A day in the Life of a PMO Analyst working in pharmaceuticals

Grayce Analyst, Josh Oehley shares his experience in a hybrid role at a global pharmaceutical company.

Having joined Grayce six months ago, I’ve been working at a global pharmaceutical company within the Programme Management Office (PMO). During my time in the PMO, I’ve been responsible for day-to-day tracking of programme finances, which has been a fantastic opportunity to understand financial spend processes in a global business.

I have also been involved in ensuring we could successfully ramp up our programme resourcing, using various options available (some outside the box thinking required) in order to satisfy stakeholder demand for increased delivery. This was a fantastic experience learning about employment opportunities and constraints across European countries and America.

What has been really interesting is the recent adoption of the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFE) by large scale programmes within IT. With Grayce providing extensive Agile Training, both through the Development Programme and LinkedIn Learning, I was set up for success to support the client implementing the methodology. It’s been a real ride - anyone who works with Agile will at some stage have experienced a headache or two working out how corporate policies and ways of working can be at odds with Agile. However, the opportunity to experience this within the PMO team has been a great development opportunity for myself and I feel like I am genuinely adding value where needed.

A really interesting opportunity arose for me a few months ago when a fellow Project Manager asked for my support getting an exciting new technology into the lab environment to test out in Cambridge, Gothenburg and Boston. Of course, I said yes! It has been a fantastic experience. From engaging with senior data security and procurement leads, to risk assessments and extensive contract negotiations with an external vendor, the trust and empowerment given to me was a real opportunity and show of faith from the client, which I hope was duly rewarded. We successfully implemented the technology and we are constantly working to see how the use cases are addressed.

Following on from this piece of work, as a Project Manager, I will be leading the effort to implement a large-scale Robotic Process Automation (RPA) solution across the client’s global R&D Lab environment. I’m particularly excited to ensure our main stakeholders, the scientists within the labs, gain as much benefit as possible from the solution, in order to help remove IT as a barrier to science.

High levels of responsibility from day one

The biggest surprise for me has been the level of responsibility afforded to me as a Grayce Analyst on client site. Whether it’s been from great line managers and colleagues, to the reputation created by previous Grayce Analysts at the client, it has allowed me to work hard from day one to meet the high expectations the client has shown for Grayce Analysts within IT Programmes.

In the future, I’d like to be in a role where I am adding significant value to the business and its various stakeholders. I'm motivated by continuously improving and simplifying business process, as well as working in proactive, self-organising teams with a focus on the customer. Grayce has really given me the opportunity to aim high!

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