Director, Portfolio and Program Management

About The Job

The Director of Team Portfolio & Program Management is responsible for leading the planning, execution, governance, and continuous improvement of a portfolio of complex, cross-functional programs spanning product development, biopharma partnerships, and clinical product initiatives. This role develops and maintains operational infrastructure to ensure consistent, predictable delivery; fosters best practices in program and portfolio management; enables effective decision-making; and builds high-performing, collaborative teams. The Director acts as a systems thinker, facilitator, and strategic partner, ensuring alignment across diverse functions and stakeholders. This role contributes directly to functional and enterprise-level strategic planning by translating portfolio insights into recommendations that shape long-range goals, operational priorities, and cross-functional investment decisions.

Key Responsibilities

• Portfolio and Program Leadership:
• Lead end-to-end planning and management of programs within a governance portfolio aligned to the PDC structure
• Ensure team members create holistic, adaptive program plans integrating cost, scope, schedule, risk, resources, and performance metrics
• Ensure strong governance by leading one or more Portfolio Delivery Committees, partnering with key stakeholders, including product teams, program teams, functional leaders, and executive stakeholders
• Promote best practices in program management, leveraging Agile and Waterfall methodologies as appropriate
• Manage risk, issue, and change processes for use by program teams, guide implementation of mitigation and corrective actions
• Implement and continuously improve PPM frameworks, tools, and processes
• Drive adoption of innovative work methodologies that increase efficiency, transparency, and collaboration
• Define and lead solutions for ambiguous, novel, and highly complex organizational challenges by applying advanced systems thinking, cross-functional expertise, and judgment in situations lacking established precedent
• Communication, Reviews and Decision Support:
• Facilitate clear, consistent communication within the PDCs, and across project teams, leadership groups and cross-functional stakeholders
• Lead program and project reviews, particularly portfolio updates
• Provide synthesized insights to support organizational decision-making and tradeoff discussions
• Elevate critical decisions to the appropriate governance bodies and leaders
• Build formal influence networks across senior leadership and functional partners to drive alignment, accelerate decision-making, and ensure cohesive execution across programs and portfolios
• Support enterprise-wide communication to enhance knowledge sharing and engagement
• People, Relationship and Stakeholder Management:
• Build and sustain strong relationships with cross-functional leaders to drive project and portfolio success
• Foster a culture of collaboration, inclusion, and accountability
• Lead, mentor, and develop project managers and cross-functional team members
• Provide performance feedback to functional leaders regarding team contributions
• Cultivate community connection, engagement, and sensing across teams and sites
• Process, Systems & Operational Excellence:
• Ensure high-quality delivery aligned with regulatory frameworks (FDA, ISO, CLIA, CAP) and quality systems
• Drive continuous improvement of product development and program execution processes
• Oversee financial management activities including budgeting, forecasting, and strategic planning inputs
• Optimize resource allocation across programs and portfolios by balancing strategic priorities, capacity, and risk, ensuring decisions maximize value and align with organizational objectives
• Influence cross-functional systems and processes to improve program execution
• Other duties as assigned.
  

Qualifications

Basic Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s Degree
• 10 years of combined portfolio management, program management and/or cross-functional product development experience
• 5 years management experience
• Demonstrated experience guiding complex, cross-functional programs
  
  

Preferred Qualifications

• Advanced degree, such as an MBA/equivalent advanced business degree
• Undergraduate and/or graduate degree work in a business or life science field
• 10 years of progressively responsible work experience within the healthcare and/or life science industry with work on therapeutic or diagnostic development and commercialization
• Experience with FDA and EU IVDR-regulated development environments.
• Strong systems thinker with the ability to recognize interdependencies and optimize for the whole
• Skilled facilitator with ability to unify diverse perspectives toward shared outcomes
• Demonstrates a growth mindset, experimentation, and continuous learning
• Deep expertise with PPM methodologies, tools and governance frameworks
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively in ambiguity, simplify complex problems and drive alignment
• Inclusive leader who builds belonging and empowers individuals and teams
• Understanding of HIPAA and importance of privacy of patient data
• Commitment to FMI values: integrity, courage and passion
  
  

The expected salary range for this position based on the primary location of Boston, MA is $210,000 - $260,000 per year. The salary range is commensurate with Foundation Medicine’s compensation practice and considers factors including, but not limited to, education, training, experience, external market conditions, criticality of role, and internal equity. A discretionary annual bonus may be available based on individual and Company performance. This position also qualifies for Foundation Medicine's benefits.