Director, Early Research Project Management in Cambridge

Quotient is seeking an experienced Director, Early Research Project Management to establish and lead our research project management capability as we scale our somatic genomics drug target discovery platform. This is a unique opportunity to shape how complex research programs are planned, coordinated and delivered within a rapidly growing biotechnology company. This role will partner with scientific leaders and multidisciplinary teams to drive day-to-day program delivery, whilst establishing the project management systems, governance and ways of working that enable Quotient’s platform to scale.

Quotient’s research project teams are highly cross-functional, comprising genomic subject matter experts leading study design, lab-based teams focusing on technology/assay development, high-throughput laboratory operations, automation, non-lab-based data science teams and other specialist functions. Reporting to the Head of Research Operations and Strategy, the incumbent will operate as a strategic partner to research leadership, ensuring programs remain aligned with organisational priorities while driving the governance, planning disciplines and operational rigor required to deliver an increasingly complex portfolio. This role will also work closely with drug discovery project management to ensure overall coordination of Quotient’s end-to-end R&D pipeline.

Responsibilities:

• Partner with scientific and operational leaders on a day-to-day basis to drive the successful execution of Quotient's research portfolio, translating research strategy into integrated, executable project plans from disease ideation up to target assessment.
• Coordinate multiple cross-functional matrix teams, ensuring programs remain aligned to agreed priorities, milestones, timelines and organisational objectives.
• Become a trusted operational partner to scientific teams by understanding program objectives, anticipating delivery challenges, proactively identifying risks, resource constraints and operational bottlenecks, and working collaboratively to implement mitigation plans, navigate competing priorities and maintain program momentum.
• Develop, maintain and continuously optimise integrated project plans, ensuring milestones, critical paths, dependencies, resource requirements and project status accurately reflect program progress.
• Facilitate effective project meetings that drive decisions, maintain momentum and ensure actions are clearly documented, communicated, tracked and delivered.
• Provide portfolio-level visibility through clear reporting, dashboards and governance, enabling leadership to make informed prioritisation, resource and investment decisions.
• Partner with Finance to support program budgeting, resource forecasting, spend tracking and communication of financial risks.
• Collaborate closely with downstream scientific and operational teams to ensure seamless transition of programs through target assessment, target validation, drug discovery and later-stage development.
• Continuously assess how projects are planned, governed and delivered across Research, introducing pragmatic project management tools, governance and reporting that improve collaboration and execution without creating unnecessary process.
• Foster a culture of operational excellence, cross-functional collaboration and continuous improvement, ensuring project management becomes an enabling capability that helps scientists focus on high-value research.

Qualifications:

Essential:

• PhD with 5-8+ years, or BS/MS with 10+ years in the biopharma industry, preferably in an early therapeutic research or drug discovery setting.
• Demonstrated success in working with or for rapidly growing, early-stage biotech companies.
• Experience introducing and/or owning project management governance, tools, reporting frameworks and portfolio management processes that became embedded within an organization.
• Leadership experience with multi-disciplinary project or program teams in an early drug target identification or drug discovery setting.
• Demonstrated track record guiding cross-functional teams to achieve program goals on aggressive timelines in a matrixed or entrepreneurial biotech environment.
• Exceptional interpersonal, facilitation and communication skills, with the ability to build consensus across scientific and operational functions.
• Demonstrated ability to operate independently, identify organisational needs, and implement sustainable improvements without requiring a predefined roadmap.
• Strong business acumen, understanding of pre-clinical and clinical drug development strategy, and program management best practices.
• Experience managing program budgets and financial reporting in partnership with functional and finance leads.

Desirable:

• Experience in genomics-based drug target identification research and/or platform-based drug discovery.
• Prior success taking programs from research through early clinical development; experience with both small molecules and/or biologics.

Values and Behaviors:

• Encourage respectful disagreement and cultivate open-minded, ego-free interactions to continuously push each other towards excellence.
• Seek out diverse perspectives; practice active listening and genuine curiosity to ensure all contributions are valued, regardless of source.
• Recognize the impact of your behavior, language and attitudes, and strive for balanced, meaningful exchanges that enhance mutual growth and understanding in all interactions.
• Use a Quotient-first mindset to guide decision-making; prioritize team over individual success.
• Take calculated risks and challenge convention in the quest for exceptional outcomes.

About Quotient: Quotient Therapeutics is a privately-held, early stage company developing breakthrough medicines informed by natural somatic genetic diversity present in patients. Through our work in somatic genomics, we are forging a new status quo for biopharma research and development across a broad pipeline of internal and partnered programs.