Launch Project Manager

Location: Gaithersburg, MD (also open to Wilmington, DE)

Hybrid schedule- 3 days in office, 2 days remote

Duration: until 12-31-2025 with strong chance of extension

Pay: $71-76 per hour

Description:

The Launch Planning Manager is responsible for delivery high-quality launch planning program management to Commercial teams across US OBU. This role reports into the MLR & Launch Planning Director.

He/she will work closely with key stakeholders across all launch activities including Franchise Heads, Brand Directors, Medical Affairs, Market Access, Commercial Excellence and multiple cross functional Leads/Partners. This role requires excellence stakeholder and relationship building skills and experience working in a matrix environment delivering complex, highly visible projects against tight deadlines.

Experience in project management practices will be vital and the successful candidate will be self-motivated, resilient, and highly organized, with an understanding of how to prioritize effectively in high-pressure environments.

Major Responsibilities:

• Mobilize - Assemble and collaborate with pre-identified cross-functional leads launch requirements, baseline launch plan and key milestones, establish ways of working including:
• Launch strategy and objectives - Establishing and aligning core and extended cross-functional launch teams on the strategy and objectives for launch.
• Launch Kickoff/Onboarding - Design and facilitate launch kickoff approach. Act as the primary point of contact for key stakeholders, including senior management, clients, partners and external vendors.
• Manage stakeholder expectations, solicit feedback and address concerns in a timely and professional manner.
• Maintain - On-going oversight of the launch plan; change control governance, risk management, dependency communication and management including: Develop and validate comprehensive project plans outlining timelines, milestones, tasks and resource allocation. Coordinate with internal stakeholders, including product development, marketing, sales, and operations teams, to ensure alignment and commitment to project goals. Proactively identify and mitigate risks, issues, and bottlenecks that may impact project progress or outcomes.
• Facilitate and communicate - Schedule and facilitate recurring launch meetings. Proactively support Launch Readiness Reviews with leadership including: Coordination of core team meetings, Launch Readiness Review Meetings and Day 0 meetings. Provide clear direction and leadership to project teams, fostering a collaborative and results-driven work environment. Facilitate effective communication and coordination among team members, ensuring everyone is informed and engaged throughout the project lifecycle. Conduct regular meetings, status updates, and progress reviews to track performance against project objectives and adjust plans as needed.
• Day 0 coordination - Work with function leads to capture specific activities that need to happen on Day 0, when they need to happen, and track their progress.
• Community of practice, quality and compliance - Active participation and sharing (overall feedback, pain points, process improvements, etc.) in regular sessions including: Implement rigorous quality assurance processes to ensure that all deliverables meet established standards and specifications. Ensure compliance with relevant regulations, industry standards, and company policies throughout the launch process. Actively participate in Launch Excellence Community of Practice providing learnings and experiences from existing launch assignments for the continued optimization of launch processes.
• Insights management - Post launch, gather and document learnings, track against initial agreed KPIs, lead post-mortem session. Develop recommendations and action plans to optimize future launch processes and enhance overall project management effectiveness.

Key skills and experience:

Essential:

1. 3-4 years of experience

2. Bachelor's Degree

3. Proven track record with multifaceted projects or programs in the past with multiple stakeholders from varied functions

4. Global change and/or project management experience

5. Understanding of risk management frameworks and mitigation steps

6.  Excellent communication and relationship building skills. This candidate will communicate with stakeholders and work cross-functionally with other teams.

7. Strong organizational and problem-solving skills, with a keen attention to detail and the ability to manage multiple priorities simultaneously

8. Excellent interpersonal, presentation, and negotiating skills

9. Good knowledge of project delivery methodologies

Nice to have but not required:

1. PMP 

2. Pharma industry experience but open to other industries as well.

3. Marketing background