Group Lead, Director of Program Management

Group Lead, Director of Program Management

Location: Portsmouth, NH, USA. (Relocation assistance is available for eligible candidates and their families, if needed.)

Schedule: Monday – Friday (Standard Business Hours).

We are seeking an executive leader to join us as the Group Lead, Director of Program Management in Portsmouth, NH. In this role, you will manage a direct team of PMs, driving a culture of accountability, teamwork, and program ownership. Operating with strategic autonomy, you will oversee risk profiles across our portfolios and champion effective mitigation plans. Serving as a vital cross-functional anchor, you will act as a primary interface between clients and Lonza to ensure project delivery matches expectations while upholding Global Program and Project Center of Excellence (PPM CoE) standards.

What will you get?

• An agile career and dynamic working culture

• An inclusive and ethical workplace

• Strategic Leadership Footprint: Directly shape and elevate a high-performing team of PM professionals while influencing portfolio execution site-wide.

• Client Advocacy Ownership: Act as a primary on-site champion for key pharmaceutical and biotech partners, translating their project visions into operational successes.

• Compensation programs that recognize high performance

• Medical, dental and vision insurance, as well as PTO and more

• Our full list of global benefits can be found here: https://www.lonza.com/careers/benefits.

What you’ll do:

• People Leadership & Talent Development: Lead, motivate, and develop a direct team of Project Managers; establish clear performance expectations, champion career development initiatives, and cultivate a healthy life-work balance.

• Portfolio & Risk Oversight: Maintain a comprehensive, holistic view of the direct team's program portfolio, guiding PMs through risk assessments, issue profiles, tactical mitigation plans, and financial success.

• Customer Interface & Advocacy: Serve as a core link between the customer and Lonza to drive execution; deeply understand customer requirements and represent their interests as an authoritative on-site advocate.

• Cross-Functional Project Accountability: Oversee the operational execution of multi-disciplinary, cross-functional project teams to deliver complex scopes with the highest level of quality.

• PPM CoE Standards Governance: Enforce strict adherence to Global Program and Project Center of Excellence (PPM CoE) standards, ensuring data integrity excellence and rigorous project tracking inside Planview.

• Best Practice Deployment: Champion the implementation of standardized PM tools, workflows, and best practices across the team to optimize delivery timelines.

• Cross-Functional Mentorship: Act as a strategic mentor for individuals across other site functions and coordinate with Account Management/Sales to maximize client satisfaction throughout the program lifecycle.

What we’re looking for:

• Industry Experience: 10+ years of professional experience within the Life Sciences, Pharmaceuticals, Biotech, or Medical Device industries is highly preferred.

• Influence & Consensus Building: Demonstrated ability to build consensus between external clients and internal teams; exceptional capacity to "influence without authority" across a matrixed environment to achieve organizational goals.

• CDMO Background: Prior experience working within a Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO) or a fast-paced contract manufacturing environment is highly preferred.

• Project Management Expertise: Deep operational experience in Project or Program Management, utilizing structured PM Standard Work processes to lead complex project lifecycles.

• Supervisory Capabilities: Proven experience supervising direct reports, managing performance metrics, and building team capabilities is preferred.

• Technical Asset Familiarity: A technical understanding of mammalian cell culture manufacturing is ideal, though not explicitly required.

• Education: Bachelor’s Degree is required, preferably in a related Life Sciences or technical discipline.

• Certifications: Project Management Professional (PMP) or a relevant, verified PM certification is highly preferred.

About Lonza

At Lonza, our people are our greatest strength. With 30+ sites across five continents, our globally connected teams work together every day to manufacture the medicines of tomorrow. Our core values of Collaboration, Accountability, Excellence, Passion and Integrity reflect who we are and how we work together. Everyone’s ideas, big or small, have the potential to improve millions of lives, and that’s the kind of work we want you to be part of.

Innovation thrives when people from all backgrounds bring their unique perspectives to the table. At Lonza, we offer equal employment opportunities to all qualified applicants regardless of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. If you’re ready to help turn our customers’ breakthrough ideas into viable therapies, we look forward to welcoming you on board.

Ready to shape the future of life sciences? Apply now.