Global Meetings & Events Project Manager (Congress)

Global Meetings and Events Project Manager  

At AstraZeneca every one of our employees makes a difference to patient lives every day.  Our science lives beyond our labs –our global perspective means we use talent and expertise from all over the world to make our medicines a success.  The Global Meetings and Events (GME) team sits within the Global Business Services (GBS) organization and is responsible for implementing and driving a global Strategic Meetings Management Program (SMMP).  

The GME Project Manager will deliver best-in-class face to face and hybrid Congress planning services, reporting to the GME Regional Director, Americas.  This role will drive best-in-class meeting and events planning services at congresses that are cost effective and deliver value to AstraZeneca.  They will have end to end accountability for meeting execution at US located congresses (face-to-face, virtual and hybrid), collaborating closely with business owners, logistics and production partners to ensure success. This includes vendor review and negotiation, supervising website development, attendee management, compliance and final program billing and reconciliation.  There may be travel required to assist with on-site logistics for larger, more complex activity. 

Main Duties and Responsibilities 
The ideal candidate will have strong project management, problem solving, negotiation and interpersonal skills, and be able to work with little supervision.  S/He must be highly organized, flexible, thrive in a fast-paced and highly-regulated environment, be willing to collaborate with other areas where needed and handle multiple projects with tight deadlines.  S/He should understand the business objectives, corporate culture and be able to keep up with evolving priorities. S/He will contribute to broader organization programs and company goals.  

• End-to-end accountability to plan and coordinate AZ’s presence at congresses by working in collaboration with relevant business owners, multiple collaborators, Associations, external and in-house partners for all aspects of US based congress logistics, registration, staffing, and add-on meeting activity. Including site recommendations, production supplier recommendations, contract negotiations, budgets, catering, creation and ownership of project plan, attendee management, travel arrangement oversight, event agenda and on-site support when required. 

• Support US market congress strategy and provide subject matter guidance to teams, ensuring effective planning and execution of congress activity. 

• Work with cross-functional partners enterprise wide for understanding and meeting all congress opportunities and deadlines.  Lead approved vendors to obtain resources for congresses, ensuring quality and budgetary requirements are met.  

• Gather and share key insights to enable knowledge sharing and continuous improvement.  

• Lead all aspects of on-site activities at select congresses to ensure perfect execution.  

• Use innovative technology to improve collaboration, simplify processes, and increase efficiency.  

• Stay updated on industry trends, standard processes, and emerging innovations in congresses.  

• Contribute to innovation, share standard methodologies, and identify areas for continuous improvement 

• Understand the business priorities and AstraZeneca culture including regulations, policies and reporting requirements. 

• Provide strong project management with the ability to communicate and collaborate effectively across all levels of organizations, both internal and external, with the ability to work across time zones with global customers 

• Due to global nature of project teams there will be regular early starts/late evenings. And some weekends may be required.  

• Identify creative solutions to find cost saving opportunities while adapting to ever-changing business needs, policies and laws 

• Lead internal compliance process on behalf of the business owner; guide and direct business owner on process and requirements  Be an active member of the broader GME team to provide benchmarking, best practices and knowledge sharing 

• Effectively handle external vendors and internal customers while establishing collaborative relationships 

Essential Requirements 

• Minimum 3-5 years experience validated experience in congress management, knowledge of pharmaceutical congress industry, codes and practices.

• Experience in leading project teams and driving performance through external suppliers 

• Experience planning face to face, hybrid, and virtual meetings and events 

• Demonstrated financial/budget proficiency 

• Have a compliance mind-set with strong focus on adherence to industry guidelines, company policies and financial clarity 

• Knowledge of global Pharmaceutical market and strong understanding of external customers including physicians, payers and patients 

• Ability to work at the Wilmington location, in person, minimum 3 days a week (unless travelling for work). Remote working, other than maximum 2 days is not possible. 

• Validated ability to act independently and be resourceful in approach to problem solving 

• Strong communications, negotiation and influencing skills; ability to lead to desired outcomes 

• Proficiency in MS Office tools (Word, PowerPoint and Excel) 

• Ability to travel by airplane, boat, rail and/or car, when required 

Preferred 

• College Degree 

• Pharmaceutical meeting planning experience 

• Experience with meeting industry technology, a plus (CVENT) 

• Certified Meeting Planning or Certified Meeting Management Certification 

• 5+ Years in Meeting management and/or Travel industry experience 

• 5+ Years Project Management experience 

Location 

• Wiilmington, DE