Group Lead, Director of Program Management

People Leadership & Talent Development

Lead, motivate, and develop a direct team of Project Managers; establish clear performance expectations, champion career development initiatives, and cultivate a healthy life-work balance.

Portfolio & Risk Oversight

Maintain a comprehensive, holistic view of the direct team's program portfolio, guiding PMs through risk assessments, issue profiles, tactical mitigation plans, and financial success.

Customer Interface & Advocacy

Serve as a core link between the customer and Lonza to drive execution; deeply understand customer requirements and represent their interests as an authoritative on-site advocate.

Cross-Functional Project Accountability

Oversee the operational execution of multi-disciplinary, cross-functional project teams to deliver complex scopes with the highest level of quality.

PPM CoE Standards Governance

Enforce strict adherence to Global Program and Project Center of Excellence (PPM CoE) standards, ensuring data integrity excellence and rigorous project tracking inside Planview.

Best Practice Deployment

Champion the implementation of standardized PM tools, workflows, and best practices across the team to optimize delivery timelines.

Cross-Functional Mentorship

Act as a strategic mentor for individuals across other site functions and coordinate with Account Management/Sales to maximize client satisfaction throughout the program lifecycle.

Industry Experience

• 10+ years of professional experience within the Life Sciences, Pharmaceuticals, Biotech, or Medical Device industries is highly preferred.
• Demonstrated ability to build consensus between external clients and internal teams; exceptional capacity to "influence without authority" across a matrixed environment to achieve organizational goals.
• Prior experience working within a Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO) or a fast-paced contract manufacturing environment is highly preferred.
• Deep operational experience in Project or Program Management, utilizing structured PM Standard Work processes to lead complex project lifecycles.
• Proven experience supervising direct reports, managing performance metrics, and building team capabilities is preferred.
• A technical understanding of mammalian cell culture manufacturing is ideal, though not explicitly required.

Education

Bachelor’s Degree is required, preferably in a related Life Sciences or technical discipline.

Certifications

• Project Management Professional (PMP) or a relevant, verified PM certification is highly preferred.

About Lonza

At Lonza, our people are our greatest strength. With 30+ sites across five continents, our globally connected teams work together every day to manufacture the medicines of tomorrow. Our core values of Collaboration, Accountability, Excellence, Passion and Integrity reflect who we are and how we work together. Everyone’s ideas, big or small, have the potential to improve millions of lives, and that’s the kind of work we want you to be part of.

What You’ll Get

• An agile career and dynamic working culture
• An inclusive and ethical workplace
• Strategic Leadership

Compensation & Benefits

Compensation programs that recognize high performance
Medical, dental and vision insurance, as well as PTO and more
Our full list of global benefits can be found here: https://www.lonza.com/careers/benefits