Functional GCM Project Manager, Pharmaceutical R&D

Job Description

Job Description

Project Description

The group is scaling global development hubs in India and Poland as part of its Global Capability Model (GCM) transformation. The program is building new R&D capabilities while simultaneously redesigning how work is organized, where capabilities are located, and how teams operate across global R&D network.

The Functional GCM Project Management role will provide dedicated execution support to one or more R&D Functional Leaders. The role will help translate functional strategies and designs into executable workforce, change, onboarding and transition plans and ensure that issues are identified and resolved before they disrupt implementation. The R&D GCM Lead will be the hiring manager for these positions and deploy the new team members to the R&D functions.

This is a hands-on role requiring strong project management, structured problem solving and the ability to work across global functions, HR, Talent Acquisition, Finance, local site teams and other GCM workstreams.
The role may be filled at different levels of seniority. Senior resources will lead the work with Functional GCM Leads and independently drive cross-functional execution. More junior resources will provide project management, analysis and coordination support within the same areas of responsibility.

Key Responsibilities

1. Functional GCM Execution
Partner with Functional GCM Leads to translate approved functional strategies and organization designs into practical execution plans.
Maintain an integrated view of functional milestones, dependencies, decisions, risks and issues across workforce build, change, onboarding and transition activities.
Connect functional execution with the broader GCM program and identify dependencies requiring coordination across R&D functions, GCM sites or enterprise teams.
Ensure emerging execution issues are surfaced early, with clear options and recommendations for resolution.

2. R&D HQ Transition Support and Hypercare
Establish and operate a high-touch transition support process for functions moving work, building new teams or implementing new operating models.
Provide a clear point of coordination for transition issues raised by functional leaders, managers and new teams.
Triage issues quickly, connect them to the appropriate owner and drive follow-through until resolution.
Identify recurring issues and patterns that indicate broader gaps in processes, policies, onboarding, technology or site readiness and escalate them through the GCM program.
The objective is not simply to track issues, but to remove friction and reduce execution risk during periods of significant organizational change.

3. Onboarding and Operational Readiness
Partner with Functional GCM Leads, hiring managers and local India and Poland Knowledge Transfer PMs teams to prepare for successful onboarding of new employees and teams.
Coordinate functional readiness for hiring cohorts, including manager preparation, local orientation, access and tools, role onboarding and other dependencies required for employees to become productive.
Work closely with dedicated Knowledge Transfer PMs while maintaining clear separation between overall functional implementation and detailed knowledge-transfer execution.
Ensure dependencies between hiring, onboarding, knowledge transfer and operational readiness are visible and managed.

4. Workforce and Hiring Planning
Support Functional GCM Leads in finalizing workforce and hiring plans, including roles, locations, timing, sequencing and hiring waves.
Maintain accurate functional demand and hiring plans and reconcile changes with Talent Acquisition, HR and the central GCM workforce planning process.
Track progress from approved workforce demand through requisition launch, recruiting and hiring, highlighting risks to planned timing or workforce assumptions.
Help identify practical adjustments to sequencing, role profiles or hiring plans when market conditions or execution performance differ from assumptions.

5. Change and Communications
Support development and execution of divisional and functional change and communication plans associated with GCM implementation.
Work with Functional GCM Leads, HR and Communications to identify affected stakeholder groups, key messages, leadership engagement needs, manager support and employee readiness activities.
Coordinate functional change activities with the broader R&D GCM narrative and site-level communications.
Track change readiness, emerging concerns and adoption risks and ensure they are addressed through the appropriate functional or program channels.

6. Business Cases and Functional Design Support
Support development of business cases for new or evolving functional GCM designs.
Coordinate collection and analysis of workforce, cost, timing, organizational and operational assumptions required to assess proposed designs.
Work with Functional GCM Leads, Finance, HR and the broader GCM team to prepare materials for design reviews and investment decisions.
Maintain traceability between approved business-case assumptions and subsequent execution plans.
Seniority Differentiation
Senior Project Management Resource (1 or 2 in total) – in collaboration with the R&D GCM Program Lead and GCM PMO Lead, senior resources will:
Serve as the primary execution partner to one or more Functional GCM Leads.
Independently lead integrated functional planning and execution.
Drive resolution of complex cross-functional dependencies and issues.
Challenge assumptions and identify gaps in functional implementation plans.
Lead development of business cases, executive materials and decision recommendations.
Facilitate senior stakeholder discussions and drive decisions to closure.
Direct and coordinate work performed by more junior project management resources where applicable.
Represent the functional workstream in broader GCM governance and integration discussions.

Project Manager Resource (4-5 roles available) – in collaboration with the R&D GCM Program Lead and R&D GCM PMO Lead, junior PM resources will:

Support development and maintenance of workforce, change, onboarding and transition plans.
Coordinate meetings, inputs, actions, decisions and dependencies across stakeholders.
Maintain accurate execution tracking and prepare status and decision materials.
Perform analysis supporting workforce plans, business cases and implementation decisions.
Coordinate onboarding readiness and transition support activities.
Track risks and issues and drive follow-up with responsible owners.
Escalate emerging execution concerns to the senior PM or Functional GCM Lead.

Qualifications
Demonstrated project or program management experience in a complex, global organization.
Ability to manage multiple interconnected workstreams with significant organizational and stakeholder dependencies.
Strong analytical skills and ability to translate strategy or organization design into practical implementation plans.
Strong written and verbal communication skills, including preparation of clear executive-level materials.
Ability to work effectively with senior functional leaders as well as operational teams.
Demonstrated ability to identify risks, resolve ambiguity and drive issues to closure.
Experience with workforce planning, organizational transformation, change management, business-case development or large-scale implementation preferred.
Experience within pharmaceutical R&D, life sciences or another complex global operating environment preferred but not required.

Critical Capabilities:
Successful candidates will be able to move comfortably between strategy and execution. They should be highly organized without becoming process-heavy, able to work through ambiguity, willing to challenge plans that are not executable, and effective at building relationships across functions and geographies.
They must be comfortable operating in an environment where design and execution are occurring simultaneously and where priorities, workforce assumptions and implementation approaches will continue to evolve as the program progresses.

Pay Rate is based on experience. There are multiple roles available including a more senior role. There is potential for a higher rate for the person selected in the senior role.