POSITION SUMMARY

Umoja Biopharma is seeking a Project Management Specialist to join our fast-paced Supply Chain department located at our CLIMB cell/gene therapy manufacturing facility in Louisville, Colorado. This position will be responsible for project management of broad scope projects that require cross-functional coordination and impact across the organization. Including but not limited to the following:

• Lead New Product Introduction teams and act as the Change Control Owner for products moving through manufacturing.
• General project management of cross functional projects, including operational excellence initiatives.
• Assist with site project portfolio management.
• Assist with creating and maintaining the site master and plant schedules.
• Manage execution and delivery of scopes of work from external manufacturing vendors.

This role represents Umoja internally at all levels of the organization as well as externally with vendors. The successful candidate will have experience in cross-functional project management, scheduling and schedule adherence management, business workflow process and continuous improvement, laboratory and facility operations, clear communication with strong personnel skills to collaborate with and influence internal stakeholders, as well as proven ability to operate independently with limited direction on initiatives aligned with Umoja goals.

We are looking for a self-starter who brings their excellent communication skills, attention to detail, and ability to flex and pivot in an ever-changing start-up environment

CORE ACCOUNTABILITIES
Specific responsibilities include:

• Develop, manage, and update project plans in a timely manner. Communicate project status, progress, timelines, changes in schedule, scope changes, technical and/or quality issues to all relevant stakeholders.
• Ensure that projects are conducted on time, within scope and budget, and meet agreed-upon quality standards and expectations through cross-functional and project team alignment.
• Develop and monitor key performance indicators and solutions to ensure operational excellence, continuous improvement, timely communications, and risk mitigation strategies.
• Assist in creating dashboards and visual management systems as needed to ensure site operational success.
• Analyze risk, establish contingency plans, and identify trigger events and responsibility for initiating mitigating action. Gather stakeholder input and rank the top project risks in terms of total impact.
• Schedule, facilitate and document project related team meetings, including issuance of agenda, action items, meeting minutes, stakeholder communications, etc.
• Lead cross-functional teams without direct authority by casting a clear vision of project objectives/priorities and motivate the team to achieve them.
• Able to resolve conflict and foster collaborative partnerships with others to achieve peak performance with some assistance from manager or delegate.
• Own deviations, change controls and other quality records as needed to support site operations.

The successful candidate will have:

• Bachelor's degree in science, engineering, business or a related discipline and a minimum of 5 years of relevant industry experience in business operations role, or an equivalent combination
• Minimum of 2-5 years of operations-related experience in both a research laboratory and cGMP manufacturing environment
• Experience leading projects and working effectively and efficiently in a collaborative manner across multiple functional areas and geographies
• Experience with operational excellence and business process management approaches, including process mapping, waste elimination, standard work, and KPI identification
• Self-motivated, proactive, and able to work well both on a team and independently with risk-based decision-making capability
• Strong communication skills are a must

Preferred Qualifications:

• Ability to multi-task in a fast-paced, matrix environment
• Lean Six Sigma Green, Black or Master Black Belt certification
• Direct project management experience, PMP certification a plus
• Proficiency in project management and scheduling tools, working knowledge of Smartsheet
• Experience with external vendor management
• Proven ability to implement and follow safety protocols and work practices

Physical Requirements:

• Ability to wear personal protective equipment including gloves, protective clothing, and eye safety glasses.
• Ability to perform physical tasks including standing, use of hands, walking, bending, kneeling, and occasionally moving materials up to 30 pounds
• Ability to work off hours, on-call, and/or weekends on occasion or in emergency situations
• Ability to work onsite with flexibility to work from home as required

Salary Range: $89,900 - $111,000