Pharmaceutical Project Manager Recruitment
Pharmaceutical Project Manager recruitment at PMagency focuses on organisations delivering change in highly regulated, compliance driven environments. We work with pharmaceutical manufacturers, research organisations and life sciences businesses across the UK where delivery failure carries regulatory, commercial and patient risk.
Clients typically engage us when programmes are under pressure from regulatory timelines, validation requirements or cross functional complexity between R&D, quality, manufacturing and supply chain. Pharmaceutical Project Management requires professionals who can operate confidently within strict governance frameworks while maintaining delivery momentum. Our insight is informed by the PMagency Annual Salary Survey, now in its 14th year, tracking long term hiring trends across the life sciences sector.
Roles we recruit for and 2026 salary insight
Junior Project Manager (2026 average salary £42,300)
Salaries increased by 4.2% compared with 2025 as organisations continue to build internal delivery capability to support senior programme leadership. Junior Project Managers typically support documentation, reporting and coordination across regulated workstreams. Hybrid working stands at 58%, reflecting a balance between office based collaboration and controlled remote working.Project Manager (2026 average salary £63,700)
Up 4.8% year on year, driven by sustained demand across product development, site expansion and regulatory remediation programmes. Project Managers are responsible for end to end delivery, risk management and stakeholder communication. PRINCE2 and PMP deliver an average salary uplift of 10%, particularly where projects involve validation, audits or regulatory submissions.Senior Project Manager (2026 average salary £80,900)
A 5.0% increase on 2025, reflecting pressure on complex, multi site and multi discipline programmes. Senior Project Managers lead high impact initiatives with direct regulatory and commercial exposure. Hybrid working reduces to 49% due to governance and oversight requirements.Programme Manager (2026 average salary £97,600)
Salaries rose by 4.9% year on year, particularly within large scale transformation, manufacturing investment and compliance driven change programmes. Programme Managers oversee interdependent projects aligned to regulatory milestones and business strategy.Head of Project Management (2026 average salary £113,200)
Up 4.6% on last year, with demand strongest in organisations strengthening delivery assurance and governance across portfolios. These roles define delivery frameworks, assurance models and capability development within regulated environments.
Geographically, demand for Pharmaceutical Project Managers is strongest in the South East, London, the Midlands and the North West, reflecting the concentration of manufacturing sites and research hubs. The South East attracts a salary premium of approximately 8% above the UK average, while London based roles sit around 10% higher due to regulatory and stakeholder exposure. The Midlands and North West remain close to the national average but have seen year on year growth of 4.9% driven by continued investment in manufacturing and life sciences infrastructure.
According to PMagency Annual Salary Survey data, Pharmaceutical Project Management salaries have increased by 29% over the past five years, outperforming the wider UK Project Management market. 71% of professionals receive employer funded training, most commonly PRINCE2, PMP and regulatory or validation related qualifications. Certified Project Managers earn on average 11% more than non-certified peers, with the strongest uplift seen in GMP, validation and audit facing programmes. Retention is closely linked to delivery realism, organisational support and regulatory clarity rather than flexible working, which remains secondary to compliance and governance requirements.
