD 109,000 - 123,000; Full time

Job summary

Planet Pharma in Massachusetts seeks an experienced Senior Project Manager to lead end-to-end network upgrade projects in a GxP environment, coordinating with IT, QA, Operations and external vendors to ensure successful adoption.

You will drive project charters, schedules, budgets and risk plans, manage go-live activities and hyper-care, and lead organizational change efforts to embed the new systems across the business.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Information Systems, Project Management, Business or related field.
• 7+ years of IT project management experience.
• GxP network upgrade project experience; vendor management.
• Waterfall project management methodologies experience.
• Pharma/biotech industry experience preferred.
• PMP certification is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end implementation of assigned projects, ensuring they're completed on time, within scope, and within budget.
• Manage project lifecycle from initiation through go-live and closeout, including hyper-care support.
• Build and foster relationships between Business, IT and 3rd party vendors.
• Lead and facilitate project team meetings, risk assessments, issue resolution, cutover planning, and workshops.
• Develop and maintain project charters, schedules, budgets, risk assessments, communication plans, roles, and documentation.
• Organize and motivate the project team while maintaining schedule and progress.
• Governance and cadence management through the project lifecycle; escalate changes, risks, and issues.
• Use PMO tools to measure performance and report to sponsors and stakeholders.

Skills

Project management

Leadership

Stakeholder management

Communication

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Information Systems, Project Management, Business or related field

PMP certification (preferred)

Tools

Planview

Microsoft Office

MS Teams

SharePoint

Smartsheet

Job description

Pay range: 79-89/hr
*depending on exp

Seeking an experienced Sr. Project Manager familiar with the implementation of Network Upgrades in a GxP pharmaceutical environment. Must be able to collaborate closely with internal stakeholders and external third-party service providers to successfully implement and embed the change in the organization. Also be beneficial for the candidate to be familiar with managing projects in support of Quality/Labs (Sample Manager/LIMS).

The candidate will be responsible for overall project management multiple projects, including planning, execution, and delivery, as well as organizational change management to ensure the successful adoption of the new/modified system. This role requires strong leadership and project management expertise.

ESSENTIAL AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITY:

• Lead the end-to-end implementation of assigned projects, ensuring they're completed on time, within scope, and within budget.
• Responsible for managing projects through the project lifecycle of initiation, planning, execution and control, and closeout. Specifically including 'go-live' activities and initial hyper-care support.
• Build and foster effective relationships between the Business, IT and any 3rd party vendors.
• Lead and facilitate project team meetings, steering committee meetings, project risk assessments, issue resolution, cutover planning, and workshop sessions as needed.
• Work with project teams to develop and maintain project charters, project plans/schedules, budget tracking, project risk assessments, communication plans, roles & responsibilities, issues & action item lists, cutover plans, project repositories and project documentation.
• Organize and motivate the project team while maintaining project schedule and overall progress and performance.
• Manages project governance & cadence through the project lifecycle to enable the project team to deliver on requirements.
• Manages and use appropriate verification techniques and escalates changes, risks and issues throughout project lifecycle.
• Consistent utilization of corporate project office tools and execution of processes as directed by management.
• Measure project performance using appropriate systems, tools and techniques.
• Provide necessary updates to the project sponsor, project champion, project steering committee and other identified key stakeholders.
• Guide and maintain momentum of decision-making across all work streams, including IT, Finance, Operations, Quality and PMO.
• Report and escalation to management as needed.
• Develop and maintain project financial, schedule and status information in Planview as accurate and current, according to established procedures.
• Maximize employee adoption and usage of new business processes, systems, and technology.
• Ensure resource availability and allocation.
• Conduct regular status meetings and provide updates to stakeholders, ensuring transparency and alignment.
• Manage project budget, tracking expenditures and ensuring cost control.
• Communicate effectively with all levels of the organization to promote awareness and understanding of the changes.

QUALIFICATIONS:

Minimum Education & Experience Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree in Information Systems, Project Management, Business or a related field.
• A minimum of 7 years of professional work experience with a strong background in IT project management.
• Past experience in network upgrade implementations in a GxP environment and vendor management.
• Proven experience in use of Waterfall project management methodologies.
• Experience within the pharmaceutical/biotech industry strongly preferred.
• Project Management Professional (PMP) a plus.

Technical Knowledge/Skills Needed:

• Experience working with project management tools: Planview, Microsoft Office, MS Teams, SharePoint, Smartsheet
• Project management experience in 2 or more of the following functional areas: IT, Quality, Labs, and/or Manufacturing Operations.
• Solid technical background, with understanding or hands-on experience of the software development lifecycle.
• Ability to lead and facilitate cross-functional project teams through complex situations in a matrix organization.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills and the ability to interact professionally with a diverse group of project team members, executives, managers, and subject matter experts.
• Strong understanding of GxP practices in a pharmaceutical environment.

Personal Attributes Needed:

• Ability to multitask, stay organized, and effectively manage simultaneous work requests.
• Strong work ethic, with a proven track record in successfully achieving goals.
• Team player, willing to work on large and small project activities.
• Ability to negotiate and collaborate with stakeholders to determine the best solutions for action.
• Effective communicator in a virtual environment who is comfortable in using collaboration tools.
• Self-starter with the ability to work on projects with minimal supervision while adding value to cross-functional teams.
• A seasoned person who recognizes resource needs and decisions required and sets in motion the processes for addressing them
• Helps to develop and understand the project goals, the business value, the ROI, and the reasons it was approved and influences the team to ensure these are met.
• Schedules and conduct weekly team meetings to ensure the scope, task assignments, due dates, deliverable content and expectations are clear so that all team members are on the same page at any given point in time.
• Ensures alignment within the team so that everyone has an overall understanding of what is being done and what is expected to help in moving the project along.

*CO/NYC candidates might not be considered