Functional Project Manager

*Functional Project Manager - Belgium - Global CRO*

Location:
Must be able to visit the office in Ghent once a week

Start date:
ASAP

Type of hire:
Contract until the end of August 2026 (With the view to extend)

Job Description

Planet Pharma are working with a leading contract research organization that partners with pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device, academic, and government clients to accelerate the development of new therapies.

The company provides comprehensive services across the drug development lifecycle, including clinical trial management, laboratory testing, regulatory support, and patient‑centered solutions. By combining scientific expertise with advanced data analytics and technology platforms, it helps sponsors design, execute, and optimize studies that bring innovative treatments to market more efficiently.

Its global reach and integrated capabilities make it a trusted partner for organizations seeking to improve health outcomes and deliver life‑changing medicines to patients worldwide.

Role description:

Functional Project Manager – Bioanalytics

The functional project manager is responsible for planning and tracking assigned projects, ensuring contracted activities with external vendors are delivered on time, within budget, and to the required quality. This role involves close interaction with both internal and external stakeholders across multiple expert areas and projects.

Working closely with scientific experts and cross‑functional teams, the project manager will be an integral part of a collaborative environment where scientific matters are discussed and issues are resolved collectively. The position requires occasional business travel within Europe. Training and development opportunities are provided, and motivated early‑career professionals are encouraged to apply. The role reports directly to a senior scientific leader.

Key Responsibilities

• Track and manage internal progress and external vendor activities, focusing on deliverables, timelines, and budgets.
• Develop and maintain tools to monitor progress, budgets, and risks for assigned work packages.
• Act as the single point of contact for external partners, supporting preparation and participation in meetings.
• Coordinate shipments of samples to specialty laboratories during clinical trial conduct, ensuring timely delivery of laboratory data in alignment with trial milestones.
• Drive and monitor the preparation of source data reports.
• Present regular progress updates to the team and cross‑functional stakeholders.
• Maintain oversight of ongoing and planned activities, including occasional visits to vendor sites.
• Proactively identify risks and propose mitigation strategies.
• Ensure accurate entries into financial planning and procurement systems.
• Collaborate with sourcing and vendor management teams to support contracting activities

Candidate Profile:

• Degree in a life science (PhD or MSc with equivalence by experience)
• Need strong vendor management experience
• Must have a background/education in Labs/bioanalytical techniques
• High proficiency in written and spoken English

If this role isn't suitable for you, please let us know if you can refer anyone – any recommendations are much appreciated Planet Pharma offers a competitive referral scheme so you will be rewarded for your help

About Planet Pharma

Planet Pharma is an American parented Employment Business/Agency that provides global staffing services with its head-quarters in Chicago and our EMEA regional office located in Central London. We have invested significantly in creating a robust international platform that enables us to work compliantly in 30+ countries with a current network of 2500+ active contractors globally as well as a very strong permanent / direct hire recruitment offering.

Our specialist knowledge and close relationships with our clients and the wider industry really makes us unique in our field. Just recently we were recognized by FORBES as the 17th best professional staffing firm, and have won multiple awards from industry accredited bodies for our commitment to excellence and service delivery. We have extensive functional expertise including: Regulatory Affairs, Pharmacovigilance, QA, QC, Submissions experts, Clinical development, Quality, Biostatistics, and Medical Affairs / Writing.

We are an equal opportunities Recruitment Business and Agency.

We welcome applications from all suitably qualified candidates regardless of their race, sex, disability, religion/belief, sexual orientation or age.