Project Director

With operations in 35+ nations and ~27,000 employees worldwide, CSL is driven to develop and deliver a broad range of lifesaving therapies to treat disorders such as hemophilia and primary immune deficiencies, and vaccines to prevent influenza. Our therapies are also used in cardiac surgery, organ transplantation and burn treatment.

CSL is the parent company of CSL Behring and Seqirus. CSL Behring is a global leader in the protein biotherapeutics industry, focused on bringing to market biotherapies used to treat serious and often rare conditions. CSL Behring operates CSL Plasma, one of the world's largest collectors of human plasma, which is used to create CSL’s therapies. Seqirus is one of the largest influenza vaccine companies in the world and is a transcontinental partner in pandemic preparedness and a major contributor to the prevention and control of influenza globally.

We invite you to take a look at the many career possibilities available around the globe and consider building your promising future at CSL by becoming a member of our team!

Provide leadership and oversight for key high-risk Tier 1 and 2 CAPEX projects for Kankakee site liaising closely with Global Engineering, HR and Value Streams leaders.  Leads and directs highly complex, large-scale, cross-functional high value capacity expansion projects with diverse project teams, in alignment with CSL strategic and operational priorities Form and lead an appropriately resourced cross functional team that includes technical design and construction team to ensure

• Knowledge and demonstrated experience of Front-End-Loading (FEL) to develop sufficient project definition so that CSL can make investment decisions, minimize risk and maximize the potential for success.

• Business inputs into the project design and construction are understood and project scope is controlled.  Manage all program aspects including business case (ROI, NPV, and COGS), capital budgeting and spending, technology/vendor selection, contract negotiations, staffing, long term planning, project execution and construction management.

• Coordination of internal and external communications

• Appropriate interface between all functions (Facilities Management, Workplace Innovation, HR, Finance, Procurement, etc.).  Collaborates to set direction on business strategy and targets to achieve financial and business results

• Proven experience in having E2E responsibilities from Engineering through Operational Readiness.

• Advise board and executive leadership on execution strategy and organize Project Steering committee’s meeting and agenda’s.  Report on project status to Sponsor and Steering Committee and to corporate leadership.

• Monitor regional capital projects and escalate/troubleshoot where there are concerns about being delivered on time, within budget and scope, and meeting safety and regulatory standards. Sets Key Performance Indicators and Final Project Objectives for project.

• Drive innovation to reduce cost and schedule by ensuring Project Delivery Process, Flawless Project Execution, best practices, benchmarking, and industry learning are applied to all capital projects. 

This position manages and contributes to the project progress throughout the project helping to expedite key activities across function, find solutions to key problems, and communicate project progress, issues, and solutions to management and to the project team. 

This role will have a wide focus requiring an understanding of how to integrate the activities of numerous areas of technical, operational, and business expertise and align them toward accomplishing common goals.

Key Duties and Responsibilities

Lead planning and execution of strategic capital investment to establish production capacity for a unique pharmaceutical product that will drive US market growth.

• Oversight and accountability for overall safety performance of the project.

• Lead and deliver site master planning options based on network volume forecasts. 

• Deliver additional capacities for strategic products from design to licensed facility

• Strong decision-making skills.  Able to drive issues to closure, soliciting appropriate input and stakeholder engagement

• Broad experience in managing large and complex programs

• Technically savvy, can relate to and understand complex technology based issues

• Understands business needs and can relate these to engineering concepts

• Process-oriented, process knowledgeable,

• Natural leader and good listener

• Excellent problem-solving skills when managing potential conflicts within regions when implementing global standards and guidelines. Understanding complex technical/regulatory issues impacting products.

