Vice President, Project Management

Syneos Health Commercial Solutions; Santa Monica (CA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

GSW, a leading healthcare communications agency in Santa Monica, seeks a Vice President, Project Management to oversee the PM team and ensure on-time, within-budget delivery of multi‑channel projects. You will guide project strategy, client communications and PM best practices across a $2–5M portfolio.

The role requires 7+ years in pharmaceutical advertising, strong launch and digital experience, and exceptional leadership and communication skills.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent plus at least 7+ years of project management experience in Pharmaceutical Advertising
• Previous launch experience, strong digital experience (5+ years)
• Ability to collaborate closely with others in a team environment under tight deadlines
• Outstanding communication, organization, Leadership and interpersonal skills

Responsibilities

• Leads design, documentation and training for all agency delivery processes and systems
• Will perform a client-facing role for existing clients or new business opportunities as needed, participating in high-level planning meetings and attending key client meetings as project management SME (subject matter expert). Demonstrates strong presentation skills in front of internal and external audiences
• Able to speak to project schedules, critical dates, explain and clearly articulate details embedded in estimates and statements of work. Understands and is able to manage client expectations in tandem with their agency counterparts
• Drafts statements of work, budget estimates and scope definitions for digital and traditional projects. Reviews and ensures quality for these deliverables if created by direct reports
• Creates and/or reviews and approves detailed timelines for complex or large-scale projects created by direct reports
• Creation of new processes to align with new clients and the ongoing identification of efficiencies across all work
• May perform a hands-on role as lead PM for key/complex accounts, effectively managing on-time, within-budget delivery of projects for account(s) $2-5mm
• Possesses thorough knowledge and understanding of all multichannel projects; knows what it takes creatively to develop print and digital projects (project steps, capabilities, technologies, creative responsibilities and skills, QA/QC processes,)
• Acts as a subject matter expert for multi-disciplinary teams and direct reports for all agency projects; suggests ways to leverage internal expertise, learn from past successes or failures, and take advantage of synergies across clients
• Ensures that traditional and digital definition processes are applied and adhered to and that these processes are clearly understood by both internal team members and client stakeholders
• Acts as a role model for digital and interactive capabilities across agency; shares knowledge, explains processes and creates awareness. Participates in leading training sessions to enhance agency digital acumen

Skills

Communication

Organization

Leadership

Interpersonal skills

Education

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent

Job description

Updated: September 24, 2026 Location: Santa Monica, CA, United States Job ID:18501

You know that the outcome of a project hinges on two things: the plan and the people. You are the glue that holds these two together. You easily maneuver the precarious path of maintaining the strategy and pace of a project, while keeping your team engaged and enthusiastic. You know what needs to be done, and your penchant for strategic delegation and problem-solving makes you a natural fit for thisVice President, Project Management position withGSW.

The VP, Project Management has oversight of the Project Management team at GSW, which includes Project Coordinators, Project Managers, Senior Project Managers and Associate Directors and Directors. The Project Management team’s responsibilities include: execution and management of multichannel projects through agency development processes, estimating and scope of work composition, budget and scope management, multichannel delivery expertise, brand team leadership and communication, creative problem-solving. The VP, Director of Project Management is a client-facing PM lead in the Santa Monica office, and is responsible for the overall quality of work, assigning and managing Project management teams workload, on-time delivery and management of budgets for projects, process creation and efficiencies and accounts in the Santa Monica portfolio.

Project Management

• Leads design, documentation and training for all agency delivery processes and systems
• Will perform a client-facing role for existing clients or new business opportunities as needed, participating in high-level planning meetings and attending key client meetings as project management SME (subject matter expert). Demonstrates strong presentation skills in front of internal and external audiences
• Able to speak to project schedules, critical dates, explain and clearly articulate details embedded in estimates and statements of work. Understands and is able to manage client expectations in tandem with their agency counterparts
• Drafts statements of work, budget estimates and scope definitions for digital and traditional projects. Reviews and ensures quality for these deliverables if created by direct reports
• Creates and/or reviews and approves detailed timelines for complex or large-scale projects created by direct reports
• Creation of new processes to align with new clients and the ongoing identification of efficiencies across all work
• May perform a hands-on role as lead PM for key/complex accounts, effectively managing on-time, within-budget delivery of projects for account(s) $2-5mm
• Possesses thorough knowledge and understanding of all multichannel projects; knows what it takes creatively to develop print and digital projects (project steps, capabilities, technologies, creative responsibilities and skills, QA/QC processes,)
• Acts as a subject matter expert for multi-disciplinary teams and direct reports for all agency projects; suggests ways to leverage internal expertise, learn from past successes or failures, and take advantage of synergies across clients
• Ensures that traditional and digital definition processes are applied and adhered to and that these processes are clearly understood by both internal team members and client stakeholders
• Acts as a role model for digital and interactive capabilities across agency; shares knowledge, explains processes and creates awareness. Participates in leading training sessions to enhance agency digital acumen

