Career and Succession Management for Pharmaceuticals and Life Sciences
Named backups for the roles that cannot be vacant.
What this looks like in pharmaceuticals and life sciences
The parts of career and succession management that are specific to this sector, rather than general.
Qualification-Led Career Routes
Where the next role requires a documented qualification.
What this coversHide
Qualification-Led Career Routes
Where the next role requires a documented qualification.
What this coversHideProgression in a regulated environment is tied to qualification and training records, which makes the ladder auditable and makes gaps visible well in advance - if anyone maintains it.
Production and quality
- Operator to senior operator to line lead
- QC analyst to senior analyst to QC lead
- QA specialist routes and documented authorisations
Technical and leadership
- Production supervision and plant management
- Qualified person and technical leadership routes
- Cross-movement between production, QA and QC
Succession for roles that carry named responsibilities in the quality system deserves separate treatment, because those cannot be filled at short notice and the qualification path is long.
The general method — what career and succession management covers, the questions it answers and what an engagement produces — is the same whatever the sector, and is set out on the succession and leadership development page. What is above is the part that differs for pharmaceuticals and life sciences.
Other HR topics for pharmaceuticals and life sciences
Where to start
Most engagements begin with a review of how this runs in your business today, then a written process and the sequence to implement it.
See all HR topics for pharmaceuticals and life sciences, or another industry.