• Control progress of projects, identify deviations from target with respect to safety, quality, cash flow management, budget, timeline and project scope and initiate countermeasures by means of efficient project controlling and scheduling processes as well as applied and tracked adequate Key Performance Indicators

• Focuses on customers’ requirements enabling a high standard of effectiveness

• Anticipates problems and potential risks while creating contingency plans

• Transfers ideas and successes across boundaries

• Strong Project management including:

-Documentation of meetings and discussion

-Assignment and tracking of action items

-Influencing skills to get key actions prioritized by the team

-Anticipating and mitigating bottlenecks

-Ability to break roadblocks and catalyze decision making

• Assures effective prioritization of interdependent project activities.

• Works closely with Sponsors, Steering Committees, and functional leaders to overcome obstacles to project success.​

Leadership of People and Teams

• Strong communication skills, Change management experience, Cross function team leadership

• Recognized leader within the cross-functional business experience.  Track record of developing and maintaining strong partnerships at all levels within the organization.

• Ability to lead and motivate remote and virtual teams and stakeholders

• Builds, develops and manages teams of direct reports 

• Promotes high employee engagement and positive work environment

• Build and sustain employee engagement by creating a culture of efficient execution and an environment in which individuals and teams can excel and continuously improve.

Strategic Initiatives

• Highly effective project management with a keen understanding of interdependencies.

• Strong oversight of vendor and procurement management, including sequencing receiving, staging and installation activities.

• Working knowledge of:

-EHS requirements, with particular focus on EHS by design and construction safety

-Start-up processes and Commissioning & Qualification 

-Principles for Engineering Design in a regulated industry (GMP & GEP)

Communication and Change Management

• Directs the transition to operations, including training and user adoption of related processes.

• Assures access to subject matter experts with the requisite capabilities to support project definition and planning as required to successfully complete the project work.

• Assures that documentation is kept current, clear and transparent and is communicated as appropriate.

• Escalates key decisions, issues, risks and opportunities as required to achieve objectives.

Situation Analysis and Initiation

• Helps to translate CSL strategic and operational priorities into projects designed to deliver intended value by supporting the development of the Kankakee Site Development Strategy.

• Assures that situational analysis provides the data required to well characterize projects.

Project Definition

• Assures that projects have well developed target value and directs the identification of work to achieve intended value.

• Oversees the identification of resource requirements and project costs.

• Accountable for developing/defending the business case with project managers, sponsor, and key stakeholders.

Project Planning

• Assures that required project resources are identified and secured to complete the work of the project.

• Directs the development of project schedules with timelines and interdependencies for all tasks and the identification of key milestones.

• Assures appropriate identification and assessment of risks and opportunities related to the project.

Project Implementation and Closeout

• Directs the project organization in monitoring and controlling planned Time, Cost and Performance (Scope) against actuals, and the identification, reporting and resolution of all significant variances where they exist.

• Assures that all financial aspects of the project are properly managed.

• Monitors for effective use of resources (human capital and other resources).

• Assures effective issue, risk and opportunity management in order to protect the project plan and maximize delivered value.

• Assures that the project is closed out properly following completion, including summary reports and lessons learned.

• Supports value realization efforts throughout the project and at closeout.

Education

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering,

• Project Management Professional (PMP) or equivalent.

• Professional Engineer (P.E.)

Experience

• Minimum of 15 years’ experience in project management

• Experience in biotech/pharmaceutical

• Minimum 10 years of managerial experience 

• Strong leadership, consultative, communication, and conflict management skills to influence project leaders and stakeholders, including non-specialists, at all levels in the organization and achieve team objectives while maintaining a positive team environment.

• The ability to work on complex problems where analysis of situation or data requires an in-depth evaluation of various factors to achieve best results.

• The ability to clearly communicate complex issues to senior management so that critical issues are understood quickly and can be addressed immediately.

• Strong strategic planning, quantitative, and decision analysis capabilities.

• Strong project management and integration skills; ability to coordinate all aspects of a project or program.

• Demonstrated experience in developing, managing, and controlling cross functional project budgets.

• Proficiency and use of enterprise computer applications including the Microsoft suite of products and project management software.

