Associate Director, Discovery and Translational Portfolio Management

Responsibilities

• Understands, synthesizes, and aligns biomarker and translational needs across Discovery and Development portfolios, including anticipated timing, in partnership with the Translational biomarker leads and cross-functional stakeholders
• Works with Translational, Biomarker, and cross-functional partners within a matrixed environment to ensure strategy is supported by executable plans, appropriate timelines, and realistic assumptions
• Maintains accurate portfolio data in enterprise databases
• Summarizes portfolio metrics, issues and documents/presentations for senior management/governance committees to inform decision-making, with a focus on strategy and execution of Translational work
• Provides our company’s organizational and process expertise to teams to enable navigation of discovery, development, and corporate governance and business requirements
• Collaborates effectively with functional areas, support functions, and alliance partner functions (if applicable) to facilitate project/portfolio delivery
• Manages strategic, cross-functional or cross-divisional management, governance, or alliance committees
• Prepares for, facilitates, and documents outcomes of leadership team meetings, ensuring meetings have clear purpose and objectives and that conflict is surfaced and resolved
• Proactively identifies and helps address opportunities for process improvement in translational biomarker workflows, tools, and systems
• Provides mentoring, coaching, and oversight to Specialist/Senior Specialist project/Portfolio Managers working on common projects
• Actively participates and completes ongoing training and personal development activities to increase leadership competency and to gain knowledge and skill in the discipline of project/portfolio management and the business and science of pharmaceutical product discovery and development and associated translational activities
• Partners with Finance to ensure resource/budget planning and management

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree required; concentration in a scientific or applied discipline strongly preferred
• Minimum of five (5) years of experience in project or portfolio management or a related role required
• Demonstrated leadership and ethics; demonstrated ability to hold others accountable for delivery
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively in a team setting, including demonstrated experience building and leading teams, committees, task forces, etc.
• Strong collaboration and problem-solving skills; able to establish effective working relationships with employees at all levels, resolve conflict and provide feedback, and to devise and implement creative solutions to problems
• Strong communication skills, both oral and written; demonstrated ability to speak up appropriately and to raise issues to teams and management
• Advanced degree preferred (MS, PhD, MBA)
• Experience in the pharmaceutical/biotechnology industry strongly preferred, specifically in the phases of discovery, preclinical and/or early development
• Project management certification (PMP), Portfolio management certification (PMP) and/or formal coursework/training in project or portfolio management

Core Competencies

Demonstrates expertise in project and portfolio management within the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors, with a focus on translational biomarker strategies and cross-functional collaboration. Proven ability to lead teams, manage governance processes, and drive process improvements in project workflows.