Director, Research Project Manager

Director, Research Project Manager

Bicycle Therapeutics

Cambridge, United Kingdom

Job Description

As our Director of Research Project Management, your mission is to be the operational backbone of our drug discovery engine. You will provide expert project management leadership across the entire Research organization, driving the planning, execution, and successful delivery of our innovative portfolio. In close partnership with our scientific Project Leaders, you will ensure our ambitious research projects meet their critical milestones on time, on budget, and to the highest quality.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Planning & Functional Leadership

• You will chair project team meetings and, in partnership with Project Leaders, present project plans, progress, risks, and issues to senior management and governance boards.
• You will shape functional strategy by prioritizing key program objectives and defining go/no-go decisions based on critical milestones.
• You will drive the adoption of project management best practices across the Research organization, ensuring continuous improvement and operational excellence.

Operational Delivery & Process Management

• You will manage a portfolio of complex research projects, overseeing everything from planning and timelines to budget oversight and risk assessment.
• You will drive the execution of the integrated project plan through to IND filing, ensuring objectives are met within scope and budget.
• You will proactively identify and mitigate risks, managing inefficiencies and potential resource bottlenecks to keep projects on track.

Business Partnership & Stakeholder Engagement

• You will act as a core partner to Research Project Leaders, providing expert support on the management and delivery of their programs.
• You will ensure alignment across all key stakeholder functions, including nonclinical, translational, clinical, regulatory, and CMC, making sure interdependencies are clear and managed.
• You will build strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders, fostering a highly collaborative and results-oriented environment.

Key Skills & Competencies

Knowledge

• Core Expertise: You provide recognized expertise in drug discovery project management, influencing functional strategy and best practices.
• Data / Insight: You shape recommendations from complex and ambiguous project information, providing clarity and direction to project teams and leadership.
• Knowledge Sharing: You share insights that strengthen organisational capability, acting as a mentor and role model for project management excellence.

Job Complexity

• Task/Project Delivery: You oversee programs of significant scope and complexity, taking accountability for their successful delivery against corporate objectives.
• Problem-Solving: You solve highly complex project-related challenges with creative and pragmatic approaches, navigating ambiguity and resource constraints.
• Strategic Impact: You shape functional strategy and influence organisation-wide priorities through your expert management of the research portfolio.

Independence

• Autonomy: You set strategy for research projects with broad autonomy, working under limited guidance to achieve program goals.
• Decision-Making: You make high-impact decisions in uncertain contexts, guiding project teams through complex go/no-go decision points.
• Leadership/Mentorship: You are an established leader who empowers project teams and senior professionals to succeed, fostering a culture of accountability.

Values & Behaviours

• Collaboration (One Team): You create alignment across multiple functions, building strong, collaborative relationships and ensuring clear communication.
• Innovation (Adventurous): You champion the adoption of transformative ideas and new ways of working within project management to improve efficiency and outcomes.
• Accountability (Dedicated to our Mission): You hold yourself and your project teams accountable for delivering on our mission, demonstrating resilience and determination.

Qualifications

• A strong educational foundation in life sciences, engineering, or a related field.
• Demonstrated extensive experience in project management within the biopharmaceutical industry, with a deep knowledge of the drug discovery and development process from early discovery through to IND filing.
• A proven track record of successfully driving the execution of complex, cross-functional research projects.
• Expertise in project management methodologies and tools, with experience implementing processes to streamline operations and improve efficiency (e.g., PMP, PRINCE2 certification is desirable but not essential).
• Demonstrated ability to thrive in a fast-paced, dynamic environment, navigate ambiguity, and communicate effectively with stakeholders at all levels.