Project Director -Life Sciences

Remarkable people, trusted by clients to design and advance the world. 

Wood is recruiting for a Project Director to join its Life Sciences business. This opportunity is Hybrid.

#Li-Hybrid

The Role

Wood is currently seeking a Project Director to create delivery excellence across assigned project/program/portfolio of projects, provide certainty and confidence to the customer/project sponsor, and robust control of project scope, schedule, cost and risk. This role will direct the implementation and completion of one or more major projects or programs, including responsibility for managing safety, scope, cost, schedule and risk, and ensuring appropriate reporting and governance in place.

Our Clients and Projects 

Designing the future. Transforming the world.

Wood’s Life Sciences business leverages 50 years of Life Sciences experience in the Americas, Europe and Australia. We bring full asset lifecycle value proposition to leading pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies by accelerating the design and delivery of their most complex facilities at pace with uncompromising quality and safety standards. Our future-minded team focuses on sustainability and optimized facility performance through innovative and cleaner design solutions that ultimately lead to positive advancements in human health.

What we can offer

• Meaningful and interesting projects delivered to leaders of industry across Life Sciences sector.
• Flexible working arrangements that balance client, team and individual needs offering hybrid working.
• Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion; we are an organization actively committed to diversity and inclusion across our business with employee networks committed to giving all employees a voice.
• Competitive salary with regular salary reviews to ensure we are rewarding at the right level in line with the market.
• Flexible benefits package that can be adapted to suit your lifestyle.
• Commitment to continued professional development; development plans that are tailored to your individual needs and interests.
• Global connections: join experts around the world who are at the leading edge of our industry, shaping the standards of our profession.

Typical Responsibilities

• P & L responsibility with associated commercial and financial accountability including revenue delivery, margin and overhead management, budget and forecast determination and attainment, risk and opportunity reviews, cost controls, accounts payable/billing and cash collection
• Contributes to and reviews the project proposal and plan to establish timeframe, procedures for accomplishing the project, resource requirements, and allotment of available resources to various phases of the project. Ensures adherence to corporate policy and best practice and sets project evaluation parameters.
• Negotiates changes to project scope with the customer. Follows Change Management process to identify and approve modifications to scope, cost, schedule and quality
• Pursues and develop opportunities for innovation, such as digitalization and technology use, work share and high value engineering centers, to bring value to Wood and customer
• Approves project procedures and project execution plan including the scope of work, deliverables list, master schedule, budget, org charts, risk register etc.
• Ensures competence of project team members to carry out assigned work
• Oversee proposals and call-offs (may be single projects) within delegation of authority, ensuring compliance with contracting policy and standards of ethical conduct.
• Monitors adherence to schedule, cost and quality and proactively intervenes to avoid slippage
• Ensure that the required project management software systems are established for the project and the supporting training is completed
• Ensure the project assurance protocol and schedule are established
• Involved in establishing terms and conditions, and wider scope and larger size of projects may require more visibility in the community as well as activity in attracting project staff
• Responsible for the project HSSE leadership, ensures a program of initiatives and auditing schedule are established, and that HSSE and quality management issues are proactively addressed
• Drives good practices, including corporate initiatives, across projects and programs
• Resolves complex issues which are escalated by project team
• Participate in assurance activities and peer reviews
• The complexity, potential impact and political sensitivity of projects/programs of this size frequently require the project director to be involved in closing the deal, attracting specialized staff from outside the organization, and managing relationships with local officials and community groups as well as the customer and contractors, all based on their credibility and proven track record

Leadership

• Guides and directs large project team(s), which includes project managers, external specialists and involving staff from multiple offices and sites.
• Is an advocate and role model for ethical behavior and compliance with applicable laws and policies.
• Teaches and empowers others to make decisions within established parameters

Working Relationships

Internal:

• Oversight of multiple Project Managers.
• Monitors effectiveness of current relationships, and counsels others to take actions, as needed
• Guides and directs a large diverse project team which may include specialists from outside the company and from other countries.
• Ensures effective interfaces with high value engineering centers (HVEC) and manages scope across all offices involved
• Interface and coordinate with BU/BG leadership, Operational and/or Contract Management to ensure delivery of operational goals

External:

