Senior Project Manager- Life Sciences

Job Title

Senior Project Manager- Life Sciences

Job Description Summary

The Senior Project Manager manages the successful deployment of multiple and simultaneous Roche Tissue Diagnostics (RTD) projects including critical Laboratories & Environments, Operations/Manufacturing, and Space Planning/Moves, Adds and Changes achieved through careful planning, executing, monitoring, and controlling of project resources and deliverables. Operating as an embedded service-provider Project Manager within the client’s capital project ecosystem, this role plans, governs, delivers, and reports projects in accordance with the client’s formal capital project delivery practices, steering-committee governance model, and the account’s Statement of Work, applied proportionate to each project’s size and classification. In this highly collaborative, cGMP-regulated environment, clear and concise communication across all organizational units; Senior Leadership, Safety, Health & Environmental (SHE), Quality, Information Technology (IT), Procurement, and Department Managers is essential. Working closely with Facilities, SHE, subject matter experts, and third-party vendors, this Sr. Manager should possess a strong desire for tackling new challenges with innovative solutions and a “can do” attitude.

Job Description

Leadership & Team Management

• Strong leadership: Establishes clear expectations of the team, holds individuals and contractors accountable, and monitors and manages performance; an inspiring team leader who guides, motivates, and develops the project team’s skills to consistently maintain quality, timeliness, and budget, leading the Project Delivery Team through all phases while maintaining segregation of duties with the client’s Steering Committee (SC) and User Team Lead (UTL).

• Problem-solving & time management: Utilizes critical thinking, data analysis, and informed decision-making to overcome challenges; prioritizes tasks effectively and plans, schedules, tracks projects and staffing resources to ensure deadlines are consistently achieved without sacrificing quality.

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Project Governance & Steering Committee Interface

• Establishes and maintains the Project Execution Plan (PEP) governance structure, Delegation of Authority (DoA), and handover strategy keeping it current with Steering Committee approval.

• Reports delivery status to the SC (as presenter, not a voting member): presents cost, schedule, quality, funding, and change status; issues pre-reads at least two working days in advance; organizes SC meeting logistics and records all decisions and actions; supports the SC cadence (every 4–6 weeks best practice, quarterly minimum, and before each stage gate) with PM/UTL nominations and SC accountabilities formally documented; escalates decisions, changes, and risks per the project DoA and defined risk tolerance thresholds.

Phase & Stage-Gate Delivery

• Delivers projects through the client’s stage-gated lifecycle. Feasibility/Project Preparation, Conceptual Design (CD), Basic Design (BD), Detailed Design (DD), Construction & Commissioning (CC), Handover, Operational Start-Up (OSU), and Project Close-Out (PCO) meeting the mandatory List of Deliverables at each phase and managing estimate maturity (±50% at feasibility, ±20% Concept Cost Estimate at end of CD, ±10% Design Cost Estimate at end of BD) through the Approved-for-Construction (AFC) handoff into construction.

• During feasibility and project preparation, creates the required project management deliverables, conducts the Project Delivery Method (PDM) selection workshop and recommends the PDM to the SC, executes the pre-funding review, and prepares the Funding Application jointly with the UTL; prepares for formal Stage-Gate Project Reviews, submits all mandatory funding documentation in advance, and ensures resulting action items are followed up and closed.

• Full-lifecycle management: Manages due diligence, programming, design, entitlements, bidding, permitting, procurement, design team/contractor/vendor selection, budget, schedule creation/management, sustainability, and post-construction services; guides RTD and the Service Provider’s team through design implementation, procurement, and construction; may oversee capital improvement programs at multiple sites through local/account-based resources.

• Executes a formal, documented asset handover from the Project Team to Operations/the UTL; supports the Commissioning Plan, Mechanical Completion, and readiness for qualification activities; issues the Project Closure Report (PCR) with final benchmarking and lessons learned and completes financial close-out.

Scope & Change Management

• Facilitates stakeholder analysis and requirements gathering, analysis, and agreement; supports approval of the User Requirements Brief/Specification (URB/URS) and clearly documents in-scope and out-of-scope boundaries, assumptions, and constraints.

