Director Cost & Risk Management

Business Introduction

We make and supply medicines and vaccines all around the globe and our teams own every production stage, from creating quality products at our manufacturing sites to designing effective supply forecasting and regulatory inspections; all powered by digital, data and analytics. We operate at impressive scale, producing over 2.3 billion packs of medicines and doses of vaccines in 2023.

We continue to modernize, so we can launch even more new products at speed whilst continuing to deliver across our entire portfolio through our relentless focus on quality, safety, and service. The way we work will change. For some, the shift in technology and products will be revolutionary. Our R&D pipeline demands a new kind of supply chain, and we need the very best minds and capability to help us on our journey to make more complex products, harnessing the power of smart manufacturing technologies including robotics, digital solutions and artificial intelligence to deliver for patients.

The Director of Cost and Risk Management plays a strategic leadership role within the Project Controls organization, overseeing cost engineering, financial governance, and risk management across a portfolio of Global capital projects. This role ensures that projects are delivered within budget and risk thresholds while maintaining compliance with GMP and corporate standards. The ideal candidate brings deep expertise in cost control, risk analytics, and stakeholder engagement, with a proven track record in the pharmaceutical or life sciences sector.

This role will directly report to the Head of Project Controls (PC) and will be part of Global project controls leadership, which manages both project-based PC deliveries and functional responsibilities for key processes within GCP.

• Develop and implement cost control strategies across global capital projects.
• Translate Capital management principles into Cost management functional practices (such as Accruals, Cashflows, Value of work done etc.).
• Oversee budgeting, forecasting, cost tracking, and variance analysis.
• Ensure alignment with corporate financial policies and capital governance processes.
• Lead cost benchmarking and value engineering initiatives.
• Support with Independent Project reviews.

• Establish and maintain a robust project risk management framework.
• Facilitate risk identification, qualitative and quantitative analysis, and mitigation planning.
• Integrate risk insights into project decision-making and portfolio prioritization.
• Lead risk workshops and scenario planning with cross-functional teams.
• Responsible for Quantitative Risk analysis using tools.
• Support with Independent Project reviews.

• Ensure adherence to internal controls, audit requirements, and regulatory standards.
• Support stage-gate reviews and SCRB presentations.
• Deliver executive-level reporting on cost performance, risk exposure, and mitigation effectiveness.
• Develop dashboards and analytics tools to support proactive decision-making.
• Support portfolio-level financial and risk reporting.

• Lead a team of cost engineers, risk analysts, and project controls professionals.
• Collaborate with Finance, Engineering, Quality, Procurement, and PMO teams.
• Act as a senior advisor to project sponsors and executive leadership.

• Prepare and maintain all tools and templates related to Cost management (Cost report, Cashflows, ...).
• Prepare and maintain all tools and templates related to Risk management (Risk Register, ...).
• Develop dashboards and analytics tools to support proactive decision-making.
• Drive continuous improvement in cost and risk management practices.

• Prepare, update & maintain GCP Operations budget.
• Monthly actuals reconciliation, department budget tracking.

Basic Qualification

• Bachelor’s or master’s degree in engineering, Finance, Project Management, or related field.
• 15+ years of experience in project controls, with leadership in cost and risk management.
• Knowledge of comprehensive stage…