Overview
The PHASTAR Project Management Office (PMO) was established to formalise the management of projects across the organisation. The Project Management Office ensure the smooth operational running of the PMO, overseeing portfolios of work within the company. A portfolio can be defined based on client, location, therapeutic area and function, and may comprise of one to multiple studies depending on complexity, scope and size of study. Depending on the size of a portfolio, an Associate Project/Project Director may also take the role of a Portfolio Manager
Associate Project/Project Directors of the PMO will oversee the program of work within their portfolios to ensure successful execution of the entire schedule of work to time, budget and quality indicators. They will be responsible for the management of the PMO function in terms of driving process improvements, providing and ensuring pastoral care of individuals within the PMO, identifying training needs and rolling out training and providing consistent goals, support and guidance to enable the portfolio managers to successfully run their own portfolios. They will also be working cross functionally, identifying areas of improvement and driving change to the benefit of the PMO; working with other operational functions representatives, resourcing, commercial and financial counterparts.
Members of the Project Management Office; work with and report back to an Associate Project/Project Director with regards portfolio status, issue escalation, KPI indicators, quality issues, and resourcing requirements. Line management responsibilities will also be required for individuals within the PMO.
Responsibilities
Associate Project Directors will be required to perform all of the following:
- Provide support to Portfolio Managers
- Ensure consistency in processes across portfolios, and best practices shared
- Assignation of projects/portfolios within PMO
- Forecast Project Based Services (PBS) resourcing requirements by driving accuracy and control of team resourcing requirements
- Ensure relevant forecasting and tracking systems are maintained accurately and Project managers are updating any change in scope requirements in a timely manner
- Drive project review meetings for portfolio/project status updates
- Attend and input into Portfolio Managers meetings
- Portfolio/project issue resolution or escalate PMO issues to pertinent function heads
- Work with QA to ensure portfolios/projects are conducted according to SOPs & regulatory requirements; review, implement audit and CAPA findings which affect operational processes with a view to continual process improvement.
- Ensuring compliance of PMO members with regards SOPs and training.
- Work with portfolio managers to ensure forecast hours, contract values and hours worked are controlled
- Work with finance to understand revenue and other financial drivers
- Ensure collection and monitoring of KPIs across program of work.
- Handle portfolio/project issue resolution in conjunction with Account Managers..
- Provide Operational Strategy to Business Development as part of the sales process.
- Attend client meetings, including Bid Defence and other project related meetings.
- Perform line management responsibilities for employees within the PMO.
- Support and promote the appropriate use of PMO reporting system
In addition, a Project Director will be required to perform:
- Prepare and implement long-term and short-term PMO objectives and goals
- Attend & present PMO reports at Executive Management meetings/SPD
- Identify areas of inefficiency/inconsistency in processes across portfolios, drive continual improvement initiatives and ensure best practices are shared.
- Organise & drive Portfolio Managers meetings
- Input into Strategical Portfolio Delivery (SPD) resourcing strategy based on PBS mid- and longer-term resource requirements
- Represent PMO at Company Meetings
- Accountable for ensuring the PMO SOPs are current and appropriate.
- Work with finance to understand revenue and other financial drivers and input into board pack slides
- Assess PMO reporting requirements and drive to implement within the PMO reporting system
Qualifications
- PhD or MSc in Biostatistics, mathematics, life sciences or a related discipline or equivalent experience.
- Minimum 5 years experience within a Project Management function, ideally within the pharmaceutical industry to have a good awareness of clinical trial issues, design, and implementation.
- Familiarity with GCP and regulatory requirements.
- Working in a cross functional environment, with experience of leading studies to completion.
- Experience with project management or resource management and working with budgets on multiple studies.