Lead Research Officer I (PMO), IMCB

Job Description

Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (IMCB), A*STAR is seeking a highly motivated PMO Manager to lead day-to-day PMO governance and continuously improve our Project Life Cycle Management (PLCM) processes.  In this role, you will drive project management process optimisation and adoption of the A*STAR Project System to strengthen project delivery discipline, productivity and reporting across the Research Institute.

Key Responsibilities

• Serve as the key liaison between IMCB leadership, PMO and A*STAR HQ on PMO governance, PLCM policy and the A*STAR Project System.
• Prepare, analyse and present monthly financial and portfolio data to support management review and decision-making.
• Provide system training, user guidance and best-practice coaching to improve capability and compliance.
• Run PMO clinics and serve as first-line support for project queries and PLCM workflow execution.
• Manage billing operations, including invoice preparation, tracking and reconciliation.
• Track and analyse project resource utilisation, producing insights for capacity and portfolio planning.
• Partner the PMO Lead to develop portfolio dashboards, executive decks, communications and programme documentation.
• Lead project/ programme audits and reviews, coordinating with project managers, principal investigators, scientists and HQ stakeholders.
• Compile and maintain project management dashboards and governance reporting for leadership forums.
• Review, simplify and update PLCM guidelines to strengthen governance, standardisation and continuous improvement.
• Identify and implement automation opportunities to streamline PLCM workflows and reduce manual effort.
• Plan and manage end-to-end R&D projects and product delivery, from initiation through closure.
• Ensure project delivery against scope, quality, schedule and budget, with proactive risk and issue management.
• Drive resolution of cross-functional challenges across quality, procurement, finance and legal to remove delivery blockers.
• Lead change control and delivery interventions to keep projects on track and outcomes realised.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Science, Engineering or a related discipline.
• Minimum 5 years of project management experience; prior experience in PMO governance is preferred.
• Demonstrated ability to engage, influence and align cross-functional stakeholders across internal teams and external partners.
• Strong change agility and a continuous-improvement mindset, with proven ability to embed new ways of working and governance standards.
• Excellent organisational skills with the ability to prioritise, lead through ambiguity and solve problems with structure and pragmatism.
• Effective written and verbal communication skills, with ability to produce executive-ready materials and facilitate working sessions.
• High attention to detail and data quality, with confidence working in project governance reporting.
• Sound business acumen with a delivery focus and able to balance governance rigour with practicality to meet deadlines and stakeholder needs.
• PMP (or equivalent) certification is an advantage.