Senior Digital Program Manager

• Manage the full lifecycle of assigned digital programs or projects (site and cross-site as assigned), from charter through hypercare and benefit verification.
• Translate business unit, region or sites needs into clear project charters (problem statement, scope, constraints, value hypothesis), milestones, resource plans and success criteria, using PPI/Lean methods and standard divisional templates.
• Build and maintain integrated project plans, risk management log and status reporting; proactively manage risks, issues and dependencies; escalate with clear mitigation options and decision asks to the site PPI Leads and relevant sponsors.
• Coordinate site, divisional and group stakeholders and, where required, external partners to ensure on-time, on-budget, in-full delivery with audit-ready documentation.

• Support the Region/Business Unit leadership team and the assigned Global PPI Director in maintaining a prioritized, value-based digital use case pipeline aligned with strategy, PPI savings targets, and the divisional roadmap/standards.
• Contribute to annual and multi-year digital plans (sequencing, resourcing, validation capacity, key milestones) to enable realistic commitments and execution readiness.
• Provide regular insight on capacity, constraints and dependencies (systems, data readiness, validation resources, change impacts) across projects to support decision-making and trade-offs.

• Co-develop robust business cases for digital initiatives with process owners, PPI Leads and Finance (assumptions, value drivers, measurement method, benefit owners).
• Track impact bottom-up and align to the Region/Business Unit PPI savings plan; establish a monthly benefits cadence from baseline through run-rate.
• Define and monitor KPIs for each use case and ensure benefits are documented and validated/signed off by Finance and the accountable owners at agreed milestones.
• Provide accurate, timely input to divisional digital/PPI dashboards and governance reviews; ensure a single source of truth for KPI definitions and reporting.

• Act as the primary day-to-day delivery lead at business unit or region for assigned digital cross-site digital initiatives, partnering with the PPI Leads, leadership team, functional managers and process owners.
• Lead change management: stakeholder mapping, communication plan, training plan, role impacts and adoption KPIs (e.g., active users, usage frequency, compliance to new ways of working).
• Ensure SOP/Work Instruction updates, training completion and readiness checks are in place before go-live; treat adoption as a formal delivery milestone.
• Apply test-and-learn and pilot approaches with end users to validate concepts, refine user experience and de-risk scale-up before full deployment.
• Facilitate workshops, Kaizens and design sessions to map current state, define future state, capture requirements (URS/FRS where applicable) and agree implementation roadmaps.
• Ensure solutions are embedded into standard work, tier meetings and visual management, with clear post-go-live ownership and sustainment routines to avoid one-off pilots.

• Apply the DPD PPI & Digital governance model and standards (including stage gates and release readiness) ensuring alignment with divisional roadmaps, IT/OT architecture, cybersecurity and data standards.
• Use agreed PPI templates and methods, use case definitions, project documentation standards, validation/CSV and deployment checklists as applicable.
• Partner with IT, OT and Data & Analytics to ensure data readiness and quality (definitions, lineage, integrity controls) for the solutions delivered.
• Define KPI and data definitions with owners and implement basic data quality checks to ensure a single source of truth for performance reporting.
• Ensure initiatives comply with GxP, CSV/validation, data integrity, cybersecurity, privacy and EHS requirements; coordinate required validation activities and approvals in line with site and divisional procedures.

• Monitor relevant Industry 4.0 trends and recommend opportunities that improve sites performance, reduce risk or simplify work, aligned with divisional standards.
• Support evaluation of solutions and vendors using structured criteria (value, scalability, integration fit, compliance/validation effort, cybersecurity, support model) and coordinate site-level interactions aligned with central functions.
• Where relevant, provide input on eligibility for internal/public funding programs (e.g., grants, incentives) supporting digital/Industry 4.0 investments.

• Support training of business unit or regional personnel on new digital tools and associated work processes, focusing on practical day-to-day usage and sustainment.
• Help build a digital and data-driven mindset by enabling local communities of practice and digital champions within departments.
• Coach local SMEs and PPI practitioners on digital delivery routines (project cadence, benefit tracking, problem solving) to scale capabilities.
• Capture and share lessons learned and best practices across sites and with divisional PPI & Digital teams; propose improvements to templates, routines and governance based on implementation experience.

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Life Sciences, Business, or related field; Master’s degree is an asset.
• 8+ years of experience in project management, continuous improvement, or operations/digital roles in manufacturing
• Pharma/biotech, CDMO or other highly regulated environments is a plus; exposure to GxP digital delivery and Computer System Validation (CSV) is preferred.
• Experience delivering or supporting digital, automation, data/analytics or MES/quality-related projects on the shop floor, in labs or quality functions.
• Experience with continuous improvement / Lean / Six Sigma / PPI; Green Belt or equivalent certification preferred.

• This role requires the ability to effectively partner with cross-functional digital delivery teams (product owners, full-stack developers, data engineers, data scientists/analysts, OT/automation engineers, solution architects, cybersecurity and validation/quality) to translate business needs into scalable, compliant solutions.
• Working knowledge of relevant systems and technologies such as AI, MES/EBR, LIMS/LES, DMS, historians, SCADA/PLC, data platforms and BI/analytics tools.
• Understanding of pharmaceutical ore regulated / GMP manufacturing and quality processes
• Exposure to other industries with advanced digital maturity (e.g., automotive, aerospace, semiconductors, advanced manufacturing) is a plus
• Solid project management skills (scope definition, integrated planning, stakeholder management, risk and dependency management); familiarity with Agile or hybrid delivery approaches (e.g. sprints, backlogs, incremental releases) is a plus.

• Ability to build and interpret basic financial business cases
• Good understanding of data and analytics concepts (KPIs, basic statistics, dashboards, visualization; ability to work with Data & Analytics teams on requirement definition).

• Formal project management certification (e.g. PMP, PRINCE2, etc) preferred.
• Agile certification preferred (Scrum Master)
• Lean / Six Sigma Green Belt or equivalent.
• Change Management certification preferred (e.g. PROSCI or equivalent)

• Strong interpersonal and communication skills, able to interact effectively with operators, supervisors, functional managers and site leadership, and to translate technical topics into clear business language.
• Structured, analytical and results-oriented, with the ability to break down complex problems into clear, manageable actions and drive them to completion.
• High learning agility and curiosity toward new technologies, data and ways of working; comfortable with “test & learn” and iterative improvement.
• Proven ability to work collaboratively in a matrix and cross-functional environment, balancing operational priorities and project timelines.
• Strong commitment to safety, quality, compliance and the company’s values and leadership behaviors.

Thermo Fisher Scientific