Associate Director, Strategic Operations and Process Improvement

The Role:

Moderna is seeking a motivated and energetic Associate Director level project manager responsible for providing project management leadership to enable execution of cross-functional process building and improvement projects across the Development organization. This position will play a role in helping to establish a centralized function that will drive critical strategic projects, support building a continuous improvement capability that will enable the Development organization to scale as we look to establish key internal capabilities in support of operational excellence in our clinical trials and deliver on the promise of mRNA technology. This role will be responsible to develop strong oversight and execution for projects and initiatives which may include developing a business case and project plan to support internal approval, as well as managing the capability build through implementation. These projects will include key partnerships across our clinical Development functions: Clinical Development, Business Operations and Process Improvement, Clinical Operations, Clinical Supply and Biomarkers, Data Management / Biostats and Programming, Medical Writing, Clinical Study Execution Enablement (start-up, patient recruitment / retention, site engagement), and can include Digital, Commercial, Finance, Safety & Pharmacovigilance, Regulatory, Supply Chain, Quality and more with the critical responsibility of integration across all those processes related to the projects.

The Associate Director will develop timelines, provide oversight, escalation, support the business lead functions within project teams in project planning, implementation planning and drive execution and manage and mitigate risk, and coordinate interdependencies.

Here’s What You’ll Do:

• Core project-based responsibilities

• Direct multiple complex projects involving internal and external stakeholders and vendors

• Partner with the relevant functional leadership to drive project strategy and execution plan

• Provide and support leadership to projects; be the hub of knowledge and source of truth

• Own the roadmap for one or more high-impact initiatives, from ideation through steady-state operations; create cross functional project plans to ensure clarity of deliverables and timing

• Manage project team meetings to include agenda planning, drive agenda, decision tracking and action follow-up.

• Stakeholder management

• Build relationships with key stakeholders (team members and leadership) to ensure alignment of functional and corporate objectives

• Influence without direct authority across Clinical, TechOps, Digital, Quality, Finance, and external partners—surfacing trade-offs early and driving alignment

• Cross-project integration, process excellence and continuous improvement

• Champion data-driven decision-making, partnering with our digital and analytics teams to embed metrics and automation into process, workflows

• Stand up or optimize process frameworks (e.g., RACI, stage-gates) that enable continuous improvement

• Track, report and facilitate the resolution of issues and risks across several integrated projects

• Support central strategic operations to provide leadership visibility to timing, roadmap, reporting and improving central processes around initiative development

Here’s What You’ll Need:

• BS degree in a scientific field with at least 8 years of experience or MS degree in a scientific field with 4 years of experience in a biotechnology or pharmaceutical setting

• PMP certification preferred

• Experience in clinical drug development

• Understanding and experience in GCP and/or GXP environment is preferred

• Proven track record of successful project management experience and knowledge of project management tools/software

• Demonstrated experience in leading cross-functional programs in business setting, consulting setting and preferred in established development organization

• Must be adept at working in a fluid environment and foster a strong collaborative spirit internally and externally.

• Strong personal skills to influence without authority, motivate others and manage conflict.

• Strong written and oral communication skills as well as demonstrated organizational aptitude

• Demonstrated wins in supporting process design or re-engineering (Lean, Six Sigma, or similar)

• End-to-end digital-implementation experience from the business side (requirements gathering, UAT, change management, and adoption metrics)

• Executive-caliber communication skills— written and verbal; able to distill multifacete