Director, Clinical Operations

About the role

ICON is a global healthcare intelligence and clinical research organisation dedicated to bringing new medicines and treatments to patients faster. As Director, Clinical Operations in Osaka, you will oversee the strategy and delivery of clinical trials in your area, ensuring quality, cost and timeline targets are met, and lead the clinical managers and CRAs who run them.

Key responsibilities

• Lead and manage the planning, execution and delivery of clinical trials, covering quality, cost and schedule, and manage escalation of risks
• Set the execution strategy for projects and programmes
• Manage clinical managers and CRAs, including hiring, performance reviews, coaching and career development
• Manage staffing levels, resource forecasting and utilisation, assigning people to the right trials
• Build relationships with client executives, hold regular meetings and performance reviews, and propose improvements within the scope of the contract
• Drive SOP improvements, KPI management and operational excellence

Required profile

• Line-management experience in clinical development
• Bachelor's degree in life sciences or a related field; advanced degree preferred
• Extensive clinical operations experience in pharma, biotech or CRO
• Proven track record of leading clinical trials from start to finish
• Strong understanding of regulatory requirements and GCP guidelines
• Willingness to travel approximately 20%
• Legal right to work in Japan

Required skills

• Business-level English for telephone and video discussions with global stakeholders
• Leadership, communication and problem-solving skills

What we offer

• Competitive base salary and performance-related incentives
• Health, dental and vision coverage where applicable, retirement and pension plans, life assurance and disability coverage
• Employee assistance programmes and learning and development opportunities