Scientific Change Management Consultant

Location:

Flexible - East Coast preferred

Position Overview:

The Scientific Change Management Consultant sits within the North American consulting group wherein key accountabilities include establishing and executing on change management strategies and deliverables, internal and external stakeholder management, driving project elucidation, and defining & driving project success in partnership with key collaborators.

The successful candidate will lead medium-to-high complexity change management and / or consulting engagements for multiple customers in partnership with scientific business analysts and others. This role blends change management knowledge and experience, scientific expertise, industry knowledge, and informatics / data skills with leadership and collaboration to deliver high-quality solutions.

You will work closely with senior consultants, client stakeholders, and cross-functional teams to ensure project success, drive operational excellence, and contribute to business development.

Key Responsibilities:

• Change Management Strategy & Execution
• Serve as primary lead and point of contact to understand change needs within an engagement, propose solutions or forums, and execute agreed strategies and / or oversee business analysts or other project team members to successfully bring needed transformation to project
• Collaborate to help build change management capabilities within Zifo North America, helping to build toolkit and upskill project team members within and outside of consulting
• Connect to external change management leaders within the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and agritech industries to learn from other practitioners as well as increase Zifo’s presence in the change management space
• Consulting & Scientific Strategy
• Engage as a leader to define and own project success, leveraging core consulting behaviors such as active listening, empathetic collaboration, strong sense of ownership and effective communication across multiple audiences
• Own accountability for business analysis deliverables including user requirements specifications (URS), functional requirements specifications, data & process maps, workflows, gap analyses, implementation roadmaps, evaluation methodologies, and questionnaires.
• Conduct vendor evaluations and define implementation strategies to enable effective decision-making by pharma/biotech/agritech clients.
• Assess system landscapes and contribute to IT, informatics and data landscape roadmaps.
• Project Execution & Leadership
• Manage one or more large projects/programs, including estimation, scheduling, risk management, and milestone tracking.
• Facilitate project meetings, communicate status updates, and escalate risks when necessary.
• Mentor associates across Zifo, guiding their project engagements and professional development.
• Track and monitor key project metrics to ensure the success of client engagements as well as adherence to operational components of project delivery.
• Customer Engagement & Collaboration
• Serve as primary point of contact for clients and internal stakeholders, managing expectations on process, quality, schedule, and delivery - all with an overall view of what qualifies as successful engagement
• Build rapport with client managers and support and/or drive strategic customer meetings.
• Identify opportunities for additional value creation within client organizations and internal process improvements.
• Operational Excellence & Continuous Improvement
• Plan and track billable effort, manage utilization and productivity of themselves and teams, and support budget forecasting.
• Manage escalations, identify & track risks to project execution, initiate corrective and preventive actions (CAPA) and drive continuous improvement initiatives.
• Support internal training programs, develop training materials, and mentor team members in emerging areas.
• Business Development & Thought Leadership
• Assist in proposals related to emerging opportunities with clients and supporting RFP responses.
• Contribute to case studies, presentations, and white papers.
• Attend industry conferences for learning, networking, and representing Zifo.

Requirements

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in a relevant scientific discipline such as biology, chemistry, chem/bioinformatics, or a related field
• 5-7 years of relevant industry experience in pharmaceutical R&D, biotechnology, or agritech
• Strong communication skills and ability to drive problem elucidation activities, influence internal and external stakeholders, and convey technical concepts to diverse audiences
• Familiarity with leading scientific informatics solutions such as ELN or LIMS
• Experience with key data concepts within the life sciences industry and their relevance to operational activities and enabling decision-making
• Proven ability to work collaboratively in multi-disciplinary teams as well as manage project deliverables and stakeholder expectations
• Able to navigate ambiguity and drive clarity on problem statements and potential solutions
• Desired Attributes: 2-3 years of change management experience preferred
• Change management certification (CCMP, ProSci, or another equivalent certification) is a plus
• Familiarity with scientific workflows such as bioanalysis, compound management, or medicinal chemistry is preferred
• Experience in the pharmaceutical or biotechnology industry is preferred
• Experience with formal change management approaches is a plus
• Travel expectations: Able to travel up to 25% to client sites and internal meetings as needed