Director, Construction API

Overview

Abb Vie is dedicated to discovering and delivering innovative medicines that address today’s serious health challenges and those of tomorrow. The Director of Construction will lead all construction activities for a ~$500 million pharmaceutical capital project, ensuring safe, compliant, and efficient execution while aligning with the company’s capital governance, quality systems, and regulatory expectations.

The Director of Construction provides senior leadership and owner’s oversight for all construction activities associated with the project. Acting as the on‑site construction authority, the Director leads the construction management organization, oversees EPC/CM partners and trade contractors, and integrates construction with engineering, procurement, commissioning, qualification, and validation to enable successful facility start‑up. This position reports to the Strategic Projects Director in Operations Transformation.

• Serve as the owner’s senior construction leader and oversee all site construction activities.
• Lead the construction management organization, including construction managers, field engineers, and site supervision.
• Provide governance and oversight of EPC/CM and trade contractors to ensure alignment with project objectives.
• Participate in constructability studies and offer design inputs for optimal construction strategies.
• Establish construction execution strategies, site procedures, and performance expectations.
• Coordinate among engineering, procurement, construction, CQV, and operations teams.
• Drive contractor accountability to meet project commitments.
• Promote a Zero Incident safety culture consistent with corporate EHS standards and OSHA regulations.
• Oversee contractor safety programs, audits, and incident investigations, and lead proactive hazard mitigation.
• Monitor safety performance and implement corrective actions when needed.
• Provide executive oversight of the integrated master project schedule, emphasizing construction milestones and the critical path.
• Ensure contractors develop realistic schedules aligned with project objectives.
• Track progress, productivity, and performance metrics.
• Lead schedule risk assessments and develop mitigation strategies.
• Implement schedule recovery plans when necessary.
• Maintain oversight of construction budgets, commitments, and cost forecasts with accurate reporting.
• Monitor cost performance against approved capital authorization, identify cost risks, and implement mitigation strategies.
• Drive value engineering and cost optimization initiatives.
• Lead the construction change management process in line with corporate capital governance procedures.
• Review and evaluate contractor change requests and claims, negotiate commercial impacts, and ensure proper documentation.
• Conduct construction risk reviews with project leadership and contractors, maintain a risk register, and develop contingency plans for critical risks.
• Ensure construction execution meets project specifications, corporate engineering standards, and regulatory requirements.
• Support construction readiness for commissioning, qualification, and validation activities.
• Ensure proper documentation, inspections, and testing in accordance with quality systems.
• Coordinate with Quality Assurance, CQV, and validation teams to support regulatory readiness.
• Ensure construction activities facilitate timely turnover to commissioning and qualification teams.
• Coordinate system completion, mechanical completion, and turnover documentation, supporting startup readiness and operational handover planning.
• Support capital governance processes including stage‑gate approvals and project reviews.
• Provide regular reporting to senior leadership on safety, schedule, cost, risk, and construction performance.
• Manage capital expenditure, including cost forecasting, change management, and financial reporting.

• BS in Engineering or equivalent technical degree.
• 20+ years of experience as a construction leader, preferably in the biopharmaceutical industry in the United States.
• Proven leadership in managing mega‑capital projects ($500 MM+).
• Demonstrated inclusive management and leadership of large…