• Fluent in English. Ability to speak clearly and exercise good judgment

• Demonstrated success with at least 10-15yrs experience in Design & Construction & Start-up, in biopharma, life sciences or other highly regulated industry.  Strong experience with project/program management and experience managing significant capital budgets (up to $400-500M), meeting financial targets, and driving cost savings.

• 10+ years’ business experience in progressively more responsible roles. Brings a depth of expertise in design & construction, project management, contacting models and facilities management. At least 10 years leading multi-disciplinary teams and directly managing people. Demonstrated experience leading leaders and organizations with a significant workforce

• Good understanding of OSHA, FM, NFPA, EPA, cGMP’s, GEP and EHS&S requirements

• Strong project/program leader—able to inspire and motivate teams to make a big impact and deliver their best every day. Must be able to work from a position of influence to project resources.   Track record of having the courage to drive change, while balancing risks and pacing for success.

• Outstanding analytical skills and financial acumen: capable of analyzing financial, quantitative and/or qualitative data and translating into high-impact insights and recommendations, particularly in optimizing the delivery of large capital projects.

• Demonstrated success consistently meeting performance metrics.

Competencies

• Managerial Courage: Does not hold back anything that needs to be said; provides current, direct, complete, and ‘actionable’ positive and corrective feedback to others; lets people know where they stand; faces up to people problems on any person or situation quickly and directly; is not afraid to take negative action when necessary.

• Business Acumen:  Knows how businesses work; knowledgeable in current and possible future policies, practice, trends and information affecting his/her business and organization; knows the competition; is aware of how strategies and tactics work in the marketplace.

• Drive for Results/Execution:  Can be counted on to exceed goals successfully; is constantly and consistently one of the top performers; very bottom-line oriented; steadfastly pushes self and others for results.

• Strategic Agility:  Sees ahead clearly; can anticipate future consequences and trends accurately; has broad knowledge and perspective; is future oriented; can articulately paint credible pictures and visions of possibilities and likelihoods; can create competitive and breakthrough strategies and plans.

• Decision Quality:  Makes good decision based upon a mixture analysis, wisdom experience, and judgment; most his /her solution and suggestions turn out to be correct and accurate when judged over time; sought out by others for advice and solutions.

• Innovation Management:  Is good at bringing the creative ideas of others to market; has good judgment about which creative ideas and suggestions will work; has a sense about managing the creative process of others; can facilitate effective brainstorming; can project how potential ideas may play out in the marketplace.

• Interpersonal Savvy:  Relates well to all kinds of people, up, down and sideways, inside and outside the organization; builds appropriate rapport; builds constructive and effective relationships; uses diplomacy and tact; can diffuse even high-tension situations comfortably.

• Managing Vision and Purpose:  Communicates a compelling and inspired vision or sense of core purpose; talks beyond today; talks about possibilities; is optimistic; creates mileposts and symbols to rally support behind the vision; makes the vision sharable by everyone; can inspire and motivate entire units or organizations.

• Customer Focus:  Is dedicated to meeting the expectations and requirements of internal and external customers; gets first-hand customer information and uses it for improvement in products and services; acts with customers in mind; establishes and maintains effective relationships with customers and gains their trust and respect.

• Organizing:  Can marshal resources (people, funding, material, support) to get things done; can orchestrate multiple activities at once to accomplish a goal; uses resources effectively and efficiently.

• Priority Setting:  Spends his/her time and the time of others on what’s important; quickly zeros in on the critical few and puts the trivial aside; can quickly sense what will help or hinder accomplishing a goal; eliminates roadblocks; creates focus.

• Negotiation Skills: ability to work into a matrix organization and able to influence and persuade, without having a direct authority

• Communication: ability to dialogue and convey effective message through the organization at different levels and across cultural differences; unbiased.

• Financial Acumen: understand business needs and translates into plans and actions with a clear and measurable value proposition.

• Mature Understanding of Contracting models and its applicability worldwide.

• Ethical conduct: understanding of owning anticorruption practices.