Functional GCM Project Management — R&D Transformation | 100% Remote

The hiring company is confidential. The role supports R&D’s Global Capability Model transformation by turning functional strategies into executable workforce, change, onboarding and transition plans, while coordinating implementation and resolving risks across global teams.

Responsibilities:

• 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
• 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
• 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
• 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
• 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
• 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
• 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
• 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

Requirements:

• 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