Associate Director, Real Estate & Workplace Services PMO

Associate Director, Real Estate & Workplace Services (REWS) Project Management Office (PMO)

At Exact Sciences, we're helping change how the world prevents, detects, and guides treatment for cancer. We give patients and clinicians the clarity needed to make confident decisions when they matter most. Join our team to find a purpose-driven career, an inclusive culture, and robust benefits to support your life while you're working to help others.

Position Overview

The Associate Director, Real Estate & Workplace Services (REWS) Project Management Office (PMO) plays a key leadership role in supporting Exact Sciences' mission to eradicate cancer. This role leads a team of project managers responsible for delivering a portfolio of high-impact laboratory and workplace projects. The AD PMO ensures excellence in project execution and strategic planning through oversight, resource optimization, and continuous improvement of project delivery practices.

Essential Duties

Include, but are not limited to, the following:

Leadership & Team Development

• Lead, coach, and develop a team of project managers to deliver successful outcomes.
• Set clear expectations, provide feedback, and support career growth.
• Foster a high-performance and positive culture rooted in accountability, inclusion, and collaboration.
• Inspire and motivate the team to deliver their best work in a matrixed environment.
• Coach, mentor, and develop project managers and PMO staff, supporting their growth through training, feedback, and performance evaluations. Champion diversity, equity, and inclusion in team practices and recruitment.
• Persuade managers and leaders to act and/or negotiate with external partners/vendors/customers.

Project Portfolio Oversight

• Oversee a portfolio of capital projects aligned with business objectives.
• Lead the PMO in maintaining visibility and updates of lab space master planning initiatives to align the business on lab space utilization & optimization.
• Ensure accurate project planning, budgeting, and reporting.
• Guide PMs in maintaining up-to-date dashboards.
• Guide PMs in maintaining action items, decisions, risks and mitigations.
• Support capital planning by gathering and prioritizing project needs across the business.
• Partner with Project Accounting, Accounting, and Finance to produce accurate reporting including project status, spend forecasts, and accruals, to proactively identify cost risk.
• Effectively plan internal and external project resources, balancing workloads across teams and ensuring optimal use of talent and budget.

Process Improvement & Best Practices

• Proactively identify and mitigate project risks.
• Drive continuous improvement in project management methodologies, tools, documentation and training.
• Promote the adoption of industry best practices, including ISPE, Lean Construction and Integrated Project Delivery.
• Enhance project delivery processes to optimize cost, quality, and schedule performance.

Stakeholder & Partner Engagement

• Build strong relationships with internal stakeholders and external service providers.
• Serve as a primary point of contact for project sponsors, business leaders, and clients.
• Partner with procurement and legal teams to competitively bid, select and manage vendors.
• Ensure effective communication with executive leadership and cross-functional teams.

Operational Excellence

• Define and monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) for project and portfolio success. Prepare regular reports for executive leadership, highlighting achievements, challenges, and opportunities for improvement.
• Support compliance with Exact Sciences' Quality Management System, Security, and EHS policies.
• Utilize historical spend and up to date industry benchmarking information for project estimating to support business decisions.
• Guide the development of comprehensive communication plans to keep stakeholders informed, engaged, and aligned throughout the project lifecycle.
• Foster a culture of learning and innovation, identifying and implementing initiatives that drive process efficiency, cost savings, and project quality.
• Ensure PMs are effective in engaging the right stakeholders to gather requirements, obtain design input, and deliver turnover requirements.
• Increase the team's skills in balancing cost, quality, and schedule to meet project objectives.
• Lead and support compliance with the EXAS Quality Management System policies and procedures.
• Lead and support compliance with EXAS Security and EHS policies and procedures.
• Maintain confidentiality as required.
• Develops departmental plans, including business, production and/or organizational priorities
• Apply knowledge of key business drivers and the factors that maximize department performance.
• Lead related teams or bodies of work, assist with departmental priorities and allocate resources to align with business objectives and annual plan.
• Identify and solve complex, operational and organizational problems leveraging the appropriate resources within or outside the department.

Minimum Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in architecture, engineering, or construction management; or 15 years of relevant experience in lieu of a degree.
• 10+ years of project management experience in design and construction within life sciences, manufacturing, or industrial sectors.
• Strong knowledge of project management methodologies (e.g., Agile, Waterfall, Hybrid) and industry best practices.
• Proven experience managing complex, cross-functional projects in a dynamic business environment.
• Proficiency with MS Office Suite (Word, Excel and PowerPoint, Outlook), MS Project as well as MS Visio, Bluebeam or similar.
• Experience working in a matrixed organization.
• Authorized to work in the United States without sponsorship.

Preferred Skills & Qualifications

• People management experience.
• Comprehensive understanding of internal and industry standards and principles.
• Project Management Professional (PMP) certification.
• Knowledge of building codes and standards such as IBC, ASHRAE, NFPA, NEC, ADA.
• Knowledge of OSHA, EPA, FDA, CAP/CLIA regulations requirements.
• Ability to align project management strategies with organizational objectives and drive long-term value.
• Skilled at working cross-functionally, building relationships, and fostering teamwork.
• Proactive in identifying opportunities for process improvement and implementing solutions.
• Maintains the highest ethical standards in all interactions and decision-making.
• Driven to achieve excellence in project execution and organizational impact.
• Capable of managing and championing change while minimizing disruption.
• Ability to act with an inclusion mindset and model these behaviors for the organization.
• Ability to perform on-site walks for project requests and troubleshooting purposes as required.
• Ability to work on a mobile device, tablet, or in front of a computer screen and/or perform typing for approximately 90% of a typical working day.
• Regular and reliable attendance and ability to travel away from base location 10% of the time.
• Excellent leadership, communication, and interpersonal skills, with the ability to influence stakeholders at all levels.
• Demonstrated ability to think strategically and execute tactically.
• Strong analytical, organizational, and problem-solving skills, with keen attention to detail.
• Ability to adapt to changing priorities and navigate ambiguity effectively.
• Strong analytical, organizational, and decision-making abilities.
• Excellent communication, negotiation, and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to manage ambiguity and drive decision-making.

Work Environment & Travel

• Ability to perform site walks and troubleshoot project issues as needed.
• Comfortable working on a mobile device or computer for extended periods.
• Regular and reliable attendance; up to 10% travel required.