• Establishes and maintains a positive and effective customer relationship, ensuring payment terms are met, and communicating any delays
• Represents the organization externally at the highest levels with the customer, in the community and with contractors
• Works with other leaders to develop relationship management strategies for developing and maintaining strong ties with key external contacts including customers, governments, community groups, competitors
• Manage relationships with external stakeholders including interaction with suppliers and subcontractors, to resolve cost, schedule and quality issues

LEVEL OF INFLUENCE & DECISION-MAKING AUTHORITY

• Requires limited guidance, works within high level policy guidance; work is assessed in relation to objectives and outcomes
• Leads a large diverse project team including specialists from outside the company and from other countries.
• Actions and decisions typically influence the long-term profitability, operating and technical results of the business group

Solves complex problems requiring an understanding of social, political and cultural issues as well as technical and business issues; exercises broad mature judgement in developing 

What makes you remarkable? 

At Wood, we are committed to equal opportunities and welcome all talented individuals to consider joining our team. So even if you don't match every statement below but feel you have some of the experience, knowledge or skills needed for this role, we encourage you to apply. It will take all of us working together to deliver solutions to the world’s most critical challenges. 

Expected:

• University degree (bachelors or masters) in relevant discipline or equivalent combination of qualifications and experience
• Project Management Professional (PMP), Associate in Project Management (APM) or equivalent certification is preferred
• Typically requires more than 20 years of broad and extensive pertinent experience, including minimum 10 years project management experience, mastering their area and knowledgeable about impacts on other areas; of which substantial experience successfully managing major/complex international or remote location projects.
• Requires strong technical skill as relevant to the project scope(s)
• Good level of experience in the related field, industry, and locations of the work
• Has thorough knowledge of project success and benefits management
• Expert in stakeholder management with extensive experience in managing challenging stakeholders and able to coach and advise others in this area
• Thorough understanding of requirements management from creation to monitoring to verification of complex project requirements and their linkage to business benefits.
• Knowledge of workflow management, established policies for engineering ownership, globalization of projects and request for tender process
• Experienced in assembling and managing multi-phase project budgets, including risk contingencies
• Expert Practitioner in Risk Management processes, well versed in how risks are transposed into cost, time and contingency estimates and forecasts
• Advanced knowledge of various forms of vendor contracts across many types of goods and services; able to create new appropriate contracting frameworks and negotiate to successful conclusions.
• Able to manage complex major project start-up, produce and communicate the project execution plan
• Able to negotiate appropriate close-out terms with all key stakeholders.
• Sound practice and experience of commercial and technical risk management.
• Able to drive cash flow management as well as projection/forecast of cost at completion

Personal Attributes:

• Safety focused on an uncompromising approach to risk management. Places the welfare of both internal and customer employees at the top of the agenda.
• Passionately and visibly pursues and supports, demonstrates and embeds company values.
• Able to motivate, engage and influence a diverse group of people, many without a direct reporting relationship
• Customer focused – develops sincere and open relationships with customers, current and potential; constantly striving to exceed expectations and add value. Able to develop and maintain strong customer relationships, including ability to influence
• Ability to effectively manage resources (personnel, equipment, materials etc.)
• Excellent verbal, written and presentational communication skills; able to handle sensitive communications and to communicate complex issues in simple ways
• Strong team builder capable of identifying and adopting best practices, engendering a spirit of cooperation and energizing people towards optimum performance enabling cross functional best practice
• Entrepreneurial approach - ability to identify and pursue opportunities to add value to client and Wood
• Flexible to respond in agile ways to change internal and external context and customer needs
• A motivated self-starter, who can self-direct when required, able to use own initiative to make appropriate decisions but also know when escalation is required
• Critical thinker, able to interpret complex data and with strong problem-solving abilities
• Strong influencer, negotiator and mediator

Wood is a global leader in consulting and engineering, helping to unlock solutions to critical challenges in energy and materials markets. We provide consulting, projects and operations solutions in 60 countries, employing around 35,000 people. www.woodplc.com
Diversity Statement  We are an equal opportunity employer that recognises the value of a diverse workforce. All suitably qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment on the basis of objective criteria and without regard to the following (which is a non-exhaustive list): race, colour, age, religion, gender, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, protected veteran status, or other characteristics in accordance with the relevant governing laws.