Project Director in London

InizioIgnite is the global advisory partner for health and life sciences, encompassing connected expertise across Research Partnership, Putnam, Vynamic, and STEM. Guided by purpose, passion, and precision, we collaborate with clients to ignite impact, accelerate performance, and deliver lasting change for patients. By uniting strategy, insights, and innovation with a unique depth and breadth of expertise, we drive transformation and shape the future of health.

Our Research Partnership healthcare market research team provides research and insights to inform and power healthcare decisions. Serving a variety of clients across the lifecycle, our expertise includes data, research & insights (proprietary syndicated and custom research) and brand tracking (ATU). Proudly part of Inizio – the market-leading commercialization partner for health and life sciences.

About the team: The RP EU PM team consists of ~30 Project Managers in Europe and Asia and works alongside our Custom and Syndicated research teams to deliver a broad range of qualitative and quantitative (ad hoc and tracking) studies for global pharmaceutical clients to enable them to address product development, marketing, brand, advertising and communications objectives. Our studies are typically multi-market, encompassing respondents in Europe, North America and Emerging Markets. Each of our research projects will have a dedicated member of the RP PM team embedded within the core project team for the full project lifecycle, providing project management expertise and guidance throughout. Typically, members of our PM team will support multiple projects concurrently.

Within the PM team, members are encouraged to lead subject‑matter Pillars. These Pillars include initiatives and programmes focusing on Clients, Suppliers, People, Innovation, and Operational Excellence. As the Project Director, you will own the overall strategy across each of the Pillars, ensuring that each Pillar’s activities support the departmental strategy and objectives.

Project Director is responsible for defining and delivering the strategic vision for Project Management as a core capability within Research Partnership and Inizio Ignite. This role ensures that operational excellence, financial accountability for external spend, scalability and innovation in project delivery act as key drivers of commercial performance, client satisfaction and competitive differentiation.

About the role: As the sole Project Director you will report directly to the Commercial Operations Director and will be solely responsible for leading the Project Management department. You will have direct reports at Associate Project Director level (in Europe and APAC), each of whom leads their own teams of Project Managers/Executives. You will work with the Commercial Operations Director and peer leaders within other functional departments to set strategy, agree best practices and SOPs, monitor performance and ensure the development of the Project Management department in line with the company’s objectives.

This role will involve performance management, objective‑setting for your APD direct reports and their teams as well as overseeing recruitment activities (interviewing candidates) for roles within your team. You will be responsible for delivering operational change management initiatives. You will also liaise with colleagues in our sister businesses within Inizio Ignite, primarily STEM Healthcare, but also Putnam and Vynamic and central Operations horizontals to ensure collaborative working on combined initiatives.

Your primary role: The role of the Project Director is primarily to be strategic operational leader, ensuring its performance aligns to the company’s objectives. You will line manage the Associate Project Directors, each of whom leads a small team. The Project Management department’s project responsibilities include: costing and oversee the set up and management of fieldwork and data collection to ensure successful completion within best practices.

Core responsibilities:

• Managing and overseeing global vendor and supplier relationships for the whole organisation (in conjunction with the Commercial Operations Director).
• Ensuring project profitability goals and targets are adhered to across the Project Management team.
• Leading change management across the department to align to company vision for Project Management.
• Upskilling team members and managing performance issues where necessary.
• Ensuring that the Project Management department and team members adhere to Finance expectations for accurate revenue recognition and forecasting.
• Developing and evolving SOPs and ensuring appropriate training and accountability is in place across the PM team.
• Line Management of multiple Associate Project Directors, providing mentorship and coaching to them and ensuring they are successfully running their teams and meeting their objectives.
• Playing a leading role in promotion, reward and hiring decisions for the department in conjunction with HR, Finance and Talent Acquisition.
• Liaising with senior management across the RP and Inizio Ignite organisations, effective partnering with Research, Commercial, Data Management stakeholders as required.
• Driving standardisation / best practice sharing across brands.
• Influencing group‑level operations strategy.

About you… Your skills and experience:

• More than 10 years of experience in market research project management (qualitative and quantitative research).
• Experience specifically within healthcare market research is essential.
• Significant experience with team leadership (including line management and training of a team of mid‑senior Project Managers and Associate Director).
• Strong change management skills (demonstrable experience driving change at a departmental or team‑level).
• Clear capabilities for senior‑level collaboration and communication; able to see the bigger picture and identify the commercial priorities.
• Confident liaising with a variety of internal and external stakeholders.
• Experience working directly with end‑clients.
• Proven experience defining and implementing operational strategy at a departmental or business‑unit level.
• Experience designing and scaling global operating models across multiple regions.
• Demonstrated ability to translate business strategy into clear operational frameworks, KPIs and delivery models.
• Track record of leading large‑scale transformation programmes (e.g., restructuring, offshoring, automation, process re‑engineering).
• Experience embedding continuous improvement cultures.
• Strong commercial mindset with experience influencing pricing, margin optimisation and cost structures.
• Experience managing or contributing to departmental budgets and financial planning.
• Proven ability to drive profitability improvements at a portfolio or departmental level, not just individual projects.
• Experience partnering with commercial/sales teams to support proposals, RFPs and client solutions.
• Ability to balance client value, operational efficiency, and commercial outcomes.

Ideal profile:

• You think beyond immediate delivery, consistently taking a long‑term, strategic view of how the function should evolve.
• You are able to connect day‑to‑day operations to broader business objectives and commercial outcomes.
• You proactively identify opportunities to scale, simplify, and improve how we operate.
• You demonstrate a strong sense of ownership for outcomes, not just responsibilities.
• You are comfortable making difficult decisions and taking accountability for them.
• You operate with a “business owner” mindset, balancing people, client, and commercial priorities.
• You are proactive, dedicated and enthusiastic, with a ‘can do’ attitude and approach.
• You demonstrate commercial and analytical capabilities.
• You demonstrate a high level of accuracy and attention to detail, as well as strengths in organisation and prioritisation.
• You demonstrate a track record of identifying operational efficiencies.
• You are a collaborative team player who works well with colleagues.
• You communicate ideas and issues in an effective, straightforward fashion.

Life at Research Partnership: We love what we do and continuously strive for innovation and creativity. We believe everyone should continuously be learning and provide:

• A comprehensive training and development programme for all staff, from entry level apprentice to senior management.
• A relaxed and friendly working environment.
• Social events – including a summer day out and end‑of‑year party, along with regular social events after office hours.
• Fundraising and charity events – we support Forever Angels, a children’s charity whose aim is to care for abandoned babies in Tanzania, Africa, as well as the local charity, Fulham Good Neighbours.

Further information: This is a full‑time role, working in a hybrid pattern (2 days per week in the office) at our fantastic HQ location in Holborn. Don’t meet every job requirement? That’s okay! Our company is dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive, and authentic workplace. If you’re excited about this role, but your experience doesn’t perfectly fit every qualification, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right person for this role or others. As set forth in Inizio’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy, we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.