Executive Director, Clinical Science

Role Summary

Executive Director, Clinical Science and Clinical Center of Excellence leads a best-in-class Clinical Science and Center of Excellence function to design and deliver early and late phase clinical studies. Serves on the Global Development Leadership Team, manages a team of Clinical Scientists, oversees the pipeline of clinical programs, and drives cross-functional collaboration to achieve objectives and timelines. Recruits leaders and contributors and establishes the vision, mission, and culture of the team.

Responsibilities

• Supports resource forecasting, talent development, succession planning, and retention strategies.
• Builds a collaborative, supportive learning environment.
• Ensures and contributes to consistent, high-quality training for Clinical Scientists, including SOPs and Working Practices.
• May serve as a delegate for Clinical Development Portfolio VPs as needed.
• Partners with Clinical Development VPs to advance the portfolio/pipeline.
• Leads teams to ensure high-quality delivery of innovative protocols and data packages for CSRs and Regulatory Filings.
• Oversees the portfolio/pipeline of clinical studies to ensure consistency of clinical deliverables across programs.
• Ensures high-quality and timely delivery of protocols and data; implements quality assurance plans with the QA organization.
• Partners with QA and GDO to embed and operationalize Quality by Design throughout the trial lifecycle.
• Develops metrics to track output and trends in protocol development for continuous improvement.
• Serves as a clinical science/development subject matter expert to support quality and compliance across therapeutic areas and guide compliance to GCP.
• Maintains an advanced understanding of the status of all trial activities.
• Champions clinical trial innovation (designs, dose escalation, decentralized trials, EMR to EDC, AI, real-world data) to accelerate trials and reduce patient/site burden.
• Serves as an internal SME on best practices and industry standards in clinical science/development excellence.
• Leads resourcing and budget planning for the Clinical Science/Development organization, including contractors and FSPs.
• Leads development and delivery of educational/training programs to advance capabilities and foster a community of practitioners.
• Leads team developing/maintaining clinical processes across Early and Late Development; supports quality/compliance activities.
• Holds accountability for the performance and professional development of the Clinical Scientist team.
• Serves as a cross-functional collaborator representing Clinical Science in process improvement initiatives and cross-functional activities.
• Collaborates to support incoming asset and/or business development activities (e.g., due diligence).

Qualifications

• An advanced scientific degree is required (PhD, PharmD, or MD) with a minimum of 15 years of related experience.
• Experience managing clinical teams accountable for delivery of a portfolio of studies.

Skills

• Proven leadership, people management, enterprise mindset, and process improvement.
• Strong communication, diplomacy, and relationship-building skills.
• Ability to articulate strengths/limitations, develop plans, and build talent.
• Commitment to scientific excellence, multidisciplinary problem solving, urgency, teamwork, and quality.
• Ability to anticipate needs, manage risks, and demonstrate financial acumen.
• Ability to foster morale and belonging, take responsibility for results, and navigate organizational changes.
• Recognition as a technical/functional expert in clinical science with leadership skills.
• Promotes continuous improvement and innovation; mentors others in conflict management and consensus-building.
• Willingness to take calculated risks to drive innovation.

Education

• Advanced degree as listed in Qualifications: PhD, PharmD, or MD.

Additional Requirements

• Travel: 20% travel required.