Head of Project Management in Manchester

Yourgene Health is a leading integrated technologies and services business, enabling the delivery of genomic medicine. The group works in partnership with global leaders in DNA technology to advance diagnostic science. Our mission to enable scientific advances to positively impact human health remains at the core of our focus.

Yourgene primarily develops, manufactures, and commercialises simple and accurate molecular diagnostic solutions for reproductive health, precision medicine and infectious diseases. We have a comprehensive offering of non-invasive prenatal tests (NIPT) NGS workflows that have been built with labs in mind, and clinical prenatal screening services.

The IONA® test was the pioneer, the first to market as an IVD product, changing the NIPT screening landscape back in 2015. Continuing to build on our expertise in cell‑free DNA, our next generation size selection Ranger® Technology uses machine vision for superior precision.

In addition, we offer a portfolio of screening products in reproductive health, precision medicine and infectious disease including screening assays for cystic fibrosis and DPYD genotyping to prevent chemotoxicity. Yourgene Genomic Services provides a range of genetic analysis services for our clinical, research and pharma customers to support partners with DNA extractions, biobanking, genotyping, arrays and sequencing workflows (WES and WGS).

Yourgene Genomic Services offers a Non‑Invasive Prenatal Testing (NIPT) Service, enabling clinics to run their own NIPT service for pregnant women with our prenatal screening tests and service laboratory based in Manchester.

Yourgene Health is part of the Novacyt group of companies and is headquartered in Manchester, UK with facilities in Singapore and Canada.

Our Culture: Yourgene is a growing, vibrant and exciting place to work, we are looking for committed driven individuals to be part of our next growth journey. Our culture is described by our employees as collegiate, friendly, professional, innovative, open and fast paced. We have many social and wellbeing initiatives run by our Nova Social and Charity Huddle that keep our sense of community and togetherness alive.

At Yourgene we focus on putting values led programmes in place to ensure that we can attract, retain and develop our people. We want our people to have a career with Yourgene and we ensure that they are recognised and rewarded for their achievements and commitment, everyone plays a critical role in our growth journey.

Description of role: Yourgene Health, part of the Novacyt Group, are recruiting for a Head of Project Management. The Head of Project Management leads the Project Management Office (PMO) to ensure successful delivery of complex, cross‑functional programmes aligned with the company’s strategic objectives. This role drives excellence in project governance, risk management, and delivery processes, while mentoring and developing the PMO team.

Overall responsibility: As the lead for the Project Management Office, you will lead the company’s project management process and mentor junior project managers to ensure effective project management of projects that are run through the PMO. You will programme manage the high complexity programmes using project management methodologies to work with cross functional teams to deliver new products and services on time, within budget and to a high quality. You will ensure project activities are planned, monitored with progress and issues clearly communicated. You will work with the functional and pillar leads to run the OKR process and help drive up completion rates of the strategic projects across the company. You will provide regular reports to the executive team on project progress, risks and issues.

Key areas of responsibility:

• Strategic Leadership: Define and implement the PMO vision, aligning projects with business priorities and strategic goals. Provide regular, transparent reporting to the executive team on project progress, risks, and performance metrics. Administer and optimise the OKR process with functional leads, driving improved completion rates.
• Governance & Risk Management: Maintain and oversee RAID logs and a PMO Dependency Log, ensuring timely escalation and mitigation of risks. Review and enforce governance frameworks for project initiation, execution, and review. Establish KPIs to measure PMO performance and drive continuous improvement.
• Team Development: Lead, mentor, and develop a team of project and programme managers, fostering a culture of accountability and excellence. Provide coaching and guidance to enhance project management capability across the organisation.
• Process & Tools Optimisation: Continuously improve PMO methodologies, processes, and reporting standards. Act as system administrator for Wrike, ensuring optimal utilisation of project management tools. Chair cross‑functional PMO meetings, ensuring agendas, materials, and decisions are documented and communicated effectively.

Qualifications, Skills and Abilities:

• Degree in a STEM discipline.
• Significant project management experience, ideally within biotech, pharma, or a related scientific environment.
• Formal project management qualification (APM preferred; Prince2, Agile, PMP or similar also considered).
• Proven ability to lead organisational change and embed project management culture.
• Strong stakeholder management and influencing skills at executive level.
• Experience with web‑based project management tools (Wrike preferred or similar).
• Excellent organisational skills with attention to detail and ability to manage multiple priorities.
• Confident communicator (written, verbal, and presentation) with strong interpersonal skills.
• Proactive, solution‑oriented mindset with a track record of delivering results under pressure.
• Experienced team manager with a passion for mentoring and developing talent.

Closing Date: Sunday 4th January, 2026

Equal opportunities: Yourgene Health and the Novacyt Group of companies provide equal employment opportunities for all current employees and applicants for employment. This policy means that no one will be discriminated against because of race, religion, creed, colour, national origin, nationality, citizenship, ancestry, sex, age, marital status, physical or mental disability, affectional or sexual orientation, gender identity, military or veteran status, genetic predisposing characteristics or any other basis prohibited by law.