100 jobs for Derry as Almac Group announces expansion into North West

Almac Group, which has over 5,600 employees located in 18 locations across the world, 3,600 of whom are based at its global headquarter campus in Craigavon, is planning to offer up to 100 new, highly skilled jobs specifically targeting the North West region over the next three years.

Almac is a contract development and manufacturing organisation, and the initial recruitment drive is under way and offers a mixture of project management and software engineering positions at all levels.

Experience of the pharmaceutical industry is not an essential requirement for these roles as full on-the-job training is provided.

Alan Armstrong, CEO, Almac Group, said: We are experiencing significant growth and have a need to support our many clients across the globe. With substantial advancement in technology, we are fortunate to be able to locate our employees anywhere we choose offering greater flexibility and access to our various range of services.

“Given the skills pipeline coming from Ulster University at Magee and Coleraine, combined with the excellent choice of workspace available in the Derry Londonderry area, we have decided to explore this region as our next Almac location.

“We are proud to have our global Headquarters based in Northern Ireland and it is our plan to expand our reach and establish a base in the North West. We are hopeful that, when word spreads about our expansion plans to this region, we will be able to obtain the required numbers and quality of job applicants who are keen to join us and support our mission to advance human health globally.

“Given the success experienced by many other companies in this area, we plan to employ up to 100 staff at this new location over the next three years.”

This announcement comes as the company continues to recruit globally, in particular for its Craigavon campus, as the company grows in response to increased client demand.

Welcoming the announcement, Foyle SDLP MLA Sinead McLaughlin said: “These jobs to be established by Almac are great news for the city. Just as we are beginning to recover from the Covid pandemic, this gives the city and its people new hope for the future.

“The SDLP believes that Derry can become an important centre for the life sciences. Almac’s location decision supports that vision. The Derry and Strabane City Deal has the health and life sciences at its heart, with support from Ulster University’s decision to move its graduate-level health and life sciences courses to its Magee campus in Derry.

“The decision by Almac reinforces the argument of the SDLP that we must make the most of the Brexit Protocol and Northern Ireland’s dual membership of the UK Internal Market and the EU Single Market. It is essential that UK and EU negotiators get on with ensuring that mitigations are in place to eliminate most of the disruptions caused by the Protocol. But that must go alongside increased efforts to promote the benefits of our position in the two major trading markets.”

To find out more or to apply for a position, visit www.almacgroup.com/careers/project-services-and-software-development-roles/