Manufacturing Strategic Operations Manager

Manufacturing Strategic Operations Manager – Cell Therapy 

Location: Portsmouth, NH, USA. Relocation assistance is available for eligible candidates and their families, if needed. 

Schedule: Monday – Friday (8:00 am – 5:00 pm). 

We are seeking a high-level technical leader to join our Large-Scale Allogeneic Cell Therapy Manufacturing team in Portsmouth, NH, as a Strategic Operations Manager. This role will act as a key operational anchor for our project, supporting the successful execution of technical transfers and driving operational readiness through effective coordination, governance, and cross-functional alignment. 

You will play a critical role in ensuring the facility is ready for operations by coordinating activities across Manufacturing, MSAT, Supply Chain, Quality, and Engineering, and ensuring alignment to key operational readiness milestones. This includes enabling structured execution, clear communication, and proactive management of risks and dependencies to support a successful start-up of manufacturing operations. 

What will you get? 

• An agile career and dynamic working culture 

• An inclusive and ethical workplace 

• Strategic Influence: Act as a key voice in project governance forums (JPT, LT), shaping how operational readiness is planned, tracked, and executed across the organization. 

• High Impact Role: Play a central role in ensuring the successful start-up of manufacturing operations by driving alignment, coordination, and execution across complex projects. 

• Leadership Exposure: Prepare and deliver structured updates to senior leadership, providing clear visibility on progress, risks, and mitigation plans. 

• Compensation programs that recognize high performance 

• Medical, dental and vision insurance, as well as PTO and more 

• Our full list of global benefits can be found here: https://www.lonza.com/careers/benefits. 

What you’ll do: 

• Operational Readiness Coordination: Support the overall coordination of operational readiness activities across all functions (Manufacturing, MSAT, Supply Chain, Quality, QC, Engineering), ensuring alignment to the integrated schedule and achievement of key milestones. 

• Stakeholder Management & Alignment: Engage with cross-functional stakeholders to drive alignment, facilitate discussions, and support decision-making, ensuring risks, dependencies, and impacts are clearly understood and managed. 

• Schedule & Milestone Tracking: Work closely with the Integrated Scheduler to monitor progress against the integrated plan, ensuring timely updates, identifying gaps, and driving actions to maintain adherence to key milestones. 

• Governance & Meeting Structure: Support the establishment and execution of an effective governance framework, including regular cross-functional meetings, clear escalation paths, and structured follow-up of actions, decisions, and risks (RAID). 

• Information Management & Reporting: Develop and maintain standardized reporting tools and slide decks, ensuring accurate and up-to-date visibility of project status, risks, and progress for both operational teams and senior leadership. 

• Project Management Support: Act as Project Manager or owner for specific cross-functional initiatives, ensuring coordination, prioritization, and delivery of key activities requiring multi-departmental alignment. 

• Escalation & Issue Resolution: Proactively identify risks and blockers, assess their impact, and ensure timely escalation to leadership while driving mitigation actions with the relevant stakeholders. 

• Operational Excellence: Support the implementation of Operational Excellence initiatives across the site, including Lean practices, tiered meetings, value stream mapping, and continuous improvement frameworks. 

What we’re looking for: 

• Experience: 5–10+ years of experience in operations, project/program management, or manufacturing within a GMP environment (Cell Therapy or Biologics preferred). 

• Technical Mastery: Proven track record in leading Technical Transfers, engineering runs (water/training runs), and particle runs. 

• Project & Coordination Skills: Proven ability to coordinate complex, cross-functional projects, manage multiple stakeholders, and drive execution in dynamic and fast-paced environments. 

• Stakeholder Management & Influence: Strong ability to engage, influence, and align diverse stakeholders, facilitate discussions, and drive consensus without direct authority. 

• Planning & Organizational Skills: Experience working with integrated schedules, tracking milestones, and managing dependencies, with a strong focus on execution and delivery. 

• Governance & Structured Thinking: Experience establishing or working within structured governance frameworks, including RAID management, meeting cadences, and escalation processes. 

• Communication & Reporting: Strong communication skills with the ability to synthesize complex information into clear, structured updates and executive-level presentations. 

• Technical Understanding: Solid understanding of manufacturing operations and/or tech transfer processes, with the ability to interface effectively with technical teams. 

• Continuous Improvement Mindset: Experience or exposure to Lean, Operational Excellence, or continuous improvement methodologies. 

• Education: Bachelor’s degree in a Science or Engineering discipline is required. 

About Lonza 

At Lonza, our people are our greatest strength. With 30+ sites across five continents, our globally connected teams work together every day to manufacture the medicines of tomorrow. Our core values of Collaboration, Accountability, Excellence, Passion and Integrity reflect who we are and how we work together. Everyone’s ideas, big or small, have the potential to improve millions of lives, and that’s the kind of work we want you to be part of. 

Innovation thrives when people from all backgrounds bring their unique perspectives to the table. At Lonza, we offer equal employment opportunities to all qualified applicants regardless of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. If you’re ready to help turn our customers’ breakthrough ideas into viable therapies, we look forward to welcoming you on board. 

Ready to shape the future of life sciences? Apply now.