Job TitleAssociate Director, Project Management
Site PM Leader (Associate Director))
Job PurposeThe Site Project Management Leader is accountable for portfolio-level delivery performance of customer projects at site level, ensuring projects are executed on time, within scope, on budget, and in compliance with quality and regulatory requirements.
- Leads the Project Management function at site or portfolio level
- Owns overall customer delivery performance and satisfaction through the project management team
- Accountable for site-level project governance, escalation framework, and controls
- Responsible for portfolio visibility, performance tracking, and reporting, with financial forecasts supported in partnership with Finance
- Acts as a key interface between clients, site leadership, and global functions
Key Responsibilities• Project Delivery & Customer Accountability- Hold overall accountability for portfolio delivery performance, ensuring commitments on scope, timeline, cost, quality, and compliance are met through effective PM execution.
- Act as the escalation point for high-risk, cross-project, or unresolved issues, ensuring appropriate ownership and resolution across PMs and functions.
- Maintain active oversight of customer satisfaction, ensuring expectations are clearly set, managed, and met throughout the project lifecycle.
- Governance, Meetings & Escalation
- Establish and own the site-level governance framework, aligned to Global PMO standards, including internal project team meetings, joint project team meetings with customers, and steering or governance forums where applicable.
- Ensure governance practices include clear meeting cadence, agendas, minutes, action tracking, and escalation pathways.
- Provide structured portfolio visibility and escalation to site leadership and relevant functional stakeholders.
- Planning, Risk & Delivery Management
- Ensure consistent application of project planning disciplines across the PM team, including project schedules, critical path management, and RAID processes.
- Maintain accountability for portfolio delivery performance, proactively identifying and addressing cross-project risks to timeline, scope, or cost.
- Drive a proactive, risk-based approach to managing delivery and business exposure.
- Scope Change & Commercial Alignment
- Ensure effective scope change management across the project portfolio, with accountability residing at project level with PMs.
- Support and guide PMs, particularly junior PMs, in managing scope change processes and customer discussions, partnering with Business Development on commercial or non-routine changes as required.
- Ensure scope changes follow contractual terms, governance expectations, internal approval processes, and customer communication standards.
- Financial Oversight & Portfolio Reporting
- Ensure accurate and timely project financial inputs (forecasting, milestones, risks) are provided by PMs, and partner with Finance to support forward-looking demand visibility across the portfolio.
- Provide regular portfolio-level reporting on project status, schedule and cost variance, key risks, and overall outlook.
- Oversee coordination of invoicing activities to ensure billing is accurate, timely, and aligned with project progress and delivery milestones.
- People Leadership & Capability Development
- Lead, coach, and develop the Project Management team, ensuring clear role accountability and consistent application of project management standards.
- Support performance management, capability development, and succession planning within the PM function.
- Promote a culture of accountability, continuous improvement, customer focus, and business acumen.
- Systems, Process & Continuous Improvement
- Ensure effective use of project management systems, tools, and reporting mechanisms.
- Partner with Global PMO to implement standardized processes and frameworks and drive continuous improvement in project delivery practices.
- Contribute to cross-functional operational excellence initiatives impacting project outcomes.
- Cross-Functional & Site Leadership Interface
- Act as a key interface between customers, site leadership, and global functions, representing project commitments, customer priorities, and business needs.
- Partner with Operations, Quality, Supply Chain, and Finance to balance customer expectations with site capacity, delivery risk, and broader business needs.
- Where applicable, contribute to customer demand planning and longer-term capacity, workforce, or portfolio discussions.
Success Measures- On-time, on-budget project delivery
- Customer satisfaction and retention
- Effective governance and escalation management
- Portfolio visibility and forecast accuracy
- PM team capability, engagement, and consistency
- Compliance with quality and regulatory expectations
Education & Experience- Bachelor's degree in a scientific, technical, or business discipline (advanced degree preferred)
- Formal Project Management training or certification (PMP / PRINCE2 / equivalent preferred)
- Demonstrated experience both leading client-facing, cross-functional project teams and delivering projects directly in a regulated environment
- Strong working knowledge of project management tools such as Smartsheet or MS Project, with the ability to support the PM team in core tool usage
- Strong commercial, financial, and customer-management acumen
Behavioral & Leadership Competencies- Customer & patient centric
- Strategic thinking with operational rigor
- Strong communication and influence
- Risk-based decision-making
- Accountability and ownership mindset
- Ability to lead through complexity and ambiguity