Team Management

• Mentors, trains and may directly supervise junior and senior PM team members; review work product, estimates and timelines developed by direct reports
• Act as escalation point for any risks or issues encountered by other PM team members
• Facilitates communication between team members in all phases of project development by ensuring all disciplines are kept abreast of action items, feedback, next steps, client communications/conference reports, project developments/status and direction etc.
• In collaboration with the Account lead, review and adjust staffing forecasts based on project status changes and priorities. Communicates and manages prioritization of work for key resources, filters requests and assigns as needed
• Reviews financial health reports for Santa Monica portfolio including: budget management, forecast tracking, investments/write offs, margin impacts, resource allocation vs. actuals and identifies areas of risk to elevate and mitigation of those risks
• Support monthly internal forecasting process for Santa Monica portfolio, including recommendations for staffing and escalations of risks to forecast
• In collaboration with brand PMs, lead annual scope development and tactical planning estimates, new business scoping for opportunities
• Supports brand PMs, Finance/Ops team and Account leads in monthly billing process and internal financial status meetings
• Recommends/oversees development of change orders and other financial documentation for client review when needed

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent plus at least 7+ years of project management experience in Pharmaceutical Advertising
• Previous launch experience, strong digital experience (5+ years)
• Ability to collaborate closely with others in a team environment under tight deadlines
• Outstanding communication, organization, Leadership and interpersonal skills

The annual base salary for this position ranges from $150,000 to $170,000. The base salary range represents the anticipated low and high of the Syneos Health range for this position. Actual salary will vary based on various factors such as the candidate’s qualifications, skills, competencies, and proficiency for the role. In addition, some positions may include eligibility to earn commissions/bonus based on company and / or individual performance.

At GSW, we are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive and authentic workplace. At times, we will consider transferable skills from previous roles.

GSW is a full-service healthcare communications agency that goes beyond advertising to create personalized brand experiences that involve, inspire, educate and activate people through ongoing brand journeys. As one of the world’s ten most-awarded healthcare advertising agencies, GSW is hell-bent not to replace the same old with the same old. This is achieved through a provocative premise - if other brands communicated the way healthcare brands do, how many customers would they have? GSW turns against this premise through discovery of beneath-the-surface customer insights that we impact with stories, simplicity and authenticity.

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Syneos Health companies are affirmative action/equal opportunity employers (Minorities/Females/Veterans/Disabled)

Syneos Health has a voluntary COVID-19 vaccination policy. We strongly encourage all employees to be fully vaccinated. Additionally, certain local governments or Syneos Health customers may have vaccine requirements that apply to some of our employees. These employees are required to submit proof of vaccination to Syneos Health and maintain compliance with these requirements. At Syneos Health, we believe in providing an environment and culture in which Our People can thrive, develop and advance. We reward and recognize our people by providing valuable benefits and a quality-of-life balance. The benefits for this position will include a competitive compensation package, Health benefits to include Medical, Dental and Vision, Company match 401k, flexible paid time off (PTO) and sick time. Because certain states and municipalities have regulated paid sick time requirements, eligibility for paid sick time may vary depending on where you work. Syneos Health complies with all applicable federal, state, and municipal paid sick time requirements.

Discover what our more than 25,000 employees already know: work here matterseverywhere. We work hard,and smart, all in the name of getting much-needed therapies to thosewho need them most. A career with Syneos Health means your everyday workimprovespatients’ lives around the world. Selecting us as an employer secures acareer inwhich you’re guaranteed to:

Syneos Health® is a leading fully integrated biopharmaceutical solutions organization builtto accelerate customer success. We translate unique clinical, medical affairs and commercialinsights into outcomes to address modern market realities. To learn more visit syneoshealth.com .

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