Associate Director Program Management II

The Associate Director, R&D Program Management (Assoc. Dir. R&D PM) is responsible for directing the operational, planning, and decision-making processes within Shire’s Early / Global Development Teams (E/GDT). They work closely with the Early / Global Development Team Leader (E/GDTL) who is responsible for overall team leadership to ensure robust and balanced cross-functional planning, decision-making, implementation, monitoring, and reporting of the E/GDT(s) to ensure strong alignment between Product, Lifecycle strategy (if applicable) and operational execution by the GDTs. The program manager also works to ensure the cross-functional teams operate effectively with positive team dynamics.

The Assoc. Dir. R&D PM must be able to both provide strategic vision and guide the team to develop integrated plans for successfully executing the strategy. The successful delivery of development milestones and goals ties to the overall longevity of Shire’s pipeline and commercial infrastructure.

The Assoc. Dir. R&D PM will be responsible for one or more programs with clearly defined objectives and limited cross-program issues and complexity.

The Assoc. Dir. R&D PM will:

• Coordinate and drive development process planning activities of the E/GDT including Integrated Development Plans, Long Range Plan, budget inputs and go/no go criteria as appropriate.
• Work closely with the E/GDTL to facilitate the elaboration, approval and execution of the global program strategy, as well as facilitate decision-making process for their program(s)
• work independently to provide best in class operations and program management expertise to drive GDT members towards excellence in execution.
• Maintain the overall development plans and enterprise portfolio inputs
• Close collaboration with E/GDTL and E/GDT functional team members to ensure coordinated evaluation of product opportunities/ scenarios and development of comprehensive integrated recommendations (eg, to Governance Committees) and strategic and operational product plans based on program defined objectives.
• Implement development plan flawlessly by managing E/GDT operations, i.e.

o Track project timelines and budget
o Drive team meetings/agendas/minutes including drive and track ‘actions’
o Facilitate team goal setting and tracking to ensure adherence to plan and strategy, and end of year team evaluation process
o Coordinate GDT communications to ensure team member alignment
o Issue and present reports to senior management on a routine basis

• Lead other cross-functional projects (either strategic and/or operational) required by R&D PM.
• Reinforce team operating principles to maximize alignment within the team and with other functions.

Responsibilities
80%
E/GDT Operations / Program Management
20%
R&D Program Management Processes and R&D Ops Initiatives
Education and Experience Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in life sciences or related filed required; MS or MBA preferred
• Minimum of 8 years of experience in drug development in a pharmaceutical environment
• Minimum of 5 years of cross-functional program management experience
• Demonstrated ability to manage complex cross-functional teams and processes
• Project Management Professional (PMP) certification or equivalent proficiency a plus
• Strong knowledge and understanding of global drug product development.
• Strong understanding and competency in planning processes and decision making
• Demonstrated experience using standard program management tools and software including integrated development plans, timelines, risk management, and budget development and monitoring.

Key Skills, Abilities, and Competencies

• Able to translate strategies into tangible deliverables for team to execute
• Independent and creative thinker and enabler requiring minimum oversight.
• Strong influencing and interpersonal skills including negotiation, managing meetings and group dynamics, ability to balance concerns of line management with objectives of cross-functional team.
• Strong influencing without authority skills
• Management and leadership of complex projects
• Strong analytical and decision-making ability, including ability to synthesize complex and diverse inputs to a problem, and recommend solutions/preferred options
• Communication skills, including written and oral communication of executive level information and recommendations
• Ability to provide insight into complex program interdependencies and assist in providing related budget and FTE impact
• Fluency (spoken and written) in English

Complexity and Problem Solving

Guiding cross-functional development teams is inherently complex.

Requires high level of problem solving capability and ability to balance competing priorities and quickly and objectively drive the team towards a path which maximizes value.

This role requires the incumbent to rationalize both strategically and tactically, and be able to present recommendations to senior leaders and key stakeholders.

Internal and External Contacts

Accountable to line manager within Program Management (solid line) and E/GDT Leader (dotted line).
Interacts regularly with:

• Members of cross-functional GDT.
• Other members of the R&D Program Management Department
• Leaders and members of various functions (R&D, Tech Ops, Finance, etc.) across the organization

Other Job Requirements
International and domestic travel as required

PhD Neuroscience therapeutic area is plus

All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.