Project Director, Health Product Stability and Climate Resilience (Rockville, MD - Hybrid Role)

Who is USP?

The U.S. Pharmacopeial Convention (USP) is an independent scientific organization that collaborates with the world’s leading health and science experts to develop rigorous quality standards for medicines, dietary supplements, and food ingredients. At USP, we believe that scientific excellence is driven by a commitment to fairness, integrity, and global collaboration. This belief is embedded in our core value of Passion for Quality and is demonstrated through the contributions of more than 1,300 professionals across twenty global locations, working to strengthen the supply of safe, high-quality medicines worldwide.

At USP, we value inclusive scientific collaboration and recognize that attracting diverse expertise strengthens our ability to develop trusted public health standards. We foster an organizational culture that supports equitable access to mentorship, professional development, and leadership opportunities. Our partnerships, standards, and research reflect our belief that ensuring broad participation in scientific leadership results in stronger, more impactful outcomes for global health.

USP is proud to be an equal employment opportunity employer (EEOE) and is committed to ensuring fair, merit-based selection processes that enable the best scientific minds—regardless of background—to contribute to advancing public health solutions worldwide. We provide reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities and uphold policies that create an inclusive and collaborative work environment.

Brief Job Overview

The Project Director provides strategic, technical, and operational leadership for a multi-country program addressing the impact of climate change on the stability and performance of critical health products. This role is accountable for overall program vision, execution, and results, ensuring high-quality delivery in alignment with donor expectations and global health priorities. The Project Director leads a multidisciplinary team of technical experts and serves as the primary liaison with donors, governments, and global partners. The role emphasizes strategic direction, partnership development, and translation of evidence into scalable solutions and global impact.

How will YOU create impact here at USP?

 As part of our mission to advance scientific rigor and public health standards, you will play a vital role in increasing global access to high-quality medicines through public standards and related programs. USP prioritizes scientific integrity, regulatory excellence, and evidence-based decision-making to ensure health systems worldwide can rely on strong, tested, and globally relevant quality standards.

Additionally, USP’s People and Culture division, in partnership with the Equity Office, invests in leadership and workforce development to equip all employees with the skills to create high-performing, inclusive teams. This includes training in equitable management practices and tools to promote engaged, collaborative, and results-driven work environments.

In this role at USP, you contribute to USP's public health mission to increase equitable access to high-quality, safe medicines and improve global health through public standards and related programs. In addition, as part of our commitment to our employees, Global, People, and Culture, in partnership with the Equity Office, regularly invests in the professional development of all people managers. This includes training in inclusive management styles and other competencies necessary to ensure engaged and productive work environments.

The Project Director, Safeguarding Heat Stability in Essential Life -Saving Drugs and Diagnostics (SHIELD) has the following responsibilities:

Project Leadership and Results Delivery

• Provide overall leadership for the project strategy, implementation, and results across all countries and workstreams.
• Ensure timely delivery of high-quality outputs and achievement of the program milestones in line with program requirements and organizational standards.
• Oversee implementation across technical areas, ensuring coordination, quality, and consistency.

Technical Strategy and Innovation

• Provide strategic oversight of technical activities related to health product stability, evidence generation, and climate resilience.
• Guide the development and execution of implementation research and evidence generation, ensuring relevance to health outcomes and policy.
• Oversee identification and advancement of promising solutions and innovations, ensuring alignment with program objectives and scalability potential.
• Ensure technical rigor and adherence to international standards by leading specialized technical teams.

Stakeholder Engagement and Partnerships

• Serve as the primary liaison with donors, local and regional authorities, and global stakeholders, ensuring effective communication, alignment, and reporting.
• Represent the project in global, regional, and national forums, contributing to thought leadership and knowledge exchange.
• Lead a global consortium of partner organizations across Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America, ensuring effective coordination, clear governance structures, aligned workplans, and consistent communication.
• Foster strong, collaborative relationships, monitor partner performance and compliance with contractual obligations, and proactively address risk to maintain high-quality program delivery.

Program management and Operations

• Ensure strong project management systems, including planning and performance tracking.
• Ensure compliance with contractual requirements and organizational policies to maintain financial, technical, and operational integrity.
• Establish efficient operational structures and processes to support multi-country implementation.

Knowledge Management & Dissemination

• Ensure generation, documentation, and dissemination of high-quality, evidence-based knowledge products.
• Promote learning and uptake of findings to inform global policy, practice, and future investments in climate-resilient health products.

Who is USP Looking For?

The successful candidate will have a demonstrated understanding of our mission, commitment to excellence through inclusive and equitable behaviors and practices, and the ability to quickly build credibility with stakeholders, along with the following competencies and experience:

• Advanced degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chemistry, Public Health, or a related field.
• Minimum of 10 years of experience in pharmaceutical stability, regulatory compliance, and product lifecycle management.
• Demonstrated expertise in developing and managing stability studies, regulatory submissions, and data systems supporting product quality and performance.
• Proven experience in implementation research and evidence generation related to health products and systems.
• Deep expertise in pharmaceutical lifecycle management and real-world product performance monitoring.
• Strong knowledge of ICH stability guidelines, GMP/cGMP frameworks, and relevant analytical methodologies.
• Solid understanding of climate-related risks affecting health products and supply chains.
• Proven track record leading large, complex, multi-country programs, with full accountability for results.
• Demonstrated leadership in matrixed environments and ability to manage diverse, cross-functional teams and stakeholders.
• Experience working in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).
• Excellent communication, negotiation, and cross-cultural collaboration skills.

Additional Desired Preferences

• Advanced degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chemistry, Public Health, or related field.
• Familiarity with the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of HIV, Malaria, PPH, and TB, and decentralized care models

Supervisory Responsibilities

This is a supervisory role.

Benefits

USP provides the benefits to protect yourself and your family today and tomorrow. From company-paid time off and comprehensive healthcare options to retirement savings, you can have peace of mind that your personal and financial well-being is protected.

Compensation

Base Salary Range: USD $165,521.00 – $213,700.00 annually. (

Target Annual Bonus: % Varies based on role level.

Individual compensation packages are based on various factors unique to each candidate’s skill set, experience, qualifications, equity, and other job-related reasons.

Note: USP does not accept unsolicited resumes from 3rd-party recruitment agencies and is not responsible for fees incurred by recruiters or other agencies, except under a specific written agreement with USP.