Lead Project Manager

Ashton North LLC is conducting a confidential search for a Manager of Project Management to lead a team of Project Managers responsible for implementing enterprise software solutions within scientific laboratory environments. The successful candidate will play a critical leadership role in developing project managers, improving delivery processes, and ensuring successful customer implementations.

Responsibilities:

• Lead, coach, mentor, and develop a team of approximately seven Project Managers
• Establish accountability for successful project delivery, ensuring implementations are completed on schedule, within scope, and aligned with customer expectations
• Serve as the primary leadership escalation point for project related customer concerns
• Build trusted relationships with customer executives while representing the organization during executive meetings, steering committees, and key customer engagements
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives that shorten implementation timelines, improve project consistency, and enhance customer satisfaction
• Evaluate existing project management processes and identify opportunities to improve efficiency, scalability, and execution
• Partner with Sales during pre sales engagements to develop realistic implementation plans and ensure customer commitments are achievable
• Monitor project portfolios including resource utilization, forecasting, risks, and overall delivery performance
• Lead issue resolution across cross functional teams while maintaining project momentum
• Develop project management best practices and promote consistency across the organization
• Conduct regular coaching sessions, performance reviews, and career development planning for direct reports
• Foster a collaborative, high performing team culture focused on accountability and customer success
• Leverage AI enabled tools to improve project planning, communication, reporting, and overall delivery effectiveness

Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent professional experience
• Ten or more years of progressive project or program management experience leading complex enterprise software implementations
• Five or more years of direct people leadership with responsibility for hiring, coaching, mentoring, performance management, and employee development
• Demonstrated success leading remote teams
• Experience managing multiple concurrent implementation projects and customer engagements
• Strong executive presence with the ability to confidently communicate with senior leadership and customer executives
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Strong analytical, organizational, and problem-solving abilities
• Experience with Agile, Scrum, Waterfall, or similar project management methodologies
• PMP, PRINCE2, PMI ACP, or similar project management certification preferred
• Candidates must possess project management experience supporting scientific laboratory environments, including one or more of the following: Public Health Laboratories, Environmental Testing Laboratories, Life Sciences, Laboratory Informatics, Scientific Software Implementations
• Enterprise software implementation leadership
• Professional services or consulting environment
• Lean, Six Sigma, or other continuous improvement methodologies
• Experience improving implementation efficiency and delivery performance
• Strong understanding of the financial impact of project execution, including resource utilization and project profitability
• Experience incorporating AI tools into project management workflows