Associate Director, Oncology Pipeline Project Management

Site Name: USA – Pennsylvania – Upper Providence, GSK HQ, Stevenage, Waltham
Posted Date: Jan 24 2025

The Pipeline Project Management team drives decisions and enables teams to choose the best path and deliver medicines to patients faster than ever.

In GSK, the Pipeline Project Manager (PPM) will act as the ‘COO’ of the asset and will partner with project leads to help teams plot the best course, then accelerate through complexity and uncertainty with no compromise to quality or safety. Pipeline Project Managers compose a community of drug/vaccine development and commercialization experts applying industry-leading project management practices to plan and deliver pipeline projects with industry-leading performance:

• Apply a holistic perspective and broad knowledge of drug/vaccine development to help Research and Development teams test ideas and optimize the strategy.
• Empower teams to challenge convention, manage uncertainty, and accelerate delivery of critical milestones.
• Continuously assess progress and clear the way for uninterrupted focus on the critical path.
• Build high-performing teams by cultivating trust and outcomes-focused ways of working.
• Share learnings and proven practices across PPM so that we learn and grow as an organization.

The PPM can also operate at program level, as when (for example) a franchise or disease-area team oversees multiple projects under the umbrella of a single program strategy.

The Associate Director for Pipeline Project Management demonstrates willingness to learn and brings a track record of success managing R&D pipeline projects within a complex life sciences organization. The Associate Director can manage multiple projects, partnering with PPM team members to deliver on PPM expectations. With guidance from Senior Director/Director line management, and – when appropriate – other PMs, the Associate Director will apply established project management approaches and resources to help cross-functional project teams determine the best course of action, solve problems, and make decisions with limited information.

Key Responsibilities:

• Facilitate and/or contribute to asset strategy and evidence strategy, and lead development of the integrated project plan to ensure feasibility and alignment with TA strategy, prioritization, and pipeline performance objectives.
• Own the single integrated plan that builds team commitment to shared goals with schedules and budgets based on clear dependencies and assumptions.
• Lead options planning, generate recommendations, alternatives, and tradeoffs to strengthen decision-making and optimize the project strategy.
• Lead team preparation for governance decisions and own schedule, risk, and budget inputs.
• Identify opportunities to accelerate by challenging constraints that impact critical path and near-critical path activities.
• Orchestrate seamless handoffs with focus on the critical path through proactive project plan monitoring, risk management, and cross-functional management of project issues with timely escalation to leadership as required.
• Ensure rigor, consistency, and compliance in established systems to drive timely, high-quality data and reporting in and across projects.
• Build trusting relationships with the team and stakeholders to encourage transparency and collaboration.
• Use strong facilitation skills to lead regular project team meetings and apply consistent best practice for meeting agendas, actions, minutes, and other meeting documentation.
• Establish and sustain agreed-upon ways of working for effective team communication, decisions, and conflict resolution.
• Actively promote GSK’s Code and values. Seek diverse perspectives, cultivate psychological safety, and ensure that all relevant voices are heard to strengthen outcomes and foster broad commitment. Work on any assignment as directed.

Basic Qualifications

• BS/BA in life science, business management or related field
• 7+ years of project management experience in a matrix team environment in pharmaceutical R&D or related industry
• Experience in all aspects of project management based on established PM principles and methods (e.g. PMI/PMBOK), including scenario analysis, risk management, planning and execution, critical path management, lessons learned, communication and reporting
• Experience building and maintaining project plans, budget and resource forecasts, and project management documentation (key assumptions, risks, etc.)
• Experience using established PM planning tools (ie: Planisware, MS Project, etc.)
• Experience facilitating project team meetings
• Experience preparing for governance interactions to enable funding, resourcing, and strategic and operational project decisions
• Experience leading and facilitating the identification, visualization, and acceleration of the project’s critical path and present the critical path activities and dependencies to project stakeholders

Preferred Qualifications

• Oncology experience
• Project/Program Management Professional (PMP) Certificate
• Knowledge of formal high-performance team concepts and experience leading or partnering with project leaders to establish and sustain a high-performance team environment

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