Associate Director, Program Manager (Drug Development)

Details for the position are as follows: 6-month contract with extension potential; no planned conversion (only if team has an open FTE position). Bay Area local candidates only; onsite Tuesday-Thursday. Rate: $115.11 an hour Job Description: Seeking an experienced Associate Director-level Program Manager to support multiple cross-functional drug development teams across early-stage and clinical development programs. This individual will partner closely with scientific and clinical leaders to drive project planning, governance, timelines, communications, and cross-functional execution. The ideal candidate has a strong background in pharmaceutical drug development, executive-level stakeholder management, and strategic program leadership. Lead program management activities for one complex or multiple cross-functional drug development teams. Partner with Clinical Development and functional leaders to drive project strategy, timelines, deliverables, and decision-making. Plan, facilitate, and co-chair cross-functional team meetings while ensuring execution of action items between meetings. Coordinate communications across project teams and provide regular project status updates to leadership and key stakeholders. Develop and maintain integrated project plans, timelines, milestones, risks, and resource plans using Smartsheet, MS Project, or Planisware (G.Plan preferred). Identify project risks, dependencies, and resource gaps, and develop mitigation and corrective action plans. Coordinate governance activities, including preparing executive presentations, briefing documents, governance packages, and supporting leadership meetings. Organize and coordinate sub-team meetings and cross-functional working groups to ensure alignment across Development, Clinical, Regulatory, CMC, Nonclinical, and other functional teams. Author and maintain project management documentation and support Development Project Team and Governance Committee meetings. Drive collaboration across multiple stakeholders while balancing competing priorities in a fast-paced development environment. Required Qualifications: Bachelor's degree in a scientific discipline with 10+ years of relevant experience, OR Master's degree (MS or MBA) with 8+ years of relevant experience, OR PhD, PharmD, DVM, or MD with 4+ years of relevant program management experience. Minimum 5 years of cross-functional program/project management experience within the pharmaceutical or biotechnology industry. Experience supporting drug development programs through at least Phase II clinical development. Experience partnering with Clinical Development leaders and driving cross-functional strategy. Strong governance experience, including executive presentations and leadership meeting support. Experience managing integrated project plans, timelines, risks, budgets, and cross-functional deliverables. Preferred Qualifications: Scientific background with experience transitioning into Program Management. Early-stage drug development experience (Discovery, Preclinical, Phase I). Experience supporting infectious disease, virology, HIV, or oncology programs. Experience using Planisware (G.Plan). Strong business acumen, organizational skills, and executive presence. Comfortable managing multiple complex programs simultaneously while influencing without authority. By applying for this job, you agree to receive calls, AI-generated calls, text messages, or emails from and its affiliates, and contracted partners. Frequency varies for text messages. Message and data rates may apply. Carriers are not liable for delayed or undelivered messages. You can reply STOP to cancel and HELP for help. You can access our privacy policy at Privacy Policy