Project Management & Strategic Operations Director

General Summary:

The Project Management & Strategic Operations Director serves as the end-to-end program lead for large-scale strategic programs of high business value within Global Regulatory Affairs (GRA). Drives benefit achievement by leading program initiation, planning, solution design and build, and by measuring key performance indicators and solution adoption. Engages other colleagues/resources and assigns appropriate responsibilities to support achievement of program roadmap and project plan(s). Independently applies expert knowledge of advanced methodologies, selecting and applying high-level project management tools to conduct analyses, reporting and related activities for assigned projects. Contributes to the development of internal protocols and processes used to carry out program management work. Responsible for program management activities including contingency/dependency tracking, status reporting, issue/risk identification and tracking, scope management, estimation, and internal/external stakeholder management. Provides oversight to workstream/task leads within the program; resolves any escalated project risks, issues and dependencies. Manages the overall scope and timing of the program, ensuring on-time and within budget delivery.

Key Duties and Responsibilities:

• Oversees end-to-end program management activities for large-scale, strategic programs of high business value, with oversight for the full project lifecycle
• Manages the progress and contributions of workstream leads or subordinate project managers to ensure all activities deliver expected value within committed timeframes and budget
• Manages contingencies between multiples projects and monitors interdependencies and synergies where required
• Builds and synthesizes highly-detailed project plans, budgeting & forecasting models or resource plans, requiring significant stakeholder management skills and interpretation of diverse and varied information
• Develops statements of work, stakeholder management plans, guiding principles, project goals, risks, resource allocation, and roles and responsibilities for assigned projects
• Manage post-acquisition integration efforts for GRA including operational alignment, technology consolidation, data/document transfer, and talent integration
• Secures, leads, motivates and inspires the internal and external resources required to effectively deliver the program. Establishes the program’s governance (e.g., sponsors, approvers, stakeholders)
• Participates in the evaluation, selection and management of external resources or vendors
• Provides transparency in project progress and effectively anticipates and mitigates major risks across the project lifecycle
• Proactively crafts feasible solutions to combat risks and issues. Exercises sound judgement balancing risks and making prompt decisions in ambiguous or difficult situations
• Manages communication with management at a detailed functional level and discusses/resolves issues
• Works with all required functions and groups to effectively plan and execute the program/project(s). May coordinate resources across organizational boundaries
• Trains and coaches project teams in execution methodologies and promotes adoption of best practices
• Develops tools and training methods to enable successful project management throughout the enterprise. Ensures project delivery is in conformance with company methodologies and standards; recommends improvements and changes as necessary
• Evaluates program costs and benefits including actual results and forecasts with comparisons to original or baseline plan and updates plans with accurate, up-to-date information in a timely manner. Reports financial information and status to leadership. Ensures program solution(s) meets quality and reliability requirements and that the launch approach meets or exceeds adoption targets. Monitors program results/performance for significant deviations, evaluates options and makes recommendations for corrective actions, and then implements selected actions