Associate Director, Clinical Costing Systems – Tools

• Drive and support development, maintenance, enhancement, modernization, and governance of enterprise R&D resource need estimation and external cost estimation tools for Phase I–III clinical trials
• Act as product owner for transitioning legacy models and tools into a unified algorithmic resource and costing engine
• Support technical design of resourcing and costing methodologies
• Work with functional teams to develop and review costing algorithms
• Integrate tools with CTMS, EDC, Resource Management, SAP, Workday, IT, and other internal systems
• Support accurate study-level internal and external cost estimation and resource requirement forecasting
• Design, develop, and continuously improve clinical trial costing tools
• Refine costing models and algorithms using inputs from global clinical operations and other functional units
• Maintain accurate, scalable cost drivers, assumptions, effort models, service levels, and resource seniority levels
• Partner with subject matter experts to maintain operational parameters and cost benchmarks
• Support cross-functional governance frameworks, including cost assumptions, version control, approval flows, and auditability
• Develop SOPs, guidance documents, and training materials
• Monitor compliance and escalate exceptions or risks
• Provide training and support to internal stakeholders, functional units, Global Strategic Sourcing, and Finance teams
• Integrate capacity, utilization, effort drivers, resource structures, budgets, job roles, labor categories, and seniority levels into costing models
• Coordinate with IT on system specifications, UAT, releases, troubleshooting, data flows, user access, and technical enhancements
• Ensure data integrity, automation, and reporting capabilities meet business needs
• Analyze cost trends, operational performance, and competitiveness
• Generate dashboards, scenario models, and pricing insights for external business development and chargeback mechanisms
• Contribute to benchmarking, portfolio analysis, and continuous improvement initiatives

Requirements

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Life Sciences, Business, Finance, Computer Science, Data Science, Engineering, or related field
• 8+ years of experience in the CRO or biopharmaceutical industry, preferably in Pricing Tools and Systems, clinical operations, project finance, business operations, or proposal & Costing management
• Strong understanding of clinical trial delivery across Phases I–III and associated cost drivers
• Experience with pricing tools, operational costing, resource modelling, or financial planning systems
• Proven track record working cross-functionally with operational, commercial, and technical teams
• Excellent communication, stakeholder management, and collaboration skills
• Strong analytical mindset with the ability to translate operational details into quantitative models
• Familiarity with financial modelling, pricing governance, and change management
• Strong project management and organizational skills
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, ambiguous, and evolving environment
• Proficiency in Excel, financial modelling tools, and pricing/costing platforms, including Excel-based, web-based, or integrated enterprise systems
• Exposure to programming languages such as Python and experience leveraging AI tools to develop agentic AI solutions are an added advantage
• Occasional travel

Core Competencies

Demonstrates expertise in clinical trial costing methodologies, resource estimation, and financial modeling, with a strong focus on cross-functional collaboration and stakeholder management. Proficient in integrating costing tools with enterprise systems to ensure data integrity and operational efficiency.

Highest-signal resume keywords

• Clinical Trial Costing
• Resource Estimation
• Financial Modeling
• Cross-Functional Collaboration
• Project Management

ATS Optimization Keywords

Hard Skills

• Costing Algorithms
• Resource Modeling
• Pricing Tools
• Financial Planning Systems
• Data Analysis
• Excel Proficiency
• Python Programming
• AI Tools

Soft Skills

• Excellent Communication
• Stakeholder Management
• Collaboration Skills
• Analytical Mindset
• Organizational Skills

Industry Keywords

• CRO
• Biopharmaceutical
• Clinical Operations
• Proposal Management
• Costing Management

Tools & Technologies

• CTMS
• EDC
• SAP
• Workday
• Pricing/Costing Platforms