Massachusetts Green Jobs

About the Department

Dicerna, a Novo Nordisk company, is focused on driving innovation in RNAi (ribonucleic acid interference) to selectively target and silence genes that cause or contribute to disease. Our proprietary GalXC™ and GalXC-Plus™ RNAi technologies have the potential to address conditions that are difficult or impossible to treat with other modalities. Established as a Transformational Research Unit (TRU) following Novo Nordisk’s acquisition of Dicerna Pharmaceuticals, Inc. in December 2021, the Dicerna TRU is a unique new organization within Novo Nordisk that brings together the best of both worlds – the agility, collaborative pioneering spirit and calculated risk-taking profile of a biotech along with the scale, resources and capabilities of a global leader in drug development. With approximately 200 researchers, scientists, drug developers and operational staff, we are a team of inventive and entrepreneurial thinkers pushing the boundaries of science to create and drive new RNAi-based therapies for both rare and more prevalent diseases from the bench to the clinic. Together, we are driving change. Are you ready to make a difference?

The Position

We are seeking an experienced Project Manager to provide project management and operational support for both internal research and discovery and therapeutic area research projects with Novo Nordisk research teams. This individual will bring scientific and drug development expertise, as well as managerial and organizational skills to coordinate the advancement of multiple RNAi-based drug discovery research projects within the Dicerna TRU and to support collaborative relationships with greater Novo Nordisk and the Dicerna TRU.

Relationships

The Project Manager will report to the Head of Research Project Management.

This role interacts with Dicerna and Novo Nordisk research teams daily, communicates project status and research timelines to Research Leadership, provides relevant data packages to the Intellectual Property team, updates Finance on research progress and changes to research workplans for forecasting purposes. This role also facilitates interactions with CROs to help with the execution of research workplans. This role does not have direct reports.

Essential Functions

• Provide managerial support for Research Team Leaders by scheduling and directing internal meetings and teleconferences with remote team members, organizing presentation materials, drafting and distributing meeting agendas, recording meeting minutes and action items, including follow-up on action items

• Coordinate review of documents written for research projects by:

• Assisting in general document formatting and word processing as needed

• Organizing and maintaining program files on a shared file system

• Organizing roundtable and discussion meetings as necessary to ensure team alignment

• Serve as a point of contact for both Dicerna TRU research teams and Novo Nordisk therapeutic area teams to facilitate communication and for coordinating research workplans and timelines

• Assist with the development and oversight of project timelines and provide information to the Finance team to track budgets

• Serve as a liaison by identifying, organizing, and communicating material related to intellectual property to Dicerna’s Legal/Intellectual Property Team

  Physical Requirements

  0-10% overnight travel required. Ability to lift 0-50 lbs.

  Qualifications

• MS degree in a relevant scientific discipline (Medicinal Chemistry, Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Pharmaceutical Sciences, etc.). Advanced degree preferred (PhD/MBA/JD) in a field relevant to biotechnology R&D and/or preclinical drug development

• Minimum of 4+ years of work experience in a project coordinator/project management role, preferably in biotechnology research and/or pharmaceutical company setting

• Exceptional verbal and written interpersonal communication skills with the ability to develop and maintain strong and effective professional relationships with key stakeholders across the organization and with alliance partners required

• Requires advanced time-management and organizational skills with the ability to effectively track project information, correspondence, and details across multiple projects in a fast-paced environment and adjust to rapidly shifting priorities as needed

• Requires ability to identify schedule issues and to escalate to the project team leaders

• Possess a high degree of professional responsibility and exhibit impeccable integrity and good judgement with sensitive, proprietary, and/or confidential information required

• Requires ability to work independently and collaboratively with minimal supervision in a dynamic, results-oriented environment

• General project management knowledge of concepts and tools required

• General knowledge of drug discovery research and development processes and activities required

• Advanced degree preferred (PhD/MBA/JD) in a field relevant to biotechnology R&D and/or preclinical drug development preferred

• Experience/knowledge of nucleic acid therapeutic drug discovery research and development (e.g. RNAi, ASO, gene therapy) preferred

• Knowledge of intellectual property concepts, procedures, and experience generating IP-related documents (e.g., inventor disclosure forms, patent applications, summaries of prior art) preferred

• Knowledge of Microsoft Project, Smartsheet, think-cell, or other project management, schedule or dashboard-related software preferred

• Managerial experience (if applicable): Not required

  We commit to an inclusive recruitment process and equality of opportunity for all our job applicants.

  At Novo Nordisk we recognize that it is no longer good enough to aspire to be the best company in the world. We need to aspire to be the best company for the world and we know that this is only possible with talented employees with diverse perspectives, backgrounds and cultures. We are therefore committed to creating an inclusive culture that celebrates the diversity of our employees, the patients we serve and communities we operate in. Together, we’re life changing.

  Novo Nordisk is an equal opportunity employer. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, ethnicity, color, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, protected veteran status or any other characteristic protected by local, state or federal laws, rules or regulations.

  If you are interested in applying to Novo Nordisk and need special assistance or an accommodation to apply, please call us at 1-855-411-5290. This contact is for accommodation requests only and cannot be used to inquire about the status of applications.