Associate Director, Project Management

Job Title:
Associate Director, Project Management

Location:
Cambridge, MA

Introduction to role:

Are you ready to lead enterprise-scale transformations that accelerate how we deliver medicines to patients? This role sits at the heart of our R&D organization, where scientific ambition meets operational excellence. You will drive complex, high-visibility projects that strengthen our pipeline and help promising science reach people who need it sooner.

As a key leader within our Site Management & Monitoring function, you will shape standards, orchestrate cross-functional delivery, and turn strategy into measurable outcomes. With a global remit and direct exposure to senior leaders, you will guide initiatives from concept to deployment, creating clarity, pace, and impact. Can you see yourself uniting diverse teams, harnessing data-driven insights, and lifting performance across an entire function?

• Strategic Transformation Leadership:
  Spearhead high-impact transformation and improvement initiatives across Site Management & Monitoring, taking them from inception through global deployment and ensuring integration across R&D functions to unlock tangible value.
• End-to-End Ownership:
  Report to the Global Head of Site Management & Monitoring and exercise day-to-day authority to deliver within agreed time, cost, quality, scope, benefits, and risk tolerances; produce outcomes that achieve the defined business benefits.
• Portfolio and Stakeholder Alignment:
  Liaise with portfolio, programme and partner teams to avoid overlaps and drive alignment; influence senior stakeholders on strategy and advise on deviations from plan to enable timely decisions.
• Project Standards and Governance:
  Prepare and agree baseline management products with project teams and assurance roles, including the project brief and description, project plans, benefits management approach, stage/exception plans and work packages.
• Reporting and Controls:
  Establish robust reporting and control mechanisms, including issue reports, end stage reports, exception reports and end project reports, to enable transparent, data-informed governance.
• Team Leadership and Ways of Working:
  Lead and empower the project management team, set clear behavioral expectations, and ensure adoption of quality and compliance standards, policies and procedures; support project assurance activities.
• Risk, Value and Benefits Management:
  Identify, manage and, when appropriate, elevate risks and issues; steward benefits and value realization with clear metrics, adapting course to protect outcomes.
• Internal Delivery and Continuous Improvement:
  Support the Global Head and wider group on departmental initiatives; contribute to the development and maintenance of project management standards and guidelines; drive continuous improvement and knowledge sharing across programs.

• Bachelor’s Degree in business or scientific field (or Project Management related field) with 4 plus years of experience.
• Expertise in programme/project management, with a proven track record.
• Demonstrate strong communication and relationship building skills with the ability to influence others to achieve objectives.
• Experience of defining business strategies and influencing key stakeholders of the vision for the business area
• Strong networking/consulting skills with good internal/external links
• Ability to interpret and communicate technical information into business language and in alignment with AstraZeneca business
• Consistent record in delivering high-risk programme/projects and decision making
• Ability to convince and lead negotiations across a complex group

• Strong experience in transformation type projects with a deep understanding and practical application of design thinking principles and methodologies to drive innovation, user-centric solutions, and customer experience enhancements.
• Robust understanding of processes with a significant emphasis on R&D
• Formal qualifications in project management, change management, and/or process improvement methodologies.
• Experience of working in a global organisation with complex/geographical context
• Pharmaceutical Industry…