Job Title: Portfolio Manager – MES & Digital Manufacturing (Life Sciences)

Experience: 12+ Years

Location: Remote (Canada)

Employment Type: Contract Project Overview:

We are seeking an experienced Portfolio Manager to lead a portfolio of strategic Manufacturing Execution System (MES) and Digital Manufacturing initiatives within the Life Sciences industry. This role is responsible for managing multiple programs and projects across manufacturing sites, ensuring successful delivery of digital transformation initiatives that improve manufacturing efficiency, product quality, regulatory compliance, and operational excellence.

The ideal candidate will possess a solid background in pharmaceutical or life sciences manufacturing, digital manufacturing technologies, MES implementations, and enterprise program management. This role requires close collaboration with business stakeholders, manufacturing operations, quality, IT, validation, and external implementation partners to deliver scalable and compliant manufacturing solutions. Key Responsibilities:

Portfolio Management

Manage and govern a portfolio of MES and Digital Manufacturing programs across multiple manufacturing sites

Define portfolio strategy, roadmap, priorities, budgets, and resource allocation

Monitor portfolio health, delivery milestones, risks, dependencies, and financial performance

Establish governance frameworks, executive reporting, and KPI dashboards

Ensure alignment of manufacturing digital initiatives with organizational business objectives

Program & Project Leadership

Lead cross-functional teams responsible for MES implementation, upgrades, and digital transformation initiatives





Manage multiple concurrent projects from planning through deployment and hypercare

Drive project planning, scheduling, budgeting, vendor management, and executive communications

Resolve cross-program risks, issues, and resource conflicts

Business & Stakeholder Management

Partner with Manufacturing, Quality, Engineering, Supply Chain, Validation, and IT leadership

Facilitate executive steering committee meetings and provide regular portfolio status updates

Build strong relationships with site leadership and global business stakeholders

Drive organizational change management and user adoption initiatives

Digital Manufacturing Leadership

Lead initiatives involving MES, Manufacturing Operations Management (MOM), and Smart Manufacturing

Support manufacturing digitalization initiatives including automation, paperless manufacturing, electronic batch records, manufacturing analytics, and Industry 4.0 capabilities

Promote standardization and harmonization of manufacturing processes across global sites

Compliance & Quality

Ensure solutions comply with Life Sciences regulatory requirements including GxP, FDA 21 CFR Part 11, EU Annex 11, GAMP 5, and Computer Software Assurance (CSA)





Support validation planning and ensure regulatory readiness for manufacturing systems

Financial & Vendor Management

Manage portfolio budgets, forecasts, and financial reporting

Oversee system integrators, implementation partners, and software vendors

Track value realization and ROI across manufacturing initiatives Required Qualifications:

Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Information Technology, Computer Science, Life Sciences, or related discipline

12+ years of IT and Digital Transformation experience

5+ years managing enterprise portfolios or large programs focused on MES and Digital Manufacturing

5+ years delivering multiple global manufacturing technology initiatives

5+ years in Life Sciences, Pharmaceutical, Biotechnology, or Medical Devices industry

5+ years managing global cross-functional teams and complex stakeholder environments Required Technical & Functional Expertise:

Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES)

Digital Manufacturing & Manufacturing Operations Management (MOM)

Smart Manufacturing / Industry 4.0

Electronic Batch Records (EBR)

Manufacturing Process Digitalization & Systems Integration

Program & Portfolio Management

Agile and Waterfall delivery methodologies

Vendor & Budget Management

Executive Stakeholder Management

Risk and Governance Management Preferred Platform Experience:

Werum PAS-X, Rockwell PharmaSuite, Siemens Opcenter Execution Pharma, Emerson Syncade, Körber PAS-X, SAP MII, SAP Digital Manufacturing, Aveva MES Preferred Certifications:

PMP or PgMP, PMI PfMP, SAFe Program Consultant (SPC) or SAFe Agilist, ITIL Foundation, Lean Six Sigma Green/Black Belt

📌 Portfolio Manager – MES & Digital Manufacturing (Life Sciences) (Canada)
🏢 United Software Group
📍 Canada