• Manages approved scope through formal change management: maintains the project change log and change requests, protects approved cost and schedule baselines, reflects change impacts in the Forecast Final Cost (FFC), and reports change status (type, quantity, and cost/time/quality impact) in monthly project reporting.

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Cost Management & Financial Stewardship

• Budget planning & financial stewardship: Proven skills in budget development, RFPs, bidding, estimating, and budget-versus-actual reconciliation; plans cost estimating and management, maintains the Basis of Estimate, and applies continuous estimating and Target Value Delivery on cost-target-focused projects.

• Monitors and controls project cost in the client’s CAPEX systems (Cora PPM); regularly measures Value of Work Done (VOWD) and maintains SAP/Cora alignment through the Cost Estimating Structure (CES) and Work Breakdown Structure; manages contingency and undistributed costs, updates risk impacts in the FFC and control budgets, and manages the project CAPEX funding strategy.

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Schedule Management

• Develops and owns the baselined Project Master Schedule with Basis of Schedule and WBS; actively tracks performance against schedule and the critical path; embeds Rules-of-Credit progress measurement in design and construction contracts, tracks design deliverables progress, and aligns contractor Level 4+ schedules with the project WBS.

• Runs schedule integrity and logic checks (DCMA 14-point assessment); manages internal/external constraints and interdependencies with other projects; implements, manages, and reports schedule contingency; produces look-aheads, variance and progress reports, critical and near-critical activity tracking, and milestone reporting.

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Risk & Opportunity Management

• Develops and maintains the project Risk Management Plan (why, how, who, when) consistent with the client’s risk management guideline, ISO 31000, and PMI/PMBOK practice, including a defined RACI for all risk activities; performs the preliminary risk assessment during Project Preparation and builds the first risk register from prior-project lessons learned.

• Plans and facilitates recurring risk identification workshops from CD through Handover. Pre-workshop document review (scope, estimate, schedule, contract, assumptions, stakeholders), risk questionnaires, and expert interviews. Managing attendees and bias to secure high-quality inputs; maintains the risk register with structured Cause–Risk–Impact statements, named risk owners, mitigation/response actions, and risk impact windows, and qualitatively scores likelihood and cost/schedule/quality impact against the client’s risk scoring matrix.

• Supports Qualitative and Quantitative Risk Analysis (QRA), including Monte Carlo cost and schedule analysis where required by project classification; keeps cost and schedule contingency aligned with the risk register and manages contingency drawdown; applies risk tolerance thresholds with escalation to the SC, actively pursues opportunities as well as threats, and feeds lessons learned into project closure.

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SHE Management & Construction Safety

• Accountable for compliance with the SHE Management process and all associated SHE requirements on assigned projects: ensures SHE and security considerations are addressed in every phase, SHE resources are adequately planned, and SHE Checklist deliverables (initial screening, phase assessments, and SHE handover) are completed with the Local SHE Expert; maintains a safe work environment for all employees and contractors with full compliance with applicable safety regulations and reporting.

• Ensures the client’s Construction Safety framework is established, implemented, and maintained: nominates a qualified Construction Safety Expert (CSE); develops the Construction Safety Plan (CSP) and construction safety bid/tender attachments; supports contractor CS gap checks, briefings, walks/inspections, and CS KPI monitoring; supports incident management and the CS close-out report.

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Delivery Methods, Contracting & Procurement

• Knowledge of design and construction business practices (scope preparation, contract issues, insurance requirements, labor rates, and invoicing) and of design/construction methodologies for a variety of building types and mechanical/electrical systems, including project delivery methods (e.g., Design-Bid-Build, Design & Build, CM-at-Risk, EPCM/V, IPD) and compensation methods (fixed-price lump sum, guaranteed maximum price, cost-reimbursable).

• Conducts project kick-off; nominates and partners with the Project Procurement Manager (PPM) to develop the Project Contracting Strategy, maintain the Project Procurement Tracker, and define the claims management process; manages RFP development, bidding, negotiation, and contractor/vendor selection; approves or recommends contract awards per the Delegation of Authority; monitors and maintains the contractor pre-qualification program.

