Head, R&D Therapeutic Project Management Office

Head of R&D Project Management Office (PMO)

We have been retained by a leading international pharmaceutical company based in the Paris region to recruit a Head of R&D Project Management Office (PMO). 

The opportunity

Reporting into the Head of R&D Therapeutic Project Management, you will build and mature a high-impact, value-adding PMO that is recognized as a strategic partner to the therapeutic project ecosystem (not a purely process-driven function).

Your mandate is to drive project centricity, R&D productivity and delivery performance through best-fit methodologies, tools, indicators and streamlined governance.

Key responsibilities 

• Assess / develop / enhance high-performing PM tools and KPIs to:

• evaluate therapeutic project performance, 2) clearly communicate to senior leadership, and 3) identify improvement levers.

• Define and enforce simple, practical PM processes, best practices and templates for project stakeholders, with a strong focus on simplifying budget steering and reporting (dashboards, process steps, number of contributors, leadership-level communications).

• Ensure consistency and standardization of PM practices across the R&D organization.

• Provide guidance, facilitation, support and training on tools/processes to the therapeutic project community.

• Drive a continuous improvement agenda (new initiatives, evolving methods, operational process upgrades, PMO trends).

• Develop and lead the PMO team (cohesion, capability building, topic allocation, homogeneous practices).

• Contribute to building the R&D project & PM community (R&D-wide)

• Act as a senior partner and challenger on delegated initiatives (options, risk analysis, reporting granularity, governance deck quality).

• Define and manage the annual PMO budget and communicate progress/status to leadership.

Candidate profile

• University degree in Project Management, Business Administration, Engineering or related field. PMP (or equivalent) is a plus.

• Significant experience in project management with a proven track record in building and running a PMO.

• Strong understanding of drug development / R&D 

• Excellent leadership, stakeholder management and communication skills; ability to be appropriately assertive to ensure adoption of good practices.

• Client-oriented mindset, pragmatic approach, thrives in a dynamic environment.

• Fluent French and English (written and spoken).

Location

Must be based near Paris, France. Hybrid working available with 3 days a week on site. 

How to apply

Please send your CV and a brief note (or LinkedIn message) quoting reference “Head of R&D PMO - Paris” to the retained search team Email: cgibson@barringtonjames.com | Subject: Head of R&D PMO

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