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Stakeholder Management & Communication

• Exceptional communication skills: Articulates project goals and expectations with regular feedback and concise updates to all stakeholders; builds and sustains positive, collaborative relationships with a wide range of constituents; identifies and maps stakeholders beginning at Conceptual Design, classifies them by interest and influence, and dynamically maintains a documented stakeholder management/communication plan within the PEP.

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Project Controls & Reporting

• Develops the Project Controls Plan, including the project reporting plan (audiences, information needs, sources, tools, frequency, and level of detail); leads regular project huddles covering schedule (critical path status, look-ahead, milestones, variances, Schedule Performance Index), cost (budget status, VOWD, contingency status, Cost Performance Index), changes, and risk.

• Prepares Project Monthly Reports in Cora PPM at the required cadence, Steering Committee project updates, phase-end benchmarking, and any required ad-hoc reporting; prepares and presents project status updates to senior leadership and stakeholders; creates and maintains complete project documentation, retained for seven (7) years and provided to RTD upon request.

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Quality & Compliance

• Delivers projects in compliance with the Roche corporate Quality System and cGMP/GxP expectations; promotes “Quality First Time” and demonstrates and advocates the Roche Cultural Beliefs; coordinates Quality Assurance representative assignment for projects involving Qualification/Validation and supports Design Qualification, commissioning, IQ/OQ, FAT/SAT, punch list close-out, and turnover packages.

• Ensures overall project compliance with the client’s project delivery guidelines, and continuously monitors, assesses, and recommends improvements to project management processes on the account.

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Technical Proficiency

• Excellent knowledge of and proficiency in project management productivity tools: Microsoft Project and/or Primavera P6 (client-required scheduling platforms), Smartsheet, and PDF markup software (e.g., Bluebeam); working proficiency with client project systems (Cora PPM and SAP cost interfaces); familiarity with AutoCAD and BIM; proficient in Microsoft Office.

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Education / Experience / Training

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering or Construction Management.

• 10 or more years of related experience.

• Must have Life Sciences experience; experience within the construction industry required; candidates with additional life sciences or high-tech manufacturing experience strongly preferred.

• Advanced project management skills with a demonstrated understanding of the project management business; ability to support and/or lead business development initiatives as assigned or requested; history in client relations, client management, contract negotiations, and consulting; strong analytical skills and the ability to communicate analyzed data to the client and project team to achieve project goals; strong working knowledge of architectural/engineering drawings and construction concepts.

• Working knowledge of stage-gated capital project delivery frameworks and formal project governance (steering committees, delegation of authority); experience delivering capital projects in cGMP or otherwise regulated environments strongly preferred.

• Formal risk management training and demonstrated experience planning and facilitating risk workshops, maintaining risk registers, and applying qualitative and quantitative (Monte Carlo) risk analysis consistent with ISO 31000 and PMI practice.

• Professional certification preferred: PMP, CCM, PMI-RMP, or equivalent.

• Must possess exemplary communication skills both oral and written.

Cushman & Wakefield also provides eligible employees with an opportunity to enroll in a variety of benefit programs, generally including health, vision, and dental insurance, flexible spending accounts, health savings accounts, retirement savings plans, life, and disability insurance programs, and paid and unpaid time away from work. In addition to a comprehensive benefits package, Cushman and Wakefield provide eligible employees with competitive pay, which may vary depending on eligibility factors such as geographic location, date of hire, total hours worked, job type, business line, and applicability of collective bargaining agreements.

The compensation that will be offered to the successful candidate will depend on factors such as whether the position is covered by a collective bargaining agreement, the geographic area in which the work will be performed, market pay rates in that area, and the candidate’s experience and qualifications.

The company will not pay less than minimum wage for this role.

The compensation for the position is: $ 123,250.00 - $145,000.00

C&W Services is an Equal Opportunity employer to all protected groups, including protected veterans and individuals with disabilities. Discrimination of any type will not be tolerated.

In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act (ADAAA), if you have a disability and would like to request an accommodation in order to apply for a position at C&W Services, please call the ADA line at 1-888-365-5406 or email Accommodations@cushwake.com. Please refer to the job title and job location when you contact us.

INCO: “C